Gaya Herrington is an internationally known sustainability researcher, wellbeing economist and bioregional advocate. She shapes conversations at local and global levels with her message that true sustainability requires transforming our economic system away from an obsession with perpetual growth to one centred on human and ecological wellbeing. Herrington first gained international acclaim in 2021 when Yale’s Journal of Industrial Ecology published her study, Update to The Limits to Growth. Her subsequent book, Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse, further solidified her reputation as a thought leader.
Showcasing her multidimensional approach to effecting change, Herrington has held pivotal roles in both policy and the corporate world. Past positions include economic policy adviser for the Dutch Central Bank, sustainability consultant at KPMG US, and Vice-President of sustainability research at Schneider Electric. She has spoken as a guest lecturer at colleges around the world and has been featured in media outlets and conferences, including The Independent, Vice, Wired, The Guardian, UN Today, the European Economic Forum and the Bloomberg Green Festival, where she recorded her TED talk.
Today, Herrington works on a fractional basis on several boards and is the Bioregional Finance co-Director of Cascadia, the bioregion where she lives (the Seattle area). She is an Adjunct Professor at the Dutch Veranderschool (“School of Change”) and Harvard University. She is also a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Working Group for a Wellbeing Economy in the USA and a Research Collaborator in York University’s Ecological Footprint Initiative. Herrington holds a Master’s degree in Econometrics from the Liberal Amsterdam University and another Master’s in Sustainability from Harvard University.
