Cross-Cutting Partnerships: Innovation Across Boundaries
Some of the most urgent challenges of our time — from circular fashion to waste-to-value commercialization to climate resilience — cannot be solved within a single sector. They demand partnerships that cut across boundaries: connecting policymakers with designers, Indigenous communities with scientists, and funders with grassroots leaders. But while collaboration is essential, it is also hard: power dynamics, cultural divides, and market realities often stand in the way.
This session explores what it takes to design cross-cutting partnerships that not only innovate but also sustain growth, inclusion, and systemic change.
Speakers
Abigail Kajumba — CEO of Emerging Public Leaders with 20+ years’ experience strengthening organizations, building partnerships, and cultivating ethical leaders across Africa.
B. Kainoa Azama — Associate Director, youth leader, and Skoll Fellow mobilizing across grassroots and global levels to advance Indigenous knowledge and climate resilience.
Euria Min — Senior Director at the Wharton School; Director of the Lipman Family Prize, bridging philanthropy, higher education, and global social impact
Ambriel Pouncy — Founder & Executive Director of Fusion Fashion Tech Society, reimagining fashion and textiles through sustainable, circular, and humane innovation.
Diana Marrero — Chief Partnerships Officer at FP, leading high-profile global programs with partners across government, private sector, and civil society.
What to Expect
Spotlight diverse models – Learn from partnerships linking fashion and policy, science and Indigenous knowledge, and public/private leaders.
Examine barriers to collaboration – Discuss the challenges of commercializing waste-to-value products and scaling innovations across sectors.
Center equity and inclusion – Explore how strengthening women’s leadership and representation makes partnerships more effective.
Co-create lessons for funders – Identify how to structure cross-sector collaborations that can drive long-term impact.
Why Join?
Discover how unlikely partnerships can unlock new pathways for sustainability and justice.
Gain insights into both the promise and the pitfalls of cross-cutting collaboration.
Share your own experiences building coalitions across boundaries and sectors.
Walk away with practical principles for designing partnerships that scale and endure.
Who Should Attend?
Funders and investors seeking to support cross-sector, boundary-breaking collaborations.
Policymakers, designers, technologists, and innovators working on sustainability.
Community and Indigenous leaders partnering with institutions and science.
Anyone passionate about using collaboration to unlock solutions no single actor can achieve alone.