Mileyka Burgos-Flores is a Dominican-American activist and founding Executive Director & CEO of The Allapattah Collaborative, CDC- a place based, 501C3 non-profit organization that uses the Main Street Approach to preserve and expand cultural authenticity and wealth building in marginalized immigrant enclaves. ACDC aims to revitalize the Little Santo Domingo commercial corridors in the midst of mitigating climate gentrification pressures as it focuses on its mission of (1) implementing place making techniques to foster identity, (2) supporting wealth building strategies for marginalized communities of color and (3) advocating for policies/procedures that support equitable, comprehensive and sustainable community development. Mileyka holds a bachelor degree from the University of Miami and a master degree from Florida International University.
A highly experienced bilingual communicator and multi-talented young professional, Mileyka is a committed, capable and dedicated advocate for social justice who has worked with neighborhood stakeholders in grassroots community engagement campaigns and inter-agency collaborations to foster sustainability, identity and economic vitality. She has been a champion in asset-framing the Latinx immigrant contributions and experience, as well as advocating for the preservation of culture in marginalized cultural enclaves under the principles of access, equity, representation, inclusion and upward mobility.
In 2024, Mileyka was recognized with the Mary Means Leadership Award by Main Street America. The Mary Means Leadership award honors individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the field of comprehensive preservation-based economic development and commercial district revitalization. She was recognized for her unshakable vision and tenacious dedication to pursuing equity, championing community preservation, and fostering collaborative action in Miami’s historic Little Santo Domingo neighborhood. Mileyka is a current board member of the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and Grameen America.
Mileyka is a 2022 Center for Community Investment Fulcrum Fellow, focused on establishing shared community ownership models to prevent displacement and enhance wealth building in disenfranchised neighborhoods. In 2017, Mileyka was selected as a “Neighborhood Hero” to join a group of Miami community activists who lead social innovation projects to enhance equity and access in the City of Miami. In this program, she worked on creating pathways of ownership for small business owners facing displacement from their long-standing storefronts. In the past decade, she has concentrated her work on the Little Santo Domingo section of the City of Miami by developing strong partnerships and in-depth knowledge of the issues facing this community, its history, and expanding the work of community leaders who came before her.
Mileyka was the 2013-2014 Executive Director of the Dominican American National Foundation and later joined the YMCA of South Florida as a Senior Program Director managing high profile grants and programs. She is a previous board member of the South Florida Community Land Trust, Dade Heritage Trust, Allapattah Community Advisory Council, and FIU Research Center for Minority Institutions. She is a 2016 University of South Florida Community Real Estate Development Fellow, 2017 Miami’s New Leaders Council Fellow, 2018 Radical Partner’s Leadership Lab Neighborhood Heroes Fellow, 2019 University of Miami Community Scholars in Affordable Housing and the 2019 NALCAB’s Pete Garcia Community & Economic Development Fellowship.
