Trenise Bryant, SMASH

Trenise Bryant was raised in the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami, FL. Growing up, Trenise loved to play basketball and run track. Like many young girls, basketball and track wasn’t just a sport. As a survivor, sports helped Trenise during this time because it allowed her to be out of the house and be around her friends where she felt safe. Trenise went on to graduate from Miami Northwestern Senior high school and later started a decade of community activism and volunteering. She started volunteering at the Miami Workers Center in 2009 when she saw the need to give back to the community regarding gender and worker justice, even on a national level, convinced that her mission was to be the voice for those who needed it the most

Trenise is proud to serve her community as a board member of the Miami Workers Center (MWC) nonprofit, whose mission is to build the power and self-determination of south Florida’s most oppressed communities. Trenise is also part of the Dignity Coalition Steering member, advocating for incarcerated women to get feminine hygiene products in jail. Trenise is passionate about volunteering in the community where she grew up, especially for the Liberty Square public housing complex.

Centering her work on healing justice as founder of Women with Broken Heals, a member-led organization centering women and femmes who have survived crime, sexual assault, rape and trauma, focused on healing and providing support, Trenise has created safe, supportive, and empowering environments where survivors can heal and rebuild their lives. Advancing recovery and resilience, fostering hope, strength, and a brighter future for survivors, most of them Black women and femmes. Women with Broken Heals drives impactful policy changes at state and national levels, addressing systemic barriers and advancing protections for those affected by injustice. Through collaboration, advocacy, and strategic action, the organization aims to create lasting reforms that promote equity, safety, and empowerment for all.

Trenise is also Co-Executive Director and Co-founder of SMASH, the first CLT and affordable housing co-operative in Liberty City. Trenise has an AS in Hospitality Administration and Management from Miami Dade College. She has served her community as board member of the Miami Workers Center, the Miami Climate Alliance, as Dignity Coalition Steering member, the CSSJ Miami, FL Chapter Coordinator and played a crucial role in bringing the first Trauma Recovery Network to Miami-Dade County, she is also Operations Coordinator of the State Emergency Response Team at the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Over the last year Trenise has prevented 40+ evictions, relocating and keeping residents housed. She also created a policy helping Domestic Violence survivors to stay housed, working currently on creating stiffer laws for the protection of survivors.