Michél Legendre ’14 Didn’t Set Out to Change Systems—He Learned How

A Broader Awakening

If Greece expanded his academic horizons, Haiti reshaped his worldview.

The student-organized trip exposed Legendre to both the structural inequities and the everyday resilience of the communities he encountered. It also reframed his understanding of advocacy.

“It’s not just about showing how people are suffering,” he said. “It’s about recognizing their strength, their dignity, their stories.”

That experience became a catalyst. After returning to campus, Legendre pursued internships with renewed focus—eventually landing at Corporate Accountability, a nonprofit organization focused on challenging corporate abuse.

In a story he now tells as a lesson in persistence and relationships, the connection began with a chance conversation years earlier while he was working retail. He had saved a phone number. When he finally called it, it led him to the organization.

“I started as a volunteer,” he said. “Then an intern. Then I just kept going.”

He would spend nearly a decade there, moving from fundraising into campaign work and eventually serving on the board.

Building a Career in Justice

Legendre’s work has spanned issues—from water access to corporate accountability to the prison industry—but a throughline connects it all: systems.

After a brief stint as campaigns director at Worth Rises, he launched a consulting practice, then joined Dogwood Alliance, where he now focuses on climate justice.

For Legendre, climate work is deeply personal.

“Growing up in Trinidad, you understand that climate change isn’t abstract,” he said. “It’s about whether entire communities will be able to exist in the future.”

His approach is grounded in what he describes as a “decolonial framework”—an understanding that many modern systems are built on historical structures of extraction and inequality.

“If systems were built,” he said, “they can be rebuilt.”

What Moves Change

Over time, Legendre has developed a clear philosophy about what drives meaningful change.

“Power and truth,” he said. “You have to understand where power sits—and how to mobilize it. And you have to tell the truth clearly.”

That includes recognizing the gap between private concern and public action. Research shows that a majority of Americans care about climate change, he noted—but many believe they are in the minority. That perception can lead to inaction.

“When people realize they’re not alone, things shift,” he said.

Just as important is recognizing the incremental nature of progress. In his work with communities facing environmental harm—from the Caribbean to the American South—Legendre has seen how even small wins can carry enormous weight.

“A permit denial can be a huge victory,” he said. “Even if it’s temporary, it shows that people organizing together can have an impact.”

At the same time, he is careful not to overstate progress.

“It’s important to celebrate wins,” he said, “but not in a way that minimizes what people are actually going through.”

Leadership and Responsibility

Those who nominated Legendre for the Distinguished Alumni Award pointed to his commitment to advancing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) voices. He sees that work as both personal and structural.

For years, he found himself acting as a bridge—translating between communities and leadership spaces. Over time, he began to question that dynamic.

“It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the people most impacted to fix the system,” he said.

Instead, he has focused on changing the conditions themselves: advocating for paid internships, more equitable compensation, and organizational practices that account for the realities of people’s lives.

“It’s about leaving a place better than you found it,” he said.

Despite the scope of his work, Legendre is quick to downplay the idea of individual recognition.

“You don’t always lift your head up and see what you’ve done,” he said. “You’re just focused on what’s in front of you.”

The award, he said, is meaningful not only as recognition, but as affirmation that the work matters—even when it feels quiet or incremental.

For current students considering a path in advocacy, his advice is both practical and philosophical.

“Remove your ego,” he said. “And know what matters most to you. You won’t get everything right away—but if you’re clear about your priorities, you’ll find your way.”

It’s a perspective shaped not by a single moment, but by a series of them—classrooms and conversations, setbacks and breakthroughs, and one student-organized trip that helped set everything in motion.