MaKara Rumley, Esq., is an experienced community engagement strategist and an important thought leader on cultural humility. In 2016, she founded Hummingbird, a consulting firm specializing in community engagement, strategy/data analytics, and systems change training. The company services the environment, transportation, and energy industries. Hummingbird’s mission is to create safe spaces for idea exchange and transformational change so that everyone—from communities to owners of large-scale projects—walks away with a “win.”
Prior to founding Hummingbird, MaKara served as the Senior Advisor on Community Engagement for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV, where she led the “Making a Visible Difference” in communities initiative for the region. Previously, she was an environmental justice attorney with Greenlaw in Atlanta, Georgia. There she developed strategies to mitigate the disproportionate exposure to land, air, and water pollution for the overburdened and underserved.
MaKara serves on the board of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law. She has previously 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.