Dr. Yuly Fuentes-Medel is a catalyst for creative ideas, an ecosystem builder, and a pioneer at the intersection of fashion, technology, climate, and business. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Footwear Collective (TFC), a nonprofit powered by EarthDNA Inc. that unites footwear brands around a circular future for the industry. She is the author of The Footwear Manifesto at MIT, a report outlining a collaborative path to minimizing the industry's environmental impact. Previously, Dr. Fuentes-Medel served as Senior Advisor to Closed Loop Partners and, earlier in her career, founded DESCIENCE, a global collective of designers, scientists, and technologists. A native of Chile, she earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from UMass Medical School and completed postdoctoral training at the MIT Sloan School. TFC received Fast Company's Most Innovative Company Award (2026), and Dr. Fuentes-Medel was named Human of the Year by Motherhood Magazine (2018) and received the Boston Business Journal's Woman to Watch Award (2015).