Threading Change is an ambitious and fully youth-led international organization.
We need industries to step up, polluters to pay up, and all hands on deck.

Scroll down to see the dedicated team behind the scenes making it all happen.

Meet Our Founder & Executive Director, Sophia Yang

Sophia is the Founder & Executive Director of Threading Change, the world’s leading for youth, by youth ethical fashion organization, working at the intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in alignment with the necessary transition to a circular economy. Threading Change specializes in facilitating creative events, convening unlikely allies, and initiating valuable industry and citizen connections to co-create a global and local fashion industry that is equitable, youth-driven, and climate-resilient.
Originally born in Northern China but raised in Calgary, Alberta, Sophia draws on her multitude of diverse work and volunteer experiences, alongside her upbringing as an immigrant child as the drivers for her holistic approach and perspective on the protection of our environment. As a dedicated climate justice changemaker, Sophia has worked for over a dozen notable environmental organizations ranging from federal government agencies (Parks Canada, Natural Resources Canada), NGOs (Nature Conservancy of Canada, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, Prince's Trust Canada, CityHive), industry (CNRL), and academia (UBC, SFU). Sophia currently also dedicates her time to working as a Senior Corporate Campaigner at the award-winning ENGO Canopy Planet, collaborating alongside the world's leading fashion, booking publishing, and consumer packaged goods brands to ensure that Ancient Endangered Forests are kept out of supply chains, with a robust focus on implementing Next Generation fiber solutions.
Sophia is the recipient of numerous awards both local to Vancouver and globally. She received the City of Vancouver's Greenest City Leadership Award in 2022, Corporate Knights’ Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders in Canada list in 2021, the No.9 Contemporary Art & The Environment and Harrowsmith Magazine's inaugural Youth Changemaker Award in 2023, Starfish Canada’s Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists award in 2017 and 2018, has attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24 & 25) twice as a British Columbian Youth Delegate with BCCIC, COP27 as part of Environment and Climate Change Canada's delegation, led the Threading Change Youth Delegation to COP28, and DJs as 'KALEIDO' in her spare time.
Threading Change was born because Sophia wanted to help raise young people’s voices in one of the world’s most polluting industries—the fashion industry, doing so for our planet, and people.

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Central Coordination Team

Isabella Hamilton

Communications & Engagement Manager
Isabella (she/her) is a recent graduate of Queen’s University, where she completed a Bachelor’s of Science, majoring in Life Sciences and minoring in Global Development. Her undergraduate thesis, titled “An Assessment of the Current Strategies for Addressing the Global Textile Waste Crisis: Biomaterials & Student Engagement,” reflects her commitment to sustainability initiatives. Isabella is passionate about advocating for a more equitable fashion industry and has a particular interest in sustainable textile innovation. With prior leadership experience as Co-President of Queen’s University’s premier sustainable fashion club, she is dedicated to fostering youth engagement in sustainability initiatives.
Mel Watt

Fair Fashion Festival London Coordinator
Mel Watt is a fair fashion campaigner obsessed with breaking through the echo chamber and engaging more young women in her work. Throughout her career, she has advocated for workers’ rights and corporate accountability while working for organisations like Clean Clothes Campaign and Fashion Revolution. She is also the diva in chief of Not Buying It - a 00s style magazine dishing the dirt on fashion, sustainability and culture. Big on community building and IRL connection, Mel is excited to be coordinating Threading Change’s first Fair Fashion Festival in London.
Brenda Silbergleit

York Region Donation Etiquette Study Project (DESP) Coordinator
Brenda (she/her) is a youth climate advocate and sustainable fashion educator based in York Region. She graduated from Queen's University with an Honours BA in Political Science and a certificate in Law, where she focused on international politics and human rights, coming to see environmental protection as the bedrock of all other rights. Driven by a belief that lasting change starts at the community level, she works at the intersection of environmental education and consumer culture, engaging those who drive the most clothing waste through experiential learning that builds empathy and shifts habits from the ground up.

North America Volunteers

Angela Xu

Strategy & Outreach Coordinator
Micaela Yawney

Toronto Events Coordinator
Hannah Stoyanov

Communications Assistant
Kieran Wilkins

Ottawa Events Coordinator
Madison Maichin

Education Coordinator

Global Regional Volunteers

Mackenzie Allen

London Events Coordinator
Aynsley Genga

Youth in Residence Weaver
Sophie Koser

Donation Etiquette Study Project (DESP) Advisor

Board of Directors

The large gender inequity present in the fashion industry today is completely unacceptable. Of the top ten fashion companies in the world, only one CEO is woman-identifying, and only one is a Person of Colour (POC). Millions of garment workers around the world today are women of colour, subject to various forms of abuse and unfair pay. Threading Change believes that as a young organization, we will do everything possible to uphold our ethos of a Feminist, Fossil-Fuel-Free Fashion Future that fights for gender equity. We proudly present our growing Board of Directors, mainly women of colour, from garment-heavy producing countries.

Puninda (she/her) is a climate justice advocate and a consultant specializing in sustainability strategy development and implementation. Previously, she worked in sustainable investing in the commercial real estate sector, where she led portfolio-wide initiatives focused on climate resilience and sustainability reporting. Puninda holds a Bachelors of Environment and Business from the University of Waterloo. She is active in her local community as a member of the Global Shapers Community and as an organizer with Climate Justice Peel. Puninda has been recognized as one of Canada’s top 30 under 30 sustainability leaders and as a Clean50 honouree.

Board Chair

Jessica C. Poitras, Esq. (she/her) is an American legislative and regulatory attorney focused on advancing and promoting sustainable and ethical fashion and beauty policies, both domestically and internationally. She has dedicated her career to supporting causes and missions related to the advancement of women, the rights of persons of color, and international trade policy. Her expert opinions have been featured on NPR, presented before the Equal Justice Center and ACLU, and as an expert witness in many state legislatures across the US. Additionally, she enjoys volunteering to support her local community and freelance writing.

Secretary

Treasurer

Léandre (she/her) mobilizes resources to drive community and social impact. Through her grantmaking work in the philanthropic sector, Léandre has supported national Canadian Foundations to address challenges related to education, employment, racial equity, gender equity and youth wellbeing.
As Partnerships Manager at the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) Léandre is dedicated to network weaving, partnership building and community investments. She is also a devoted volunteer, serving as a Youth Advisory Member for the Michaëlle Jean Foundation and an Ambassador for Remake. The convergence of labour rights, women and children’s rights, climate justice and racial justice all serve as motivators for Léandre’s journey towards an equitable future.

Director at Large, Fundraising

Director at Large, Expansion

Rachel recently merged her community-based circular fashion business, Reclypt, with FABSCRAP, joining the team as its Community Director. Rachel is an award-winning leader with a global perspective, leveraging her experience in the Peace Corps and sustainable finance, to become a key player in the circular fashion space in New York City. Fueled by her passion for waste reduction and exceptional community building skills, she has a proven track record of engaging diverse peoples in the mission of waste reduction through community action, volunteerism, and education.

Carol (she/her) has held leadership positions in innovation, strategy and communications across Canada, the U.S. and Europe within a variety of industries and sectors. She's a seasoned brand builder, management consultant, lecturer, and board member, with a strong commitment to social and environmental justice.
Most recently, Carol has been with Canopy on a mission to scale up alternatives to wood-based fibres in the textile supply chain and steer companies away from climate and biodiversity-critical forests. You can connect with her here.