Sustainability Art Project is a love letter to non-traditional environmentalists committed to transforming inequitable systems beyond what the mainstream says is possible.
– Martha Kamara
Thank you for joining this slice of a growing movement of equity-based storytelling! I am excited to share my gift of gab, creation, facilitation, research and analysis as Founding Mother and Executive Director of Sustainability Art Project 🌍🎨
Who is Martha Kamara?: I am a multi-media storyteller and cultural advocate unifying my love of art, culture, sustainability research and education to meaningfully highlight underrepresented and marginalized narratives. Trained in international affairs focused in global energy and environmental policy, I bring a unique perspective to the climate space and sustainable development.
Her Story: Set in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, rollerskating TikTok’s, and a new wave of social justice movements, I was a 21 year old still living in my hometown on the coast of Florida. Transitioning out of an AmeriCorps year of service into a graduate program, I was invited to spend my summer leading community engagement and content creation for Cultured Books in St Petersburg Florida. I produced multi-media art for their Book Report Project (an initiative where readers can create art expressing their interpretation of a book and use it as currency for a new one) and created the SOS: Stories of Specificity, Black Identity Beyond Birthplace limited podcast series and art gallery pop-up. I recorded 3 interviews, convened and commissioned a local artist collective to produce artwork inspired by each podcast episode, and hosted an art gallery pop-up at Coastal Creative Studios.
In 2021, I was introduced to the Global Sustainability Scholars program from one of the first “Get in your Career Bag” posts by Wawa Gatheru of Black Girl Environmentalist. This fellowship program connected me to key research collaborators, resulting in my first publication “Placing knowledge equity at the heart of the UN Ocean Decade: an Early Career Researcher perspective” https://doi.org/10.3389/focsu.2025.1551167, an expert panel appearance, and conference presentation at the 2025 Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress in Chicago.
From 2022-2024, I completed an ORISE science, technology, and policy fellowship within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of International Affairs. I facilitated multilateral climate and clean energy coalition-building, ultimately developing a speciality in cross-cutting energy justice and equity initiatives. It was a transformative experience traveling the world advancing global net zero goals through the Clean Energy Ministerial and other international fora such as the G20, G7, COP, and the broader UNFCCC system.
Sustainability Art Project 