LEYLA ACAROGLU (PHD) BIOGRAPHY
SHORT BIO
Sustainability and circular economy provocateur, Dr. Leyla Acaroglu (A-jar-a-loo), challenges people to think differently about how the world works. She connects systems, sustainability and design together as tools for addressing the planet’s biggest challenges. As a designer and sociologist, she was named 2016 United Nations Champion of the Earth for her work in advancing science and innovation for sustainability and is a LinkedIn Changemaker and Instructor. She is a mainstage TED speaker and creator of the Disruptive Design Method. As an entrepreneur, Leyla founded and runs Disrupt Design (USA), Circular Futures (AU), the UnSchool and Circular Futures— two learning platforms for advancing the global transition to a circular and sustainable economy.
FULL BIO
Design disruptor, creative boundary pusher, and cultural provocateur, Dr. Leyla Acaroglu (A-jar-a-loo), embodies the innovation that ignites positive change. An award-winning designer, sociologist, and sustainability expert, Leyla is internationally recognized as a leading force in the movement for a sustainable and circular future.
As a social entrepreneur, Leyla is the founder of the creative agency Disrupt Design and the developer of the Disruptive Design Method. She is the founder of the award-winning experimental knowledge lab The UnSchool of Disruptive Design and the corporate circular economy training platform Circular Futures.
For her work in advancing science and innovation in sustainability, Leyla was awarded 2016 Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme. Her 2013 mainstage TED talk has collected well over 1.5 million views, and she has keynoted talks all over the world on topics ranging from systems redesign to the ethics of technology and the power of disruptive change.
Leyla being awarded Champion of the Earth with Ibrahim Thiaw, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General (left), and UNEP Executive Director, Erik Solheim (right), 2016
Leyla has a PhD from RMIT University in Australia in pro-sustainability change-centric design and has won a host of awards for her work, including being named one of Melbourne’s 100 Most Influential People (although she now lives in London).
Leyla’s writing on systems-based approaches to complex problems has been featured in several publications, including Quartz and The New York Times. As a designer, her works such as Design Play Cards, Game Changer Game, Secret Life of Things, Designercise, and the Gender Equity Toolkit are at the forefront of activated experience design. She has authored several handbooks for change-makers and continues to push for new ways of solving complex social problems through beautifully designed interventions. Leyla’s creative work is highly acclaimed, having been featured in a permanent exhibition in the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Milan and earning commissions from the National Gallery of Victoria.
She is an internationally-respected keynote speaker and trusted expert in her field, having led thousands of hours of workshops, lectures, activations, and educational experiences around the world. Leyla was a visiting scholar at NYU and an Innovator in Residence at the Centre for Social Innovation NYC. She was also an invited Artist in Residence with Autodesk and managed the development of ‘Greenfly,' — one of the world's first online life cycle assessment tools for designers. She has a technical background in sustainability sciences and has developed projects with leading organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to the United Nations.
Leyla is regularly invited to provide her professional opinions and expertise for radio and TV as a regular on the ABC TV political commentary show QandA and on PBS, along with a host of international programs. View all media coverage here.
“The designer is one of those unique individuals who uses systems-based thinking to disrupt mainstream ways of thinking. And even though the process for the person at the receiving end of her methods might initially be uncomfortable and unwelcome, we all need someone like Acaroglu to ‘shake things up a bit’ to enable a fresh perspective.”
KEYNOTES & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS WITH LEYLA
Leyla is an incredibly experienced keynote speaker on sustainability, the circular economy, design, innovation, disruptive design and how to make a positive impact and create change. For over a decade she has traveled the world, presenting at design weeks, to CEO’s, and at leading conferences and UN events on activating positive social and environmental change by design. You can view her highly engaging and thought-provoking keynotes here.
To request Leyla to give a keynote or workshop at your event/conference, offsight retreat or inhouse with your team, please send a request here >
"As the preeminent thought leader in her field, Leyla Acaroglu, has been championing systemic life cycle sustainability as key to a sustainable future."
- Lieu Thi Pham, Australian Design Review
“Acaroglu doesn’t think socially responsible design should be driven by a moral imperative. Instead, sustainability is most powerful when thought of as ‘a parameter’ that fuels innovation.”
- Madeleine Hinchy, Powerhouse Museum
"Creative Force Leyla Acaroglu uses innovative design and systems thinking to create positive change."
– TED.com
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Leyla’s most notable areas of expertise include: Design, Sustainability, Systems Thinking, Cognitive Activation Design, Disruptive Design Method, Circular Economy, Creative Intervention Design, Life Cycle Thinking, Social Innovation, Change Methodology and Experiential Education.
“Making the planet’s problems your life’s work takes gumption, which Acaroglu has in spades. It could be argued that it’s a playful spirit and exultant attitude that keep her going—no doubt, they help. But her desire to own her actions as a single agent with limited resources is key to her drive, too.”