meet our guests

An expert in environmentalism and textile research, Dr. Niinimäki was the first author of the critical review in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment entitled "The environmental price of fast fashion" (2020). She frequently works with European Union policymakers to design legislation to combat the environmental cost of fast fashion.

Whitney is a licensed attorney, legal and sustainability consultant/ strategist, and co-founder of Sustainable Brooklyn, an organization that disrupts the whitewashing of sustainability in order to concretize equity in the sustainability movement. An expert and pioneer in fashion law, Whitney lends a legal perspective to the fast fashion crisis.

Ken is an advisor, investor, and educator focused on sustainability and environmental, social governance (ESG). He focuses on the consumer and retail sectors and the efficacy of sustainability. As former COO of Timberland and contributor the Fashion Act in New York state, Ken has crucial insights into the fast fashion crisis from multiple perspectives.

With much expertise in textile composites and fabric development, Dr. Arya lends an informed perspective in understanding the fast fashion crisis at a macromolecular level and the switch between natural (cotton, wool, etc.) to synthetic materials (polyester, nylon, etc.).

Dr. Islam is a Professor and Researcher at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology. An expert in Apparel and Textile Production and Development, Dr. Islam is passionate about combating the fast fashion crisis and lends important manufacturing, engineering, and business perspectives.

João is a member of the indigenous Pankararu community in Brazil. He serves as youth leader and coordinator of the Global Youth Alliance of Traditional Communities. An environmental, social, and political activist, he fights for his people's territorial rights. His research focuses on ethnopharmacology.

Gianna is completing her Master's degree in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and currently serves as Operations Director for March for Science NYC, where she advocates for science-informed climate change policy.

Dr. Paredes is an Industry Assistant Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. A passionate advocate in the fight against climate change, Dr. Paredes is co-chair of March for Science NYC.

As co-President of Cherokee Concerned Citizens, Jennifer serves as a environmental and climate justice organizer in her community in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Barbara is a resident and activist in Pascagoula, Mississippi, also home to corporations like VT Halter and Chevron. A member of the Cherokee Concerned Citizens, Barbara is leading her community's fight for environmental justice.

Amanda works as a Legislative and Climate Associate with the Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY), a non-profit organization at the forefront of taking action to fight climate change and advocating for policies that transition our economy off of fossil fuels.

Caitlin received her PhD from The Rockefeller University in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language. Now in the field of Data Journalism, Caitlin is passionate about the mental health crisis among graduate students.

Dr. Muhammad received his PhD from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and is passionate about uncovering the underlying factors of the graduate student mental health crisis and abolishing the problem overall.

Dr. Cukor is a clinical psychologist at the Weill Cornell Medical School specializing in behavioral medicine. Dr. Cukor is an expert in treating patients with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and is passionate about the grad student mental health crisis.

Dr. Vanderford is an Associate Professor in the Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology at the University of Kentucky. His research interests are focused on graduate student mental health, cancer disparities, and health promotion.

Dr. Tuite is an infectious disease epidemiologist and mathematical modeler at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She focuses on the use of mathematical modeling to improve decision-making for communicable diseases.

Dr. Hyder is an Assistant Professor at the College of Public Health at the Ohio State University and serves as Core Faculty of the Translational Data Analytics Institute. His research develops strategies for community-centered modeling.

Rev. Holt is the Founder/Executive Director at Durham's Maternal Stress-Free Zone DH Inc., which serves mothers/pregnant individuals. As a member of the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, Rev. Holt encouraged her community to take the COVID vaccines and works to restore trust in the medical community.

Rep. Seth Moulton is the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district. A former Officer of the Marine Corps, Rep. Moulton got his Bachelor's in Physics and has served 4 tours in Iraq. He is passionate about the US response to the COVID-19 pandemic and sought to use a scientific approach.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan is the U.S. Representative of Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district. A former engineer and U.S. Air Force Officer, Rep. Houlahan has been actively involved in drafting COVID-19 legislation. She is passionate about the role of teachers and small business owners in communities.

Dr. García-Sastre is Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. He was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to the COVID-19 Clinical Advisory Task Force.

Dr. Banerjee is currently the Science Diplomacy and Exchange Learning program coordinator and a AAAS Science & Technology Fellow. She leads science diplomacy programs at the National Science Policy Network.

Caitlin is the currently the Director of Communications at the National Science Policy Network. She got her Master's at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and facilitates connections between NPSN members and NSPN's network.