Maya Penn- Maya’s Ideas

Maya Penn is a twenty-five year old from Atlanta, Georgia. She is a climate activist and this desire to protect the earth started at the very young age of eight. When Maya was eight she created her company “Maya’s Ideas”. This is a sustainable fashion brand that uses recycled fabric, from scraps or old outfits, and turns them into brand new pieces of clothing. She started selling those clothes, and then after two years of making her clothes she created her own website. When Maya was eleven she wanted to bring attention to the connection to environmental and racial justice. So, she crate her own nonprofit, “Maya’s Ideas for the Planet.” This nonprofit gives back to the women and girls in Haiti, Somalia, and Senegal.

At the age of ten Penn was a feature in Forbes magazine. Since then she has been featured in the Huffington Post, Business Insider, The View, CNN, and many more. During Obama’s time as president in 2016, she made history as being the first person to be asked to produced and animate a digital report for Congress. Maya has also become a three time TED talk speaker. Her most recent TED talk went viral and is the official top fifteen TEDWomen list. She is the youngest female to have a back to back TED talk. in 2013 she won the award “Black Enterprise Teenpreneur of the Year”. And to top all of Maya’s accomplishments she also wrote a children’s book: You Got This. The book is used in some schools to educate kids on entrepreneurship, social good, creativity, and giving back. Maya’s non profit has helped many women in those countries and was a really big help during COVID giving out safety and health products. Maya continues to inspire future generations with her fashionably sustainably outfits and lifestyle.

Penn, Maya. “About Maya.” Maya’s Ideas, 2025, https://mayasideas.com/about-maya

“Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet.” Maya’s Ideas, 2025, https://mayasideas.com/nonprofit

Klein, Andrew. “Eco-Fashion Designer: How Maya Penn Created an Eco-Friendly Clothing Brand.” SuperSTEM: Celebrating Earth, Scholastic, 2023, superstem.scholastic.com/earth-day-careers/eco-fashion-designer.html?language=english#870L.

Penn, Maya. “Maya Penn.” TED, www.ted.com/speakers/maya_penn