2026 Presenters and Panelists

Jessica Balnaves is the founder and owner of FlowerAggregate, a New York City–based wholesale and retail marketplace specializing in regionally grown and responsibly sourced flowers. With more than a decade of experience as an urban farmer and floral designer, she advocates for a more sustainable and locally rooted floral industry. Through FlowerAggregate, Balnaves connects New York designers and consumers with regional growers while fostering a community centered on seasonality, responsible sourcing, creativity, and a deeper connection to where our flowers come from.

Salvatore Corso is an Italian-born photographer working in New York City. He holds an associate degree in electronics and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Milan. His interest in photography dates back to his youth, and he committed to it full-time after moving to NYC in 2003, building diverse portfolios in architecture, live music, portraiture, and family events. He uses photography to connect with and document the lived experience of his subjects—an aesthetic and ethical principle that grounds his personal work. This includes La Terza Via/The Choice, his ongoing project in Naples, Italy, which he began in 2023.

Whitney Crutchfield is a textile expert with a focus on weaving, dyeing, sustainable and low-impact production, and entrepreneurial and marketing strategies. She has been teaching textile practices at the college level since 2012. In addition, Crutchfield has industry experience as a textile designer with Aerie/American Eagle, and she is the founder of the Brooklyn-based educational textile studio, We Gather, which offers commission and site-specific interior textile works, hands-on workshops for private and corporate clients, and DIY weaving and dyeing kits for retail customers around the world.

With over a decade as an artist and educator, Miyah Harris’ career transition to sustainability and accessibility aligned naturally with her life in the arts. She used her knowledge of eco-conscious paint disposal and material redistribution to step into her role as the education coordinator at Materials for the Arts, a program through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, “where access to the arts and reuse meet.”

Deborah Hernandez is an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Textile Surface Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is also a facilitator in the Color Specialist Certificate for Art, Design, and Fashion-Related Products program at FIT’s Center for Professional Studies (CCPS). With over 30 years of professional experience in the textile industry and specialized expertise in the design and specification of custom handmade rugs, her scholarly and creative interests increasingly focus on sustainability, circularity, and humanitarian practice within global craft traditions. Open Studio 2023/Karnorr Carpets in Kathmandu, Nepal, significantly deepened her commitment to socially responsible design and artisan-centered production. This experience continues to shape her work in supporting artisans across skill levels and promoting empowerment within underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Hernandez is the recipient of the 2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching. She holds an MA in higher education student affairs, is a certified color specialist, and earned a BFA in Illustration with a minor in Textile Surface Design, as well as an AAS in Fine Arts from FIT.

Rick Horwitch is chief of sustainability and supply chain strategy—global retail lead for consumer products services at Bureau Veritas, which he joined in 2005. Bureau Veritas is both the world’s oldest and one of its largest providers of quality, health, safety, environmental, and sustainability services, with a client base that includes most major retailers and brands in North America, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Horwitch has over 45 years of experience in the apparel, textile, and consumer products industries, covering all facets of business—from sourcing, sales, and marketing to operations—with companies such as Warnaco, Kurt Salmon Associates, and Deena. He sits on the boards of the American Apparel and Footwear Association and Americas Apparel Producers Network. A graduate of Tulane University, Horwitch is married and has two children and two grandchildren.

Dr. Pushpi Paranamana's bio will be posted shortly... 

Catherine Prunella, an extension specialist at New York Sea Grant, engages New York communities on water quality issues. Prunella is currently funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant Marine Debris Challenge Competition, leading outreach and participatory science programs focused on plastic pollution in water. She majored in environmental studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, earned a Master of Science in marine science from the University of South Florida, and served as an analyst at the National Science Foundation from 2021 to 2023. Prunella enjoys exploring New York’s estuaries and championing New York City’s delicious tap water.

Over six years and three countries, Aerielle Rojas has centered her work on making sustainability practical. With a BA in fashion technology and an MA in sustainability in fashion, she brings a pragmatic approach to alternative research futures—specifically degrowth, well-being, organizational resilience, and alternative value creation. Her background includes sustainability consulting for fashion and consumer goods (CPG) brands, alongside serving as an educator at FIT and a cohort mentor for Repurpose. Rojas has presented research at the Global Fashion Conference 2023 and the International Research Network on Sustainable Fashion Consumption’s Symposium at Yale University in 2025. Additionally, she was a member of the Global Fashion Agenda’s 2024 Next Gen Assembly, where she co-published the Wellbeing Spiral Playbook.

Gwen Sanchirico bio will be posted shortly...

Julian Silverman is an assistant professor in the Department of Science and Math at the Fashion Institute of Technology. His teaching focuses on developing hands-on activities to have students learn and practice skills relating chemistry, materials science, and sustainability. His research focuses on designing functional soft materials from waste-derived feedstocks, such as plastics from lignin and dyes from yard waste. Silverman is a current research fellow at the Center for Book Arts, where he is exploring the relationship between waste and artist objects.

Ida Susser, PhD, is a distinguished professor of anthropology at Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center. Her ethnographic research spans the U.S., Southern Africa, and Puerto Rico, addressing urban social movements, the urban commons, gender, the global AIDS epidemic, and environmental movements. She has authored numerous books and articles on urban anthropology, including her most recent works, The Yellow Vest and the Battle for Democracy: Taking to the Streets of Paris in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2026) and The Tumultuous Politics of Scale: Unsettled States, Migrants, Movements in Flux (Routledge, 2020).

Lorenza Wong, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Textile Development and Marketing (TDM) at the Fashion Institute of Technology, brings over 30 years of experience in the textile industry. Known for her innovative, sustainable approach, she received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching in 2026. Since spring 2024, she has taught the Textile Project Development Capstone course Farm to Fabric for TDM students at FIT. More than a technical course, Farm to Fabric immerses students in the deep connections between fibers, people, traditions, and the landscapes that sustain them, integrating hands-on material making, sustainable practices, and global collaborations that highlight textiles’ role in shaping a responsible future of fashion. 

Wong has held key executive roles, including vice president of raw materials and operations at Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, with a focus on sourcing and supply chain efficiency. Wong holds a Master of Science degree in textile science from Cornell University and in sustainable fashion from IE New York College, as well as a Bachelor of Science in textile design from the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.