Michelle Carrera

Writer. Death dreamer. Ecosystem tender. Queer shapeshifter. Care constellation.

I have drifted through more titles than lives: grief worker, death doula, unschooling mother, land steward, activist, forest hermit, soil alchemist, story weaver.

Born in Borikén (Puerto Rico) and always returning to let the land remember me, I move through life as a multi-portal being. My only through-line is care: for people, for animals, for land, for the strange, holy, and tender transformations that stitch us to each other.

Celebrated as a “Grassroots Powerhouse” by VegNews and hailed as a “radical tender-hearted queer vegan” by writer Leo Kirts, my work blooms at the crossroads of collective liberation, grief, and cosmic tenderness.

I build worlds where grief composts into liberation, where death is a friend, where seeds and stories root into future soil.

I don’t fit into one box. I don’t want to. I am a multiversal experiment in loving wildly and living honestly.

What I’m weaving now

Grief and Liberation

A creative grief ecosystem offering tender, transformative spaces for the grieving, the dying, and the ones who walk beside them. Grief Compass Consultations, workshops, writings, ritual obituaries, and more.

Visit Grief and Liberation

Plantbased Plants

Returning soon in a new form. Formerly a veganic soil shop, now transforming into something beyond soil, a portal for plant-based growing, care, and kinship that can bloom anywhere (even in Caribbean clay). See what’s sprouting.

VINE Sanctuary

VINE Sanctuary is an LGBTQ+ led farmed animal sanctuary located in Springfield, Vermont that works for environmental and social justice as well as animal liberation. Michelle serves as a part time and remote project manager and volunteer coordinator at VINE, where she manages and coordinates advocacy projects, special events, and all-volunteer initiatives. Make a donation

Ongoing Volunteer Projects

Grief Support Facilitator
To bereaved children ages 3-5 and Spanish-speaking adults who have lost a child.

Peer Group Facilitator
To rural LGBTQ+ teenagers in Sussex County

Past Projects

The WildStead

The Wildstead was both a botanical sanctuary for endangered and at-risk native plants and a food forest, nurtured through a veganic permaculture approach that respected the dignity in our interconnections. The Wildstead was a sacred space of liberation and freedom, embodying the spirit of wilderness. Michelle was its co-founder.

Chilis on Wheels

Chilis on Wheels, founded by Michelle and Ollie, is a non-profit organization that aims to make veganism accessible to communities in need. Beyond providing nutritious vegan meals to those facing food insecurity, and in the aftermath of natural and political disasters, the organization also engages in policy work and youth mentorship initiatives. Since its inception in New York City in 2014, Chilis on Wheels has expanded its outreach to multiple cities across the United States through a network of affiliated groups. Eloisa Trinidad is its current Executive Director.

Casa Vegana de la Comunidad

Casa Vegana de la Comunidad was founded by Michelle and Ollie in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Originally a project of Chilis on Wheels, it is now its own entity. Casa Vegana is a vegan and sustainability community center that serves the people of San Juan, Puerto Rico with vegan and sustainability education content and mutual aid support. Visit and catch up with its current programming here.

The V-Team

The V-Team Tour, a project by Michelle and Ollie, transformed a van into a mobile hub with solar panels and traveled the East Coast in 2016-2017, providing vegan meals and mutual aid support. They also promoted veganism and connected with communities, leading to the formation of Chilis on Wheels chapters. However, the course of their mission shifted when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. In response to the disaster, Michelle and Ollie redirected their efforts to provide essential food relief on the island. It was during this time that they recognized the pressing need for a dedicated center to continue their work, ultimately leading to the establishment of Casa Vegana de la Comunidad.

Vegan Latinos of NYC Meetup

The Vegan Latinos of NYC Meetup, founded by Michelle, was a vibrant social gathering from 2015 to 2017 that brought together Latinx vegans in New York City. They dined at Latinx owned vegan restaurants across the city, raising funds to support Latin American vegan organizations and sanctuaries while fostering a sense of community among like-minded individuals.

“Michelle Carrera is a grassroots powerhouse”

— VEGNEWS, Holiday Issue, 2019,
20 Most Influential Vegans of 2019