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"Nothing in this world is as soft and yielding as water, yet for attacking the hard and strong, none can triumph so easily.”
My father often recited the Tao Te Ching in my youth, shaping my understanding of the self and the power of nature. This quote in particular has had a profound impact on my work.
Where to begin?
Where to begin?
I seek new forms of climate solidarity through my work, ways for us to connect across cultures and environments. I turn to art as a method of cultural transmission when words aren't enough, and I seek to spark the environmental imagination.
At Yale University, I am specializing in environmental studies and international policy, with my research examining the potential for alternative treaty frameworks grounded in cultural solidarity and artistic collaboration. I approach art as a diplomatic form: a means of joining into a collective experience where you can connect beyond words. I'm currently developing an international cultural coalition for climate, The Green Table Alliance, as we lead up to COP30. As the head of Yale's student delegation to the UNFCCC, I've been working with my team to develop U.S. grassroots mobilization for climate.
My work seeks to approach what I call climate-communion: a process of understanding the environment and each other through kinship and stewardship. I carry my Caribbean islander roots into my painted pieces, recalling the vibrancy of my mother's Puerto Rican traditions in my compositions. Allegorical traditions inspire my pursuit of the visual metaphor and poetry, and I'm interested in engaging with the subjectivity of Eastern and Western environmental philosophies.
Ultimately, I see the life we live as the greatest art, and my work with communities and creatives seeks to illuminate the raw beauty of interconnection.
Awards & Honors
Awards & Honors
Exhibiting Artist at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP30 & Head of Yale's COP30 Delegation
Artist Keynote Speaker for World Food Forum Flagship Event
United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellow
American Meteorological Society Minority Scholar
World Wildlife Fund Panda Ambassador
Fall 2024 Cover Artist for Yale Human Rights Journal
'Innovator' at Yale Innovation Summit Virtual Showcase: Proposing the Climate Renaissance
Finalist to Yale's Creative Entrepreneurship Prize
Fellowships
Fellowships
Yale's Summer Environmental Fellowship & Leitner International Research and Internship Fellowship (2025):
Examined how spiritual, cultural, and ecological systems inform contemporary climate-focused art practice. Walked 400 km of the Camino de Santiago as embodied research method, engaging pilgrims and clergy on Christian relationships to the natural world. Lived in monastic community at Monasterio de Oseira (Trappist), studying ritual, silence, and contemplative space as artistic languages for climate ethics. Assisted artists Stephanie Zoche & Victor Tenorio at Do Picho on industrial deforestation film project. Key finding: physical immersion in nature is essential for genuine environmental consciousness, shifting practice to prioritize outdoor, site-responsive exhibitions. Produced paintings drawing from pilgrimage iconography and religious symbolism, situating the human figure within landscape to evoke humility and ecological belonging.
Yale's Stacy L. Sanders Memorial Fellowship & Leitner International Research and Internship Fellowship (2024):
Examined how war and Western influence reshaped ecological consciousness in East and West. Organized NGO general assembly at the UN (Geneva) on demilitarization and environmental protection; coordinated with Polish Embassy for President Lech Wałęsa's participation. Conducted field research across Japan interviewing Buddhist monks, a yogini, and rural beekeeper on embodied ecological knowledge versus Western intellectual frameworks. Became US ambassador for Japanese bee-building workshops promoting pre-linguistic environmental learning. Produced paintings positioning climate agency as somatic practice.
Yale's Richter Fellowship, John E. Linck Fellowship (2023):
Examined contrasts between institutional environmental governance and grassroots ecological practice. Conducted research at the World Trade Organization (Geneva) on carbon quantification and climate-focused trade policy. Lived in monastic community at Monastero di San Pietro di Silki (Sardinia), exploring ritual, discipline, and resource stewardship. Served as chef for volunteers, sourcing ingredients from the land as embodied research into subsistence practices and ecological interdependence. Produced artworks synthesizing institutional versus village-based environmental approaches.
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