Master in Architecture Bebel Abreu is co-founder of Mandacaru, a design and editorial production studio that has been the Brazilian partner of WDCD since 2014. Mandacaru creates exhibitions, courses, conferences and campaigns related to design, graphic arts and sustainability. Bebel has been a juror for several editions of WDCD Challenges and the ADG Graphic Design Biennial, as well as awards for the 2019 World Illustration, 2021 Tomie Ohtake Design and the 2022 Brasil Design by ABEDesign. She is the founder of Bebel Books, which has published over 90 titles in graphic arts.

Ayush Chauhan is the Managing Partner founder of Quicksand India, a design strategy and innovation consultancy working in emerging markets. Here, he promotes design for social and business impact by connecting the best practices of design, business strategy and public policy to address the pressing and complex issues of social equity, public health, education, financial inclusion and climate change. Ayush has worked with global leading organizations, including Unilever, World Bank, Google, Meta & UNICEF, to design products and services that promote sustainability and quality of life for low and middle-income communities in emerging markets.

Based in Mexico City, Joanna has dedicated over a decade to promoting design as both an aesthetic expression and a transformative force. Co-founding Promotora Nacional DMX in 2010, she initiated projects like La Lonja MX, PUM Proyectos Unidos Mexicanos, and Atalaya Design Fair, all focused on promoting independent Mexican design and contemporary Mexican culture. In 2013, she co-founded the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, a festival that celebrates all design disciplines with the goal of bringing design closer to society. Since 2021, she has co-directed WDCD Mexico, aiming to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and just society using the power of design.

Wangui has 16+ years’ experience, notably in the renewable energy and building & construction sectors. She acquired a Master of Arts degree in Project Planning & Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Conservation & Natural Resource Management, from the University of Nairobi.
Wangui is accredited to practice as a Green Star Accredited Professional (Interiors), an EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Expert and as a Lead Expert by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Kenya.

Based in Mexico, Taina is an industrial designer focused on regenerative design through material experimentation, social innovation, and design research with a gender perspective.

Tainas’ greatest interest as a design professional is sustainability. She defines herself as an eco-feminist activist and defends the idea that diversity, equality, fair trade, the conscious extraction of resources, good waste management, clean and healthy processes, respect for local communities and other factors involved in sustainable design, are the best way to design. She promotes these practices as a designer, researcher, teacher, activist and in her daily life.

Bregtje van den Berg is Lead Link New Product Development at Secrid, a Dutch wallet brand. Through a variety of projects at a design agency as well as at Secrid she has experience in bringing initial ideas towards feasible products, considering a broad range of aspects concerning new product development. As Secrid is producing in The Netherlands she cooperated with a variety of local suppliers over the years. Right now, she’s focusing on building the NPD-team at Secrid for future innovations. She studied Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology with a Master’s in integrated Product Design.

Vincent Ogaya is a communication, learning and reporting officer at Kenya Climate Innovation Center. In his role, Vincent integrates communication, research, knowledge management and advocacy tools by analysing priority issues, including sector constraints across KCIC’s five thematic sectors of agribusiness, renewable energy, water management, commercial forestry and waste management. Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Vincent seeks to enhance understanding of the impact programmes have on livelihoods and the planet, as a way of guiding programme management, strategy and learning.

Robin Foolen is Sustainability Lead at Secrid . He has more than 25 years of experience in Industrial Design and production. The past 10 years he has dedicated his time and energy to grow a local, sustainable and equal value chain in the Netherlands to cope with the growth of Secrid worldwide. By combining knowledge about sustainability, product design, materials and production, his target is to create awareness and concrete actions to create sustainable solutions with the industry.

Loreta Castro Reguera is a Mexican architect, co-founder with José Ambrosi of Taller Capital. Their studio focuses on designing housing and public space projects to fix the broken city. Most of their proposals consider water as a key element, understanding architecture, landscape and urban design as important tools to promote soft management strategies. The studio has also curated the exhibition Retroactive at the 2022 Lisbon Triennale and Ciudades de Agua in Museo Tamayo. Loreta is professor at the School of Architecture, UNAM and has been an invited professor at Harvard GSD, UCLA, University IUAV Venice, the Escola da Cidade in Brasil, and the PUCP in Perú, among others.

S.Vishwanath is a Civil-Engineer and Urban Planner based out of Bengaluru, India. With a focus on sustainable water systems, his work over the last 36 years has encompassed working with communities, schools and the state in the design of rainwater harvesting, wastewater recycling and groundwater management systems. His work straddles small projects at local schools to technical advise on city-wide water and wastewater reuse projects. He works with the Biome Trust, teaches at a University and used to write a weekly column for a national newspaper for 12 years.

Marco van Hout, a creative director and designer turned educator, leads the charge towards Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 through ‘transformation design’ education for young professionals. He is a co-founder of the Digital Society School as part of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, empowering diverse learners with dynamic tools and methods for transformation. With the UNDP, he initiated the yearly Global Goals Jams, uniting over 5000 creatives across 100 cities to advance the SDGs using creative means. Additionally, as a World Design Organization Community Liaison, Marco promotes design’s role in societal progress.

Joab Jimenez is a Mexican creative, entrepreneur, problem-solver and nomad. He has helped more than 500 creative crowdfunding projects and has promoted 300 creative and social ventures with the purpose of turning them into projects with positive impact; he has been a mentor in entrepreneurship programs including two previous WDCD Challenges as well as Emprende con Inclusión of META, Creative Bootcamp of the British Council and VC4A.

He co-founded Chingos de Impacto to contribute to the access and distribution of opportunities for vulnerable communities through social innovation with the purpose of building an integral society for all.

Indonesia-based Adil Alba hones the unique and intertwined skill sets of radical thinking, cultural studies, and playing methods that resulted in his position as the Chief Director of Playo. Playo is a playground-based studio generating and facilitating collaborative experiments with international designers, utilising local resources as an answer to global challenges. His proficiency in design diplomacy has brought him and his team to co-create and co-lead international programmes partnered with the Dutch Design Foundation, the Resilient Cities Network, the British Council and the Qatar Museum, just to name a few.

Tim de Wilde is an Impact Advisor at Impact House. He advises on impact and sustainability strategy, impact measurement and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting. He has worked with What Design Can Do and has been involved in optimising impact at many (international) charities, philanthropic funds, social enterprises, and public sector organisations. Tim helps to translate the concepts of impact management to arts, cultural and other creative organisations in order to help them bring about even more positive change.

Luis is Endeavor Mentor and co-founder of Thrust. Prior to that, Luis co-founded MBLM and has also advised companies and CEOs from a wide array of industries. With a hybrid background in strategic design, business management, marketing, innovation, culture and technology, Luis’ experiences show an expansive range: from the role of speaker and visiting professor, to being a board member for private and not-for-profit organisations, to president of national councils Quorum (Mexico’s Design Council), and presiding as a jury member for international awards such as the Effie and Google Awards. 

Wairimu is a director at Loopworks Ventures.  She is a qualified Business Development specialist in sustainable business assessments and development, environmental policy research, resource efficiency and conducting capacity building programs. As a circular economy and sustainability advocate, Wairimu has been developing and implementing programs that anchor and promote circular economy and inclusive economic growth for enterprises, public organisations and development organisations.

Shubhi Sachan, founder of the Material Library of India, is a materials expert. She has initiated several thought-provoking projects tackling various challenges posed by climate change and environmental sustainability. Before this, she worked as a surface designer for renowned brands like Givenchy and Balmain. Her contributions have garnered recognition from the Italian Fashion Council in 2023 under the Climate Action Category, and from the Ministry of Textiles for her impact on textile waste in India. She has presented at the G20 summit, and has numerous honours to her name, including being a speaker at a 2018 TEDx conference  and being named a recipient of the CII Green Co. Best Practices Award in 2016.

Coen Persijn is a programme manager at The DOEN Foundation. The DOEN Foundation finances initiatives and entrepreneurs that are focusing on societal transitions. DOEN rewards creativity, courage, and entrepreneurship by providing support in early phase projects, thus encouraging innovation to flourish. In his role, Coen works closely together with pioneers who have circular ambitions who are often focused on bio-based, natural, or alternative materials. He studied marketing and behavioural change and worked for several years at Deloitte on Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Kaori Akiyama founded STUDIO BYCOLOR in 2013. STUDIO BYCOLOR is a Tokyo-based design studio that takes a fresh look at what is right in front of our eyes, questioning what is considered normal in today’s expanding field of design. Once the core is in place, colours and materials are used to further bring out the appeal and strengthen the meaning of the object. INHERENT:PATTERN, the result of material experimentation, won the iF Design Award in 2022. She has served as a jury member for the Good Design Award, Taiwan International Student Design Competition, and other national and international competitions, and is committed to expanding the value and creativity of design.

Mridu has been instrumental in initiating and running one of India’s first design thinking colleges called The Design Village, with a vision to creating impact through design. Mridu is also a partner at Studio Archohm – India’s leading architecture firm, working in projects in the public realm. She has a wide-ranging portfolio, having worked on projects and publications of all scales and typologies. Mridu is passionate about elevating the role of design and architecture and their education and practice: in India and the world.

After years of wide-ranging experience in advertising and marketing, Yalçın Pembecioglu co-founded Bigumigu, the most popular creative inspiration website in Turkey. In addition to his role as the managing editor of Bigumigu (a role he’s had since 2005), he’s also a culture and trend consultant, keynote speaker and host of art and design talks both physically and online.

Thomas Boogert brings a background in business administration and a passion for IT to his role at Secrid, where he has contributed for over a decade. In his current position, he dedicates himself to the steady expansion of the e-commerce sector and laying the groundwork necessary for Secrid’s continued evolution. His work involves setting realistic short-term goals that align with the company’s broader vision, alongside cultivating teams capable of operating autonomously to reach these milestones.

Amit Gupta is the founder and editor-in-chief of STIR – an award-winning global media house and curatorial agency that is committed to promoting, propagating and fostering creativity and innovation in the fields of design, architecture, and art. A creative thinker, curator and entrepreneur, Amit has worked for over three decades with a motivation to facilitate intersections across diverse creative disciplines and distant geographies while launching pioneering initiatives that propel the creative discourse, practice, and allied industries. 

Tessa Moroder together with her sister Arianna is the founder of Lottozero, a center for textile design, art and culture with an open lab for textile production, experimentation and research, in Prato Italy. Lottozero operates both as a creative hub and as a textile consultancy studio. Its headquarter is divided into an exhibition area, a shared studio space and a textile lab. Lottozero aims to support the development of emerging talent of textile art and design through residencies at the Prato headquarters. As of 2022, Tessa Moroder serves on the Board of Directors of European Creative Hubs Network.

Lucy is the Founder of award-winning impact communications agency The Humblebrag, and Chairwoman of global non-profit network Creatives for Climate. Recognized by The University of Auckland as a ’40 Under 40′ change-maker and featured in Forbes as creative leader to watch, Lucy is a leading climate communications expert and business activist with 10+ years experience building movements and leading global brands to drive positive impact at scale. She is also a Guest Lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam and The Amsterdam Fashion Institute as well as Co-Host of The ‘How to Net Zero’ Podcast produced by global impact verification organisation SustainCERT. 

Strategic and ecosystemic designer, graduated in Environmental Management (UESA), Master in Strategic Design (Unisinos), and Ph.D. in Design (UAM). Strategist, teacher, and facilitator. Researcher with a focus on ecology, regeneration, systemic thinking, diversity, futures, and decoloniality. She is the Product Manager for Science and Technology at Re.green, a company that restores tropical forests for people and the planet. Visiting professor at IED-SP, ESPM-SP, and Unisinos. She is a member of the MADI network – women acting in design and innovation, an ecology activist and feminist.

Sarah is a catalytic architect. She brings collaborative creations grounded in human-centric design thinking to connect people to the space in their community and strengthen the social fabric. She focuses on public space, social design, and cross-disciplinary creative strategy in public space innovations in the city through her design and research works—GUTS and Urban Matters platforms.

Emiliano Godoy is a Mexican industrial designer, working for 25+ years in applied sustainability projects, using design as a tool for generating positive changes in society and the environment. Partner at Tuux and Vissio, his design pieces are part of some of the most revered design museums’ permanent collections and have received several international design awards. His work encompasses all scales from strategic design, product and furniture, to interior design and architecture, with particular attention to the use of sustainable materials and processes, with a regenerative and environmental justice approach.