MaKara Rumley, Esq. is more than an experienced community engagement strategist: she is a critical thought leader in cultural competency, equity strategy, and systems change training. Whether it is through facilitation, training, speaking, or strategy planning, she has a knack for identifying what makes each stakeholder successful-leading the charge for how everyone can win. It takes the private and public sector and community viewpoints to reach a project's full benefit potential.
As the Founder & CEO of Hummingbird, a community engagement consulting firm, she advises the federal government, engineering and development firms, non-profits, and utilities, on how to engage effectively by using Hummingbird's trademarked “Engagement Nest” approach. She started as an Environmental Justice attorney, where she developed strategies to mitigate the disproportionate exposure to land, air, and water pollution for the overburdened and underserved. She continues to effectuate her commitment to sustainable solutions by using modern-day technology, plain language translation, and quantitative and qualitative metrics to illustrate results.
She has also produced identifiable results as a political appointee, advising the Environmental Protection Agency Region IV on community engagement, as an environmental attorney with a non-profit environmental law firm, and as a consistent lecturer and presenter on cultural competency, resilience, equity, and authentic engagement.
MaKara serves on the board of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University Law School. She has served as a board member for the following organizations: Southface Institute, Piedmont Conservancy, Groundwork Atlanta, Trust for Public Land Advisory Board, North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools, founding member of the Partnership for Southern Equity: JUST Energy Circle, as well as a founding member of the Georgia Environmental Justice Coalition. These opportunities allowed her to contribute her expertise to the growth of her community. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Some additional accomplishments include: EPA Presidential Climate Change Award, Institute for Georgia in Environmental Leadership Alum, published in EPA Blogs, the Atlanta Equity Atlas, and awardee and keynote speaker for Georgia WAND Mother’s Day for Peace. She authored the book, “Modern-Day Strategies for Community Engagement: How to Effectively Build Bridges Between People and the Bottom Line”.
Co-author of the “The Environmental Justice Green Book: Empowering Communities to Fight for Environmental Protection”.
She is a proud graduate of Spelman College and the George Washington University Law School.
She lives in Atlanta, GA, with her husband, three children, and dog, Snowflake. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, crafting, and playing tennis.