Michael McKenzie is the Executive Director for Counterstream. Before joining Counterstream, Michael was the Community Strategist with Taproot Earth, an international organization that builds power and cultivates solutions among frontline communities in the Gulf South and Global South. As a Community Strategist with Taproot Earth, Michael worked with frontline organizations and communities in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Puerto Rico to advance strategies and solutions that address environmental and social injustice.

Before embarking on more global and community-centered work, Michael has served as a licensed Special Educator, Principal, Executive Principal, and Chief Executive Officer. Michael also served in various leadership development and consultancy roles, including TC Columbia SPA NOLA, TC Columbia SPA New York, and Alliance for Diversity & Excellence, respectively. As an urban educator and leader, Michael understands the impact of environmental inequity on youth academic achievement. To counter this inequity, Michael launched mentorship, arts, and social-emotional initiatives for his students, which later inspired the launch of the non-profit organization RESILIENCE IS POWER PROGRAM. The organization Michael founded has awarded scholarships, hosted youth leadership camps, and facilitated financial literacy training and town hall meetings in underserved communities.

Michael earned a Bachelor’s in Applied Sociology from Millsaps College and a Master’s in Education Administration from Texas Southern University. Michael is a former Harvard GSE Fellow and is currently a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University, where his research examines how urban school leaders understand, perceive, and respond to media coverage of schools and communities educating Black and Brown youth. Michael is a proud husband and father. He spends his spare time reading, fishing, hiking, cooking, traveling, writing, listening to reggae soul, beach bumming, and watching documentaries.