Zeynep Falay von Flittner is a trailblazing leader in transformational design, celebrated for her impactful contributions to environmental sustainability and social well-being. As a consultant, educator, researcher, and speaker, she integrates creativity and systems thinking to drive meaningful change. Her dedication to advancing sustainable development earned her the prestigious Ornamo Award 2024 Design Forerunner Prize.

With over 20 years of international experience, Zeynep has guided organizations toward human-centric innovation, championed design's potential for social impact, and led groundbreaking experiments in regenerative futures. She is the founder of Falay Transition Design, a pioneering collective that bridges design methods with societal transformation, and the visionary behind Design Activists for Regenerative Futures. Zeynep also serves on the board of System Change Finland, and Ornamo.

Zeynep was introduced to Transition Design in 2017 when she has participated in a course organised by Terry Irwin and other colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University. Zeynep later co-founded Transition Design Collective in Finland with Dr. İdil Gaziulusoy and Melanie Wendland, and since then has proactively sought opportunities to apply transition design methods in practice.

Zeynep is an inspiring and engaging facilitator. She is able to innovate solutions as well as inspire people to think and act outside of the box. She has 15+ years of international experience in Customer Experience and Service Design with extensive track record from both private and public sector. Zeynep has been building and managing design teams in leading design agencies such as Fjord, and Hellon. During her career, she has worked with a wide range of clients such as Volkswagen, Bayer, Kemira, Danfoss, Bank of Ireland, Nokia and Finnish Prime Minister’s Office.

Zeynep holds an MA degree in International Design Business Management at Aalto University (2005) and a BA in Industrial Design at Middle East Technical University (2000).