Larissa Kennedy is a British Caribbean theoretician, social movement griot (storyteller) and community educator. Her vocation is harnessing the power of education and imagination to champion climate and social justice. Larissa’s research focuses on the liberatory potential of community- and movement-led climate & ecological education in the Caribbean world.
Prior to this, Larissa was a Schwarzman Scholar, graduating with a 4.0 GPA from a Master’s in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University. Before this, she was awarded a first-class BA in Politics, International Studies and Hispanic Studies from the University of Warwick.
Beyond her academic endeavours, Larissa channels her drive for climate and trade justice into her roles on the Board of the Fairtrade Foundation, and SOS-UK, a national climate education charity. She is also a contributing editor at shado mag, a lived experience-led community of artists, organisers and writers united in advancing social justice.
Moreover, Larissa leads TALAWA LAB, a Black-led imagination lab supporting folks of the global majority to model solutions for alternative, just futures.
Larissa was formerly the 61st President of the National Union of Students, a Tuwezeshe Akina Dada Fellow, a Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy and UK Youth Delegate to the Council of Europe Congress.