Power Miami’s Zero Waste Future

Why I Love Debris Free Oceans <3 

When we founded Debris Free Oceans more than a decade ago, it started with a simple belief: Miami deserves to thrive without waste. Over the years, that belief has grown into a community movement far bigger, braver, and more beautiful than anything I could have imagined. And today, I am more proud—and more in awe—than ever.

This past year has been one of the most transformative in our history. Our team—Amanda Di Perna and Maddie Kaufman, whose relentless dedication inspires me daily, and our newest addition Natalie Gonzalez, whose passion and kindness radiate in everything she does—has elevated our mission to new heights. And our partners? Incredible. Working alongside Miami's inspiring nonprofits, businesses, governments, and community members has been a true honor. This network of brilliant, committed humans restores my faith in what community can achieve when we rise together.

And rise we did.

Just since last Give Miami Day, we have:

📝 Conducted sustainability assessments for Miami Art Week, Art Deco Weekend, the Miami Marathon, SOBEWFF, and the Fillmore, helping major events rethink their waste footprint.

🪸 Launched Miami’s Community ResilientSea Project—an inclusive, community-powered effort strengthening ecological restoration, climate resilience, and local stewardship.

🪣 Through ResilientSea, hosted four Little Havana cleanups, removing 677 pounds of debris and logging 2,796 items through community-science data collection.

✨ Brought Miami together through creative, joy-filled events like Trashiest Singles, the Zero Waste Spaghetti Social, Reuse-A-Palooza, and Miami’s Pup Carnival.

🐬 Completed Plastic Free Cities, empowering Miami youth to conduct sustainability consulting with local businesses.

🔄 Built out the framework for Zero Waste Miami, now a thriving coalition of nonprofits, businesses, academics, and municipal partners working to make Miami-Dade a national zero-waste leader.

🌊 Engaged thousands of Miamians through outreach, education, talks, and cleanups.

⚡️ Started a unique partnership with the World Jai-Alai League, becoming the benefitting charity of the “Warriors” team!

🙌 Welcomed four new Chef Andrew Scholars—Amelia, Abigail, Matheus, and Rogelio—doubling the program thanks to last year’s Give Miami Day generosity.

Zero Waste Miami: A Vision Coming to Life

The creation of Zero Waste Miami has been one of the most rewarding chapters in our journey. What began as a concept is now a full-scale countywide movement—with a rapidly growing coalition, packed workshops, cross-sector collaboration, and project leaders stepping up across Miami-Dade. Watching this vision take root has been nothing short of extraordinary. And we’re just getting started.

Chef Andrew Scholar Program: Our Ocean Leaders of Tomorrow

To date, 16 incredible young people have come through the Chef Andrew Scholar Program, honoring the legacy of Chef Andrew Alessi by empowering the next generation of ocean advocates. Scholars lead cleanups, give educational talks, host community events, support advocacy initiatives, and serve as powerful voices for a more sustainable Miami. Every year, I’m blown away by their passion, leadership, and compassion.

Give Miami Day funding will directly support both the growth of Zero Waste Miami and the expansion of our Chef Andrew Scholar Program—two initiatives that are shaping the future of environmental stewardship in Miami-Dade County.

A Personal Ask (Cue the Quirky Founder Plea 🙃)

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations—you now know why my heart beats for this work.

And because you’ve read this much, please don’t let all these words be in vain 😂

I’m trying to raise funds on my personal page to unlock generous matching funds from the amazing Alessi family. That means your gift doesn’t just double—it helps unlock even more resources to empower Miami to go zero waste.

So please, support this mission I care about with every fiber of my being.

Let’s keep building a Miami where our oceans are cleaner, our communities are stronger, and our future is brighter.

From the bottom of my (ocean-loving, trash-collecting, eternally hopeful) heart — thank you. 💙