Talks and Workshops

Audiences: Humans 5 years old and up

Subject matter: Climate Action, Plastic Pollution Reduction, Horseshoe Crab Conservation, Sustainable Fashion, Earth Day Everyday

Venues:

  • Schools

  • Libraries

  • Colleges and Universities

  • Art & Design Events and Industry Orgs

  • Environmental Agencies

  • Climate Change Events

Free Resources for Educators:

Hire me as a speaker:

Sustainability Speaker

  • 2025, Annual American Studies Conference: American Politics, Culture, and the Arts, Artist and Scholar Roundtable, Fairfield University

  • 2025, Art, Advocacy & Activism, North Stratfield School, Fairfield, CT

  • 2025, Earth Day Alert!, New York Public Library, Tompkins Square

  • 2025, Art & Activism via Apparel & Illustration, SVA, NYC

  • 2025, The Sound of Plastic, Mill Hill Elementary Green Team, Fairfield, CT

  • 2024, Environment Justice through Art + Education, SVA, NYC

  • 2024, The Sound of Plastic, Wakeman Boys and Girls Club, Bridgeport, CT

  • 2024, Ozone Baby, Type Thursday, La Cultural Community Gardens, NYC

  • 2024, Interview, Earthworks Collective podcast, Brooklyn

  • 2024, Interview, As We Create podcast, Connecticut Art Directors Club

  • 2024, Character Development: Illustration + Activism, SVA, NYC

  • 2024, Realism meets Optimism, Yale Office of Sustainability, Yale School of the Environment

  • 2024, Intro to The Carbon Almanac, Women And Climate, NYC

  • 2023, Interview, Climate Gist podcast, Mexico City

  • 2023, Women And Climate, Speaker

  • 2023, Creativity and Climate Action, MoCA CT

  • 2018, Closing Keynote, A Better World x Design, RISD/Brown University

Qualified. Energized. Passionate.

My work sits at the intersection of technology, design, and education, where I advocate for environmental solutions as a creative activator and citizen scientist. Driven by curiosity, I continuously upskill to expand my expertise across diverse fields, enabling me to translate complex environmental challenges into clear, actionable pathways for positive change.

kHyal speaking at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) NYC

ONGOING EDUCATION

  • 2025, 1.5° Lifestyles: Mainstreaming Everyday Sustainability, Lund University

  • 2025, Certified, NYC Trash Academy, Sanitation Foundation

  • 2025, Sustainable Tourism, University of Copenhagen

  • 2025, AI, Empathy & Ethics, University of California, Santa Cruz

  • 2025, Global Environmental Management, Technical University of Denmark

  • 2025, Artificial Intelligence: Ethics & Societal Challenges, Lund University

  • 2024, Beyond Plastic Pollution w/Judith Enck, Bennington College

  • 2024, AI, Business & the Future of Work, Lund University

  • 2024, Building Compassion from the Inside Out, Compassionate Institute

  • 2024, Generative AI for Leaders, Vanderbilt University

  • 2024, Google AI Essentials, Google

  • 2023, Circular Economy Sustainable Materials Management, Lund University

  • 2023, ESG and Climate Change, Wharton, UPENN

  • 2023, The Sustainable Development Goals, University of Copenhagen

  • 2023, Design for Sustainability, SCAD / PMI Institute

  • 2023, Agile Leadership and Resilient Teams, Noble Work Foundation

  • 2021, Compassionate Directness, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Coaching Skills for Leaders and Managers, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Digital Leadership, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Servant Leadership, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Collaborative Leadership, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Leading and Managing with the Whole Self, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, Self-Awareness, Authenticity and Leadership, LinkedIn Learning

  • 2021, The Science of Happiness, University of California, Berkeley

  • 2021, The Science of Well-Being for Educators, Yale University (Invitation-only)

  • 2021, The Science of Well-Being, Yale University

  • 2020, Inner Engineering, Isha Foundation

  • 2020, Brand Safety Officer, Brand Safety Institute

  • 2019, Innovation and Creativity, Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

  • 2019, Strategic Thinking, Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

  • 2019, Coaching, Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

  • 2019, Hiring, Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

  • 2019, Leading People, Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

  • 2011–2012, Sustainable Design Entrepreneur Program, FIT

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

MEMBER / SUPPORTER / CONTRIBUTOR

EARTH-FRIENDLY PROJECTS

THE CARBON ALMANAC
(Difference Maker) Invited by best-selling author Seth Godin to help promote The Carbon Almanac, named Data Literacy’s “Most Insightful Data Book” of 2022. Spearheaded the online fashion sustainability resource guide. Contributed to the creation of the LinkedIn course “34 Things to Know About Carbon and Climate.” Produced a standalone event for the global book signing, created content for “The Daily Difference.” Initiated outreach efforts to leaders in sustainability and climate action. Created an independent project and launched it at Art Basel Miami Beach / Miami Art Week and ARCO Madrid.

HASBRO PROJECT UPCYCLE
(Judge and Grand Prize Award Designer) Invited judge for Hasbro Corporation’s internal upcycling design competition at the Providence headquarters. Designed Grand Prize Award using reclaimed Hasbro plastic toys and other objects and materials from a collection we rescued from the local landfill.

BOOKDRIVE
(Cofounder) An ongoing collection of curated industry books donated by agencies and creative professionals then distributed to students enrolled in design programs at high schools, colleges, and universities. The program gives a second life to books that contain career-critical information and creative inspiration to aspiring creatives and emerging professionals.

PUSH DESIGN CAMP
(Cofounder) A 3-day design camp for creative professionals on picturesque Block Island — packed with design workshops, salons, talks, and hands-on activities. Special events included farm-to-table gourmet meals, a natural-clay spa at Mohegan Bluffs, a for-good design project with the Ocean View Foundation, a felting workshop at North Light Fibers micro yarn mill, and a private design talk by former Crate and Barrel visual design director Carolyn Collins, followed by a tour, wine-tasting and shopping event her one-of-a-kind shop, the Lazy Fish.

MEGAGLAM & MEGAGLAM VINTAGE
(Founder) MegaGlam® is a sustainable on-demand streetwear and upcycled apparel brand. MegaGlam Vintage is a pop-up, online vintage and secondary market apparel reseller with personal shopping and styling services. MegaGlam Landfill Luxuries™ is a line of one-of-a-kind accessories made from high-quality goods and materials we rescue for reuse. Our regenerative approach aims to keep textiles out of landfills, reduce carbon emissions and chemical pollution caused by clothing production, and lower water consumption.

 REJECT FOUND + MADE
(Cofounder) Concept reuse store dealing in vintage apparel, used books, mid-century art, and furnishings — plus lighting crafted from natural stone, scrapyard metal, and acrylic by FreshBeam. Reject’s circular economy model has been actualized as a brick-and-mortar store,  through strategic retail pop-ups, and as a dedicated seller at a 75,000-square-foot antique market.

SUMMITS / WORKSHOPS / CONFERENCES

  • 2025, Understanding & Countering Climate Change Misinformation and Disinformation, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

  • 2025, AI For Natural Climate Solutions, Yale Climate Day & YCNCC Spring Symposium with Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies

  • 2025, Organizational Defense for Indigenous and Environmental Justice Organizations, Yale Center for Environmental Justice

  • 2025, Beyond Coal and Toxic Chemicals: Pioneering Cleaner Pathways in Fashion, Yale School of the Environment

  • 2025, Possibility Ocean Inaugural Summit

  • 2025, Yale Business and the Environment Conference

  • 2024, Climate, Clean Energy & Connecticut, Sierra Club

  • 2024, CT Environmental Rights Amendment Strategy Meeting

  • 2024, Yale Global Environmental Justice Conference

  • 2024, Yale Clean Energy Conference: Dynamic and Distributed Energy

  • 2024, ColleCTive Climate Action Forum

  • 2024, The Nest Climate Campus, New York

  • 2024, Yale Innovation Summit

  • 2023, 2025 Design For Freedom Summit, Grace Farms

  • 2023, 2024, Climate Week NYC

  • 2023, 2024, The Nest Climate Campus,, New York

  • 2023, 2024, Yale Innovation Summit2023, Fast Company Innovation Festival, New York

  • 2023, NESSBE Justice of Place, Yale School of the Environment

  • 2023, Yale Clean Energy Conference: Aligning Innovation, Equity, and Investment

  • 2023, Yale Innovation Summit

  • 2023, The ClimateTech Founders Summit

  • 2023, Connecticut Energy Expo

  • 2023, Innovative Climate Solutions, NY #TechWeek

  • 2023, Engineering Change: Combatting the Climate Crisis, NY #TechWeek

  • 2023, Designing for an Adaptive World, Material ConneXion

  • 2023, New Climate Futures, Newlab

  • 2023, AI + Finance Summit, Climate Risks and ESG Concerns

  • 2015–present, Kelley Drye In Fashion, Fashion & Retail Law Summit

  • 2015–2020, Sustainable Global Sourcing Forum, NYC

  • 2014, Factory45, Sustainable & Ethical Fashion workshop

  • 2014, Swissnex Zero Power Smart Fashion, New York

  • 2013, Textile Summit, New York

GRANTS

  • Connecticut Artists Respond Grant, Environmental Justice
    Made possible with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

MODERATOR / CONTRIBUTOR

  • SHIFT Summit: AIGA Design Educators Community in partnership with AIGA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force

FOUNDING MEMBER

  • Manufacture New York, NYC (2012)
    Promoting ethical work practices and sustainable fashion

JOURNALIST / WRITER

  • Save the Sound, New Haven, CT — Horseshoe Crab Protection

  • HackSummit New York — Climate x Deep Tech

  • Soundly Caring — A Long Island Sound love story

  • Fashinnovation Worldwide Talks, New York

  • RefashionNYC

  • Freestyle Fashion Conference, LIM College, NYC

  • Manufacture New York Sustainable Textile Summit

  • City Source at FIT Manufacturer’s Showcase

  • 3D Print Show

  • Swissnex Boston, Zero Power Smart Fashion symposium, NYC

  • FashTech NYC Mini-conference, World Trade Center, NYC

  • City Source at FIT Manufacturer’s Showcase

  • Decoded Fashion Summit, NYC

  • Billie Whitehouse, Wearable Experiments, NYC

  • Reinventing New York Fashion + Market Week, NYC

MAKER / DESIGNER

  • 2010–present, MegaGlam® Vintage, Landfill Luxuries™ and the Plastic Horse Rescue™

  • 2010–present, The Weather sKwirl™ — the world’s only pink weather-loving climate superhero

  • 2011/12, A Better World by Design Expo Showcase, Brown University, Providence

  • 2012, “We Want Your Trash,” A Better World by Design RISD/Brown University Gala, The Steelyard (1 of 5 artists chosen from 100+ entries for an exhibition of art produced from discarded materials.)

  • 2010, Project Storefronts, Elm City Handmade, New Haven

  • 2010, Design Ignites Change, an invitational sustainable design project with Mohawk

  • 2008, BookDrive™ — a program repurposing design trade books to college students and emerging designers