What happens when your work to support a better world leaves you struggling to support yourself?

In this candid and inspiring talk, visual designer and sustainable entrepreneur Amy Dritz shares her journey launching a green tech startup designed to help companies move beyond compliance and create a culture of sustainability. What began as a mission to support sustainability professionals and drive change led to a breaking point and a hard truth: unless sustainability is led from the top and embedded into the business model, it often remains an underfunded add-on with limited impact.

Drawing from over 100 interviews with sustainability professionals and her own lived experiences, Amy offers a behind-the-scenes look at the systemic barriers that stall progress—and the emotional toll they take on those working to change the system.

A personal story of burnout and growth, this talk invites conversation about how we can sustain both our work and ourselves as leaders and changemakers.

Recommended Resources

• Chief Sustainability Officers are Burning Out (Eco-Business)
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• How to Manage Burnout in High-Stakes Sustainability Careers (CSR Jobs)
  Why read this? Practical strategies for recognizing, addressing, and preventing burnout in mission-driven careers.
• Overcoming the Hurdles to Integrating Sustainability into Business Strategy (Deloitte)
  Why read this? Insights into why sustainability must be embedded into core business strategy—and how to make that happen.

Speaker Bio: Amy Dritz

Amy Dritz is a visual designer, systems thinker, and sustainability strategist with over a decade of experience advancing sustainable change. Most recently, she co-founded a healthcare sustainability platform, where she led user research, design, and strategy.

Her background includes founding a boutique design agency and consulting with mission-driven organizations to strengthen sustainability communications and reduce environmental impact. She has served on nonprofit boards as well as her city’s environmental commission.

Amy holds a Master’s in Sustainable Design from MCAD. A recent transplant from Minnesota, she has fallen in love with the Pacific Northwest and can often be found hiking in the forest, photographing nature, or nerding out over native plants.