About Corinna J. Moebius, Ph.D.
I love trees (especially ceibas), stories shared on front stoops/porches, and dancing in the streets. The gifts I like to share include my teaching, writing, speaking and facilitation. It brings me joy to teach people outside the traditional classroom, and through the power of walking and workshops.
In addition to this work, I continue to lead collaboratively with others, believing that we all have ways we can give to our communities and world. Throughout my life, I’ve sought to give all I can to the Living Earth and her inhabitants, in my own small way. This is what fulfills me.
Equitable Placemaking, Spatial Justice, and Civic Engagement
I bring to my work decades of experience as a consultant on equitable placemaking and civic engagement. I hold a Ph.D. in Global & Sociocultural Studies from Florida International University, specializing in cultural anthropology, critical geography and urban ecology. In Spring 2024, I served as the traveling visiting faculty for SIT’s prestigious Cities in the 21st Century: People, Planning & Politics study abroad program, teaching courses on spatial and social justice in four global cities. I’ve written an acclaimed after-school curriculum, “Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhoods,” launched in neighborhoods across the U.S.
Community Leadership and Collaboration
A resident of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood for 15 years, I co-authored the book, A History of Little Havana (The History Press, 2015). I explore global-local histories and racial-spatial politics in my forthcoming book on Calle Ocho. My walking tours have earned me recognition from both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and local civic organizations, as well as mention by news outlets around the world.
I remain an advocate for small and mom & pop businesses, drawing on my experience co-founding a merchant association and working with Main Street initiatives. Passionate about eco-social sustainability, I collaborate with activist groups, nonprofits, and city agencies to promote equity, local economies, and sustainable practices.
Arts, Place & Civic Engagement
I have founded and directed regional conferences by and for grassroots changemakers, many of them incorporating place-related rituals, arts and community dialogues. Many of the workshops and festivals I have led and directed have focused on integrating place celebrations with arts and civic engagement. I have an arts background as a former semi-professional French horn player and dancer (Afro-Cuban dance); I remain a longtime champion of arts in public spaces and Afro-Cuban folkloric music and dance.
Eco-Spirituality
Rooted in eco-spirituality since childhood, I combines academic rigor with a deep love for community and nature, inspiring inclusive and sustainable urban futures.
Education & Certifications
Academic Degrees
Ph.D. Global & Sociocultural Studies, 2019
Interdisciplinary degree (cultural anthropology, geography and sociology), with concentration in anthropology.
Winner: Alex Stepick Award for Outstanding Dissertation.
Florida International University
M.A. Global & Sociocultural Studies, 2015
Interdisciplinary degree (cultural anthropology, geography and sociology), with concentration in anthropology.
Florida International University
M.A. Speech Communication (Communication Studies), 1995
Interdisciplinary degree with concentration in Cultural Studies, performance theory, and critical theory.
California State University, Northridge
Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration, 1985
Self-designed major in Communications and Anthropology, Minor: Geography
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Certificates, Training & Other Learning
Afro-Cuban Metaphysics (ongoing teaching)
Felicia Casanova, Ph.D., Luis Ezequiel Torres and the late Natividad Torres, as well as other teachers.
Afro-Cuban Sacred & Folkloric Dance (more than 20 years)
Primary teacher is Marisol Blanco; previous teachers include Oscar Rousseaux, Neri Torres and Marietta Ulacia.
Arts Management (Arts & Civic Engagement) course and certificate
University of Massachusetts, Amherst Arts Extension Service (led by Barbara Schaffer Bacon, a founder of Americans for the Arts’ Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue)
Environmental Education Outcomes Course & Certificate
Cornell University
Geomancy (Dowsing & Labyrinths) Workshop
Taught by Sig Lonegren, Honorary Life Vice President of the British Society of Dowsers
Leading Through Collapse taught by Jem Bendell & Katie Carr (Deep Adaptation) (Leadership Course)
Jem Bendell is the founder of the Deep Adaptation movement: a concept, agenda, and international social movement that presumes that extreme weather events and other effects of climate change will increasingly disrupt food, water, shelter, power, and social and governmental systems.
Martha Beck Wayfinder Life Coaching Course
Life coaching course taught by one of the most renowned and respected figures in life coaching.
Permaculture Design Course (Regenerative Agriculture)
Grow Permaculture. Miami, FL (taught in person and directly with Koreen Brennan, a well-respected leader in the permaculture movement)
Shamanic Journeying and Healing in Community Course
Taught by Sandra Ingerman, internationally renowned teacher on shamanic journeying, healing, and using spiritual methods to reverse environmental pollution
uLab 1.0 & 2.0 (courses/projects)
Presencing Institute
Global movement to build collective capacity for transforming systems, society, and self for global regeneration.
Visionary Leadership for Women Course & Certificate
Center for Visionary Leadership, Washington, DC. Taught and mentored directly by Corinne McLaughlin (Fellow of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland) and Gordon Davidson, co-founders of Sirius, an ecological village in Massachusetts.
“When we dismantle the internalized social divides said to separate us from ourselves and from others — human and more-than-human, we begin to restore an ethics of caring. By recognizing our interconnectedness, we revive our capacity to sustain ourselves and the Living Earth.”
Corinna J. Moebius