Kristin Kagetsu is one of the co-founders and CEO of Saathi, a social enterprise in India dedicated to providing a sustainable solution for menstrual hygiene to women and girls. Kristin has a passion for sustainable manufacturing and women’s issues. At MIT, she worked on multiple projects including plastic bottle recycling, waste management, and natural product development with the MIT Design Lab (D-Lab) in Brazil, Nicaragua, and India. Her first product launch was of a set of natural dye crayons that she developed with an NGO in Uttarakhand where she realized she wanted to move to India.

Kristin also volunteered with the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) to structure and expand the national collegiate team to better support over 60 collegiate chapters, as well as to develop SASE leadership in the Northeast. Since its founding in 2015, Saathi has been recognized globally by TIME magazine, Fast Company, World Economic Forum, UN Environment Program, UNIDO, Allure, Vogue, and others, for its social impact, innovation and sustainability. She is an MIT DLab ScaleUps Fellow, Asia 21 Young Leader, TEDx speaker, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Fellow, Cartier Women’s Initiative Finalist, and recognized by the Indian Department of MSME.