Our Team

XAVIER CORTADA

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Xavier Cortada is a Cuban-American artist whose work transforms public spaces into platforms for community engagement, education, and activism. Inducted into the State of Florida Artists Hall of Fame and appointed as Miami-Dade County's inaugural Artist-in-Residence, Cortada has been commissioned to create art for the White House, the World Bank, and CERN, among many other art, science, and government venues. In 2007 and 2008, through the National Science Foundation and the New York Foundation for the Arts, Cortada became the only artist to create work at both of the Earth’s poles. His polar projects launched multiple large-scale environmental justice initiatives including “The Underwater,” a community-led sea level rise campaign that has been recognized by the White House’s 5th National Climate Assessment and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of his impact, Cortada has received a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Excellence in Science Communications Award, a Creative Capital Award, and an Environmental Law Institute National Wetlands Award.

ADAM ROBERTI

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Adam Roberti serves as executive director of the Cortada Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use socially engaged art to create meaningful experiences that inspire people to take collective action against our climate and ecological crises. In this role, Roberti works alongside State of Florida Hall of Fame artist Xavier Cortada to implement large-scale, interactive eco-art projects such as the Reclamation Project and The Underwater – two initiatives featured in Cortada’s 2022 TED Talk. Through these ongoing public art interventions, Roberti leads the foundation in partnering with local schools, parks, libraries, businesses, and governments to engage and educate vulnerable communities, helping them prepare for the climate crisis and motivating them to demand action from their policymakers. Roberti is a double alumnus of the University of Miami, where he currently serves on an interdisciplinary research team specializing in climate migration and retreat. He has been recognized by the university as a 30 Under 30 honoree, selected as an Aspen Institute Fellow, and invited to Washington, D.C. to speak at the National Academy of Sciences.