Biography

Omar Freilla has been named one of "The New School of Activists Most Likely to change New York City" by City Limits magazine (2000). Raised in the South Bronx, where he continues to live, he has gained international recognition as an outspoken environmental justice activist who has dedicated himself to seeking solutions to the disproportionate environmental impacts faced by low-income communities of color. He is the founder and director of Green Worker Cooperatives (GWC), an organization dedicated to the creation of worker-owned and environmentally friendly businesses in the South Bronx. Through GWC, he is working to develop a building materials reuse cooperative and an eco-industrial park in the South Bronx that will create a new generation of "green collar" jobs and reduce the generation and export of waste. Prior to founding Green Worker Cooperatives Omar served as program director for Sustainable South Bronx, where he dedicated himself to challenging corporate and governmental environmental abuses while promoting development projects capable of improving the environmental and economic health of South Bronx neighborhoods. Omar has also coordinated efforts to promote environmental justice in the realm of transportation planning for the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, a coalition of community-based groups in New York City working for environmental justice. His writing on community opposition to transportation racism in New York City was published in 2004 by South End Press in the book "Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity" edited by Robert Bullard. He has also written for the journal "Race, Poverty, and the Environment" and blogs by City Limits and the Drum Major Institute.

Omar has received numerous awards for his work including the Open Society Institute's New York City Community Fellowship, the Union Square Award for grassroots activists, and the Environmental Leadership Program fellowship. He holds a Masters degree in Environmental Science from Miami University of Ohio and a B.S. from Morehouse College.