(Posted October 14, 2013)

Majora Carter
Majora Carter

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter will speak on "Home(town) Security" at Juniata at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts on campus.

The talk is free and open to the public. Carter's visit is sponsored by Juniata Presents. Carter's talk is one of the keynote events of the week between the inauguration of Juniata President Jim Troha and Homecoming Weekend.

Carter works as an urban revitalization consultant in an effort to decrease poverty levels and improve under-performing communities in the United States. She has designed and launched various successful environmentally friendly infrastructure projects and policies, including job training and placement.

In the 1990s Carter was able to get a $1.25 million Department of Transportation grant to establish an 11-mile greenway in the South Bronx connecting bike and pedestrian paths to the waterfront and area neighborhoods. She also played a leading role in developing Hunt's Point Riverside Park in the Bronx.

Carter has established various organizations to continue her work, including the environmental justice non-profit Sustainable South Bronx and the Majora Carter Group, LLC.

Carter has received a "Genius" Fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. Her 2006 TED talk video "Greening the Ghetto" was among the first six TED talks ever released.

Carter's career began in the South Bronx of New York City, where she founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001. She also helped implement the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training program, one of the nation's first urban green collar training and placement programs.

After leaving Sustainable South Bronx in 2008, Carter has served as the president of the Majora Carter Group, a private consulting firm. Carter was listed as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2010 by Fast Company magazine.

Carter earned a bachelor's degree in 1988 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, as well as a master's degree in 1997 from New York University in New York, N.Y.

Carter has a large list of accolades, awards, and honorary degrees, including a "Genius" Fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. Her 2006 TED talk video "Greening the Ghetto" was among the first six TED talks ever released.

Carter has also worked as a real estate developer and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster.

Written by John Dubensky

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.