Sara Camnasio

Sara Camnasio is a multi-disciplinary designer working at the intersection of conservation, education and life-centered design. Her latest project, which was funded by National Geographic, involved creating an underwater virtual reality film and launching an educational campaign aimed at inspiring kids in the Philippines about ocean conservation. The educational campaign that she developed included a design challenge focused on marine pollution.

Prior to moving into design and conservation, she was an assistant researcher in the astrophysics department at the American Museum of Natural History, where she investigated the properties of celestial objects called "brown dwarfs." She also operated telescopes in some of the most remote places on the planet. After her undergraduate studies, she decided to pursue the field of human-centered design, with the goal of applying her design skills to conservation work. In 2018, she received a master's degree in Integrated Digital Media from New York University Tandon School of Engineering. There, she was also a graduate fellow for two years in an NSF-funded program, where she adapted and redesigned STEAM curriculum for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in New York City public middle schools. She is currently a Service Designer at Designit, a global design firm, where she works on improving both public services (e.g. city programs) and private services (e.g. banking, hospitals) using a human-centered design approach.

In addition to being a TEDx speaker, Sara has appeared on the NPR’s Fresh Air, Nationalgeographic.it, NY1 News channel, on the New York Daily News Newspaper, the NY Post, on the Italian newspapers Il Fatto Quotidiano and Lecco Today, as well as on StarTalk.com.

Sub-specialties:

• Human-centered design OR Design
• Conservation
• Science & technology
• Science education
• Women in STEM