The organization came into fruition in 2015 after Fleming’s explorations in Antarctica allowed her to witness the enduring impact of climate change. Fleming’s mission became to synchronize art and advocacy for a positive impact. Prior to her advocacy work and the founding of Bridge Initiative, Fleming graduated from the eminent Parsons School of Design in New York City. She worked as a creative director, entrepreneur, and advisor in the luxury fashion sector and her early design foundation would prove instrumental in her mission to draw awareness to the global climate crisis through the arts.

Through Fleming’s leadership, Bridge has connected artists, scientists, and disruptors together to create collaborative campaigns, which highlight facets of the climate crisis within localized and global environments. In 2018, Bridge conducted its inaugural project – an expedition with artist David Benjamin Sherry in conjunction with the Alaska Whale Foundation. The educational and immersive experience captured and documented the issues of human wildlife impact, habitat degradation, and dramatic glacier melt in the remote and pristine ecosystems in America.

Bridge Initiative and local nonprofit Bas Fisher Invitational (BFI) have combined to form a symbiotic partnership to illuminate South Florida’s climate and environmental issues using advocacy, public art campaigns and installations throughout Miami. The partnership is known as Waterproof Miami. Waterproof underscores Bridge’s greater mission on a localized scale as a cohesive campaign of artist collaborations and focused commissioned projects, curated by Fleming and BFI founder and artist, Naomi Fisher. Waterproof Miami’s inaugural project was the production and installation of the Coral City Camera, a 24 hour live feed of urban reef life in Biscayne Bay. Coral City Camera was created in collaboration with artist and scientist duo Coral Morphologic. Waterproof Miami has been recognized with support from the Knight Arts Challenge, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the distinction of support from the Andy Warhol Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cowles Charitable Trust, as well as The Florida Council of Arts and Culture. Most recently, the organization was honored as a recipient of the 2020 Knight Foundation Arts Champion Award.