Rebecca Pelham is the Executive Director of Engage Miami, where she has been serving since 2018. She has been working tirelessly to enhance the political power of young people in South Florida through voter engagement, issue organizing, and civic education and leadership development, all while centering Black and Latinx leaders and voters. Engage Miami, which was founded in 2015, has grown into a local powerhouse under Rebecca’s leadership. Under her leadership, the organization has embraced an ecosystem approach, acknowledging the crucial role that everyone plays in pushing for progressive organizing goals. She has built a board and staff team that reflects the communities Engage Miami serves, and the organization works every day to bring about significant and strategic changes in the lived experiences and material conditions of these communities while building long-term power and connection.

Before joining Engage Miami, Rebecca led the Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy at Miami Dade College North Campus. She played a vital role in leading civic leadership programming on a community college campus of 30,000 and partnered with others to increase voter registration and democratic engagement. She was a founding member of the Miami Climate Alliance, a community-wide coalition for climate justice, for which she also served as Chair of the Steering Committee, writing the organization’s initial bylaws and securing start-up funding. With a Master’s in Education and Social Change from the University of Miami, she is passionate about co-imagining and creating just futures by building power at the intersections of environment, education, and democracy.