Omar Freilla

About Omar Freilla

Loving parent, visionary leader, trailblazer, social entrepreneur, and movement builder with a passion for building structures for regenerative economies, environmental sustainability, and community self-determination, especially in Black communities. I support teams in turning vague ideas into a concrete vision with field-tested strategies that leave them empowered. I weave democratic decision-making and bottom-up or emergent strategies into community & economic development approaches, outreach methods, and organizational structures. I co-founded and coordinate activities for Collective Diaspora, a new global network of Black cooperatives and co-op support organizations across the African diaspora; founded Green Worker Cooperatives, the oldest Black-led worker cooperative development organization in the US. I have pioneered multiple approaches to cooperative development and have helped build coalitions and networks that have resulted in New York City now having the largest concentration of worker cooperatives in the US. My work is grounded in my experience growing up in the South Bronx, a child of Dominican immigrants, raised by my mother and a tribe of community organizers that never gave up on their neighbors and showed their love by changing the conditions around them.

Experience

1. Co-founder & Coordinator

   Collective Diaspora

   Jul 2022 — Present

   Work with the organization’s Steering Committee to define the organization’s work plan; build out its infrastructure and manage all organizational processes with input and support from the Steering Committee and all teams.

Education

• Miami University

  Masters, Environmental Science

  1995 — 1998

• The Bronx High School of Science

  High School Diploma

  1987 — 1991

• Morehouse College

  Bachelor's degree, Biology, General

Skills

• Sustainability
• Organizational Development
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Nonprofits
• Event Planning
• Public Policy
• Teaching
• Entrepreneurship
• Program Management
• Analysis
• Non-Profits
• Social Networking
• Public Relations
• Social Media Marketing
• Business Planning
• Research
• Event Management
• Community Organizing
• Strategic Planning
• Program Development
• Team Building
• Project Management
• Start-Ups
• Training
• Volunteer Management
• New Business Development
• Public Speaking
• Social Media
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Fundraising
• Marketing Strategy
• Policy
• Leadership
• Grant Writing
• Microsoft Office
• Leadership Development