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About the Author

Andrew Otazo

Andrew Otazo feels like he’s done A LOT of things. Probably too many.

Most recently, Andrew Otazo is in the habit of calling himself a writer. He wrote a book titled The Miami Creation Myth and recruited a team (director, marketer, editor, and actors) to turn it into a podcast and TV series. He adapted the first chapter to the stage, which headlined a recurring sold-out show at Miami’s Villain Theater.

Andrew removed 18,500 pounds of trash from South Florida’s mangrove forests and ocean. He carried a 35-pound bag of mangrove trash (currently in History Miami’s permanent collection) the length of the 2019 Miami Marathon and led a team that hauled a 130-pound trash cart throughout the 2020 Miami Marathon. These efforts raised over $30,500 to protect Miami’s coastal habitats. Andrew has a recurring guest lecture series at the University of Miami, Cornell, Clemson, and local middle and high schools on grassroots activism.

Andrew is a Public Affairs Associate Director at a global public affairs agency, where he specializes in executive positioning, electoral and issue advocacy, and content creation and dissemination. Before Kivvit, he worked at JeffreyGroup, a public relations agency focused on Latin America. He was previously employed as the Cuba Study Group’s Executive Director, where he  advocated to policymakers on Capitol Hill and the federal agencies. He guest lectured at Harvard Law School and Colombia Business School and partook in dozens of televised and print interviews. Andrew also worked as a research associate at the Harvard Business School, where his 17 academic publications sold over 10,000 copies. He implemented U.S. foreign policy at the State Department. As Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s assistant, he facilitated the decision-making process of one of the world’s highest-level policymakers.

Just before his stint at State, Andrew lived in São Paulo, where he picked up Portuguese. He loves all things Brazilian and desperately misses a good picanha.

Andrew was named to Brickell Magazine’s Top 20 Under 40 List, Miami’s Next Leader, FAES Latino Leader in Politics, and received a Proclamation from the Village of Key Biscayne.

Andrew spent two years at West Point. He learned how to take a punch, blew out his eardrums, broke a shin, discovered he wasn’t White (outside of Miami), and fired a tank. He then earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the University of Miami.

Andrew Otazo carrying 30 pounds of trash the length of the Miami Marathon

Andrew’s work has been published by Harvard Business Publishing, Energy Policy Journal, Buzzfeed, The New Tropic, The Sun Sentinel, The Islander, Acentos Review, Defenestration Magazine, The Plantain, The Washington Pastime, and Funny or Die.

Andrew was the subject of front-page stories in the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. He was also featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, Al Jazeera, NPR, Telemundo, Univision, CNN en Espanol, El País, The Miami Herald, Runner’s World, Esquire, Men’s Health, Newsweek, MarketWatch, OZY, PolitiFact, Voice of America, Miami New Times, The New Tropic, Sun Sentinel, The Islander, Racked, Blue Ridge Outdoors, and Dade Mag.

Check out the first free chapter of Andrew’s upcoming book here.