The Ethical Fashion Course 

Eileen Akbaraly

Eileen Akbaraly is a fashion activist and founder of Made For A Woman, a collective that celebrates Malagasy craftsmanship and empowers local artisans. Her work weaves together sustainability, cultural heritage, and social impact to create fashion with purpose and pride.

Christy Dawn

Christy Dawn is a designer and environmental advocate who creates regenerative fashion rooted in reciprocity with the Earth. Through her eponymous label, she honors timeless design, soil health, and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Aditi Mayer

Aditi Mayer is a storyteller, photojournalist, and sustainability activist who explores the intersections of style, social justice, and the environment. Through her visual and written work, she invites us to rethink fashion as a tool for decolonization and collective healing.

Madhu Vaishnav

Madhu Vaishnav is the founder and executive director of Saheli Women’s parent organization, the Institute for Philanthropy and Humanitarian Development (IPHD). She is from Jodhpur, India, and has ten years of work experience in civic and social organizations. Madhu founded IPHD in 2013 and launched Saheli Women in 2015. Madhu founded Saheli Women because of the need for livelihood opportunities for women in the village of Bhikamkor.

Simone Cipriani

Simone Cipriani is a prominent social entrepreneur and founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, which integrates African and Afghan women into the
international fashion industry’s supply chains. Through organizing hubs managed by social enterprises and cooperatives, Simone ensures high-quality products with a positive social impact, adhering to international labor laws and living wage standards. His work focuses on investing in human capital and closing wage gaps through training and development. 

Belinda Idriss

Belinda Idriss is a social entrepreneur and founder of Artijaan, a platform supporting  artisans in developing countries. She created an online platform for artisans’ products, advocating for sustainable development and investment. Belinda’s work emphasizes resilience, cultural preservation, and empowering women, providing hope and showcasing Afghanistan’s beauty and potential despite challenging
circumstances worldwide.

Priya Krishnamoorthy

Priya Krishnamoorthy is an award-winning broadcast journalist, arts manager and creative impact strategist passionate about bringing creativity/culture in conversation with sustainable development. A Fulbright Fellow and advocate in the creative industries, Priya is Founder and CEO of 200 Million Artisans, an ecosystem enabler reimagining the potential of India’s artisan economy.

Ami Shroff

Ami Shroff is a craft advocate and director at Shrujan Trust, a pioneering organization supporting embroidery artisans in Kutch, India. After joining in 1998, she led innovative projects like the “Design Center on Wheels” and co-initiated the award-winning “Pride and Enterprise” embroidery documentation. Today, Ami furthers her mother’s legacy through the Living and Learning Design Center (LLDC), a hub for craft preservation and empowerment that houses India’s largest crafts museum and welcomes creatives from all walks of life.

Maithili Chodankar

Maithili Chodankar is a researcher, writer, and cultural strategist committed to centering Indigenous knowledge, craft communities, and climate justice. Her work weaves together storytelling, decolonial practice, and regenerative design to advocate for slower, more rooted systems of living and making. With a background in fashion studies and craft theory, Maithili collaborates with artisans, thinkers, and changemakers to reimagine futures shaped by care, reciprocity, and tradition.

Shruti Singh

Shruti Singh is the Country Coordinator for Fashion Revolution India, where she leads advocacy for a more transparent, equitable, and sustainable fashion industry. With a background in design and development, Shruti bridges grassroots movements and global conversations, amplifying the voices of garment workers and artisans. Her work focuses on system change through education, policy, and community engagement, inspiring a new generation to question, reimagine, and reshape the future of fashion.