Meet Andrew Otazo

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Otazo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I removed 24,000 pounds of waste from Miami’s mangrove swamps, Everglades, and ocean because I grew tired of not seeing anyone else address the problem. I disposed of the majority of the trash on my own, though I received assistance from several group cleanups along the way.

I began my work in a completely solitary mode, picking up trash for weeks without anyone being the wiser. Things changed when I filmed and posted my work on social media. Organizations asked me to lead cleanup initiatives into the mangroves, which I happily obliged. Eventually, local media reached out for interviews. I took my message of environmental stewardship to every major media outlet in the city. I was also invited to give lectures to groups as varied as the Cornell, Clemson, and the University of Miami.

I eventually decided I needed to educate a much larger audience in a more dramatic fashion. So, I carried a 35-pound bag of mangrove trash (currently in the History Miami Museum’s permanent collection) the length of the 2019 Miami Marathon and led a team that hauled a 130-pound trash cart throughout the 2020 Miami Marathon. These efforts raised over $30,500 to protect Miami’s coastal habitats.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
A native Miamian, I am an award winning Cuban American author who wrote a book titled The Miami Creation Myth. I currently run my own communications firm named ARO Communications that specializes in public relations strategy, environmental, social, governance, executive positioning, and earned media. I previously worked at several international public relations agencies.

I served as the executive director of the Cuba Study Group, where I advocated to policymakers on Capitol Hill. I published 17 academic publications that sold more than 10,000 copies to the world’s top universities, graduate courses, and corporations while a research associate at the Harvard Business School. I also worked as a researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School and helped implement U.S. foreign policy at the State Department. As Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s personal assistant, I facilitated the decision-making process of one of the world’s highest-level policymakers. I am a native Spanish speaker and proficient in Portuguese.

On my free time, I removed 24,000 pounds of trash from South Florida’s mangrove forests and ocean.

I won an International Latino Book Award and was named to Brickell Magazine’s Top 20 Under 40 List, am a New Tropic’s Locals to Know, Local 10’s Most Treasured Citizen, Miami’s Next Leader, FAES Latino Leader in Politics, and received two Proclamations from the Village of Key Biscayne.

I have lectured at the Harvard Law School, Columbia Business School, University of Miami, Cornell, Clemson, Miami Dade College and local South Florida middle and high schools.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three most valuable skillsets I picked up were empathy, grit, and flexibility. Those still early in their journeys should expect to be disappointed. Failure is a painful and necessary process to learn from mistakes, take stock of your options, and chart a new path forward.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
My favorite book of all time is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It shaped who I am as a writer and fostered my love of satire. The best lesson one can glean from the book is that the universe is intrinsically absurd. Don’t take it too seriously.

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Andrew Otazo

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