Hi, my name is Ava. My mission in life has and will always be to leave the Earth better than how I came into it. From a young age, I felt most myself being in nature. My involvement in my local community garden and my passion for growing plants led me to build a garden. With little space and dry California soil, I knew I had to think outside the box. I took an old bed headboard, PVC pipes, and a makeshift solar-powered water pump, and built a Nutrient Film Technique Hydroponic system, which led to an unexpected realization: sustainable agriculture practices are vastly underused globally. This insight led me to recognize that while solutions are readily available, they remain largely untapped. Driven by this climate epiphany, I immersed myself in the field of sustainability.

At Emerson College, I majored in Political Communication and minored in both Science and Environmental Studies where I became President of Emerson Green Collective, Emerson’s sustainability organization and worked as a Sustainability Communication Fellow throughout my sophomore, junior, and senior years. I learned how to analyze waste diversion and energy usage through attending conferences and creatively assessing scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions, under the mentorship of the Associate Director of Sustainability at Emerson.

My corporate marketing internships and communication coursework helped me realize the power that marketing and communications has on sustainability. With no film experience, I pitched to Emerson Independent Video, the largest student film group in the country, an Emerson-focused sustainability documentary. This film, as well as an environmental radio show I founded and hosted, and the production of my club’s environmental magazine publication, demonstrated how creative communication can be a tool for sustainability awareness.

Upon graduation, I worked in operations and sales management for a global sustainable artisan-led fashion brand while completing a certification in Sustainable Business through Harvard’s Online Business School.

Now, I am pursuing my Master of Science degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University where I am taking courses such as Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Fashion & Startup Strategy and Sustainability Management. I currently serve as Vice President of Columbia’s graduate Impact Fashion group where we explore the intersection of fashion and sustainability. I also am the Graphic Design Coordinator for Columbia’s Women & Sustainability group where we professionally connect and uplift women within the sustainability field. Learning from industry professionals and business leaders in this program has equipped me with tools to catapult my career and grow professionally. 

As a future Sustainability Director or Executive, I plan to spearhead the implementation of effective sustainable practices guided by ethical creative decisions and organizational changes. I look forward to continuing my career in creating a more sustainable future for our planet and would love to connect with any likeminded individuals or companies - lets leave the Earth better than how we found it.