Maya S. Penn

Maya Penn is an award-winning philanthropist, environmental activist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, eco-designer, keynote speaker, artist, animator, coder, illustrator, and writer. She is the CEO of Maya’s Ideas, a company she started in 2008 when she was just eight years old. She creates eco-friendly clothing and accessories.

She loves to use her creativity to give back. 10-20% of her profits go to local and global charities and environmental organizations. She also started her own nonprofit called Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet, where she is working on an ongoing project to give back to girls in developing countries. She also helps girls pursue their passions in technology and STEM fields.

She has been featured in Forbes, Time, NPR, CNN, O Magazine, Essence, The View, The Steve Harvey Show, Huffington Post, The NRDC, Entrepreneur Magazine, Wired, Black Enterprise, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and many other publications. She’s done three TEDTalks. Maya’s TEDWomen Talk has gone viral, with more than a million views worldwide. Maya is the youngest female to do two back-to-back official TEDTalks.