Branson is an American educator, farmer, urban planner and musician. He has led small and large-scale organic farming operations and supply chains, open-source coding initiatives, a fair trade fashion cooperative, cross-border educational collaborations, documentary projects and music videos.
Through his work since co-founding The Or Foundation with his partner Liz Ricketts, Branson has helped bring global awareness to fashion’s waste crisis through extensive research into the secondhand clothing trade as it manifests in Accra, Ghana, home to the largest secondhand clothing market in the world. Based in Accra, The Or Foundation puts the lessons of this on-going research into action by advocating for Globally Accountable Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as textile EPR programs take shape across Europe and California, and by operating at the intersection of education, environmental Justice and fashion development to foster holistic, community-led waste transformation pathways, to conduct crisis relief efforts, environmental research and remediation programs, and to support job training and community infrastructure for a Justice-led circular economy as a model of what is possible through Globally Accountable EPR. Branson studied Globalization of Public Health and Societies at NYU Gallatin, where he was a Reynolds Scholar for Social Entrepreneurship. He also holds a Masters of Community Planning degree from the University of Cincinnati.
