Bennett Olupo

Bennett's work is ultimately centered around creating a more equitable and sustainable future.

By combining education, environmental stewardship, food sovereignty, and community leadership, he seeks to help communities become more resilient while strengthening people's relationships with their environment and one another.

Understanding that the future is what we make it, AYO LLC is active across disciplines and domains. We lift and build community assets to create meaningful content, experiences, and employment opportunities for initiatives that regenerate our shared environment. We focus on storytelling and narrative-building to drive our work across media, research, and event planning— contributing to sustained development. We emphasize nature-based solutions to challenges facing our society today. We approach projects with a systems-level analysis and understand that no barrier nor solution exists in a vacuum.

Bennett has varied experience with reparative investing, education, food sovereignty, campaign management, and community development.

His work has included fellowships with Black Farmer Fund and Potlikker Capital, large-scale event planning with the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, and participation in the Environmental Fellows Program offered through Dr. Dorceta Taylor's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDS) Lab at Yale School of the Environment.

Bennett has worked with the following organizations on various projects:

• Yale’s Center for Environmental Justice: General Contracting for Coordinating the Environmental Joy Congress and Land Back Initiatives

• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Senior Community Engagement Coordinator and Policy Writer

• The Heartwood Podcast: Producer, Editor, and Co-Host

• Black Farmer Fund: Investment Fellow

• Potlikker Capital: Investment Fellow

• Gardens of Golden Gate Park: Program Manager Fellow

• Huntington Park Senior High: Chemistry and Physics Teacher

Across these experiences, Bennett has worked at the intersection of education, sustainability, environmental justice, and community development.

Yale School of the Environment: Master of Environmental Management, 2024

• Focus: Sustainable Development: Food Systems

• Master’s Capstone: Understanding the State of Food Sovereignty in Minneapolis 

Loyola Marymount University: Master of Urban Education

• Focus: Policy and Administration

• Master’s Thesis: The Effect of Black Male Educators in a System Built by Others

University of Minnesota: B.S. Biology & B.A. Spanish

• Research: Understanding the role of Bromodomain PHD finger transcription factor in the heart of mics

1.        Olupo, B. Taylor, D. E. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” The sage encyclopedia of environmental justice. (Vols. 1-3). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071908006, 2026.

2.        Olupo, B. Taylor, D. E. “Segregated beaches and coastal areas.” The sage encyclopedia of environmental justice. (Vols. 1-3). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071908006, 2026.

3.        Olupo, B., Gupta, H., Hampton, S., Charletta, M. “Reparative investing and due diligence with Black Farmer Fund” Yale Center for Business and the Environment, 2024. (*contributed equally to this study)

4.        Olupo, B. “The Green Revolution Will Not Be Televised” Self-Published Film, 2024.

National Black Food & Justice Alliance. 2025 Flourish Film Fest Film Selection: The Green Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Yale School of the Environment. Environmental Film Festival at Yale Student Film Selection: The Green Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Yale School of the Environment African American House: Outstanding Graduate Student (Flag-bearer). An award for showing exceptional leadership, scholarship, and community building on campus. The most prestigious award offered by Yale’s AfAm House. This recipient is also a flag-bearer for the graduation ceremony.

University of Minnesota: Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity