Hey y’all ….

My name is Dominique Drakeford. I love dogs, karaoke and learning how to grow my own food. I’m a thought-leader harnessing my Leo energy to educate and disrupt un-sustainable systems while simultaneously celebrating my Blackness. For the past 10+ years, I have been dedicated to redefining and breathing new life into the ideology of sustainability to embody transformative justice and creative innovation. And I do this work while looking fly AF!

BACKGROUND:

My background is an expose of youth development and adventure-based outdoor education and recreation. Growing up in Oakland (home the Black Panthers), creative community building was the core of my personal and young professional life. I worked as a youth leader, woman empowerment mentor and pathway to college coordinator at the East Oakland Youth Development Center. Focusing on infrastructural creative programming for Black and Brown youth allowed me to create impact based activities and curriculums throughout the Bay Area. Being an avid Missy Elliott fan, back packer, thrift shopper, chess player and soccer coach allowed me to have an eclectic approach to reimagining sustainability.

TODAY:

I’m a non-traditional environmental educator with a BA in Business Environmental Management and a Master’s Degree from NYU in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Fashion.

Over the years, I’ve worked alongside a myriad of companies and organizations to further understand systems-based thinking for a regenerative future in alignment with ethically-based and creative ecological consulting. I work at the intersections of sustainability and style to heal our relationship to the Earth and spark equitable change for economic wellbeing.

I bring fairness to storytelling by championing the values of inclusive representation and informed responsibility through my digital platform MelaninASS (Melanin And Sustainable Style). This blog hones in on sustainable fashion, natural beauty, wellness and land sovereignty efforts by B/IPOC (Black/Brown Indigenous Communities of Color).

MelaninASS

As a social sustainability writer and ethical street style influencer, I’ve been featured in Elle Magazine, Teen Vogue, BoF, The Cut, Fashionista and Essence and graced the print cover of Green American Magazine. I am a global brand ambassador for Timberland and have partnered with brands such as Swarovki, Airbnb, Vice Media, Buzzfeed, Everlane, Fibershed, The Slow Factory, Dove and All Birds to name a few. On a mission to disrupt mainstream sustainability discourse, I’ve delivered keynotes in Australia, California and New York and sat on a plethora of panels across the U.S. for companies such as Eileen Fisher, Planet Home and Essence.

The context I bring focuses on:

1) Historical systems of land-use/ agriculture

2) Equity in sustainable fashion

3) Ways to live more sustainably in your daily lives

4) Sustainability literacy and anti-racism

5) Community building

Additionally, I’m the proud co-founder of Sustainable Brooklyn, an organization working to bridge the gap between the sustainability movement and targeted communities using tailored high-low approaches through events & resource development.

Sustainable Brooklyn

Through the entirely of my work, I focus on instilling regenerative solutions within local Black and systemically targeted communities. Additionally, I hone in on building equitable partnerships while re-engineering the sustainability movement to hault ecological based anti-Blackness and put Black and Brown Indigenous change agents at the forefront of conversation and nexus creativity innovation and strategic solution.