Degmo is a strategist, social entrepreneur, and public speaker working at the intersection of design, DEI, and sustainability. Her professional journey has taken her across industries and countries, guided by one central question: how do we design systems that allow both people and the planet to thrive?
She began her career in marketing and communications, where she found herself asking tough, but necessary questions about ethics, representation, and responsibility. Over time, those questions turned into action. Instead of waiting for change, Degmo started building the kind of projects and organisations she wanted to see in the world. With initiatives like NoorD Consulting and SomaRecycle, she transformed her path from promoting stories to reshaping the systems behind them.
Table of Contents
From Student to Collaborator: A Full-Circle with Hyper Island
Degmo’s relationship with Hyper Island runs deep. She is a three-time alum, having joined different programs that each gave her a fresh perspective on creativity, leadership, and change. Those lessons became a foundation she has carried into every step of her professional journey.
Now, coming back as a collaborator and industry leader for the Sustainability Change Leadership Upskill course feels like a full-circle moment. “It’s meaningful to contribute to the same environment that shaped me, and to share tools and perspectives with students who are on their own journeys of transformation,” she reflects.
What Sustainability is Really About
For Degmo, sustainability is both personal and professional.
On a personal level, it’s about longevity and responsibility: the everyday choices she makes and the kind of world she wants to leave behind. On a professional level, it’s about building structures, organisations, and strategies that can withstand time, change, and even crisis.
“Sustainability is not only environmental responsibility, but also social sustainability – how we treat people, design for equity and inclusion, and distribute both risks and opportunities more fairly,” she explains.
Ultimately, sustainability for Degmo comes down to interconnectedness: recognising that environment, people, and profit cannot be separated.
Degmo’s work turns her vision of sustainability into practice.
Through NoorD Consulting, she helps organisations embed social sustainability into their core. That means rethinking recruitment and retention, redesigning processes, and building workplace cultures that are equitable and resilient. By applying tools like design thinking and systems thinking, she supports leaders in moving beyond short-term fixes to create structures that value inclusion, fairness, and long-term impact.
With SomaRecycle, Degmo tackles sustainability in a more tangible way. The initiative transforms plastic waste into durable construction materials in Somaliland/Somalia, addressing two urgent challenges: reducing plastic pollution and providing affordable alternatives to concrete. At the same time, SomaRecycle creates jobs – especially for women and youth – while raising community awareness around waste, climate, and health.
format_quote“Sustainability can never be one-dimensional, it has to integrate both people and the planet if we want real, lasting change.”
Shaping a Sustainable Future
For Degmo, shaping a sustainable future is about more than technical solutions, it’s about shifting mindsets.
"A sustainable future requires us to think differently about what success looks like, who gets to participate, and how we connect people’s needs with the well-being of the planet," she explains. Her work is about challenging assumptions, bringing in perspectives that are often missing, and connecting dots across sectors that don’t always speak to one another.
She also believes that creating change means looking back as much as forward. “If we don’t acknowledge the systems and choices that brought us here, we risk repeating the same mistakes in new forms,” she says. For Degmo, sustainability is not only about innovation but about cultural transformation: reshaping the stories we tell, the decisions we prioritise, and the values we choose to lead with.
Whether she is working with leaders in Europe or communities in Somaliland, her approach is holistic: weaving together social, environmental, and economic sustainability. It’s about learning from the past and acting with courage to build futures that last.
Practical Guidance for Future Sustainability Leaders
Degmo’s advice for anyone who wants to make an impact in sustainability is clear and practical:
“Start where you are and with what you have. Don’t wait for the perfect project or role to appear.”
She reminds us that change rarely begins with grand gestures, but rather grows from small, intentional actions that gain strength when shared with others. She also emphasises how sustainability goes beyond the environment. It’s about people, equity, and the systems we live and work in. She encourages students and collaborators to keep asking the tough questions: whose voices are missing, who benefits, and who carries the risks?
By holding on to that broader perspective, Degmo believes anyone can contribute not only to a greener world, but also to a fairer and more resilient one.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Change Leaders
Degmo’s story shows us what it’s like to lead with courage, creativity, and care. From reshaping systems in global organisations to turning plastic waste into sustainable construction materials, her work is proof that sustainability is not one path, but many.
Her journey also reflects the spirit of Hyper Island: learning by doing, challenging assumptions, and using collaboration as a tool for transformation. By returning as an industry leader in the Sustainability Change Leadership Upskill course, she is now passing on those same tools and perspectives to the next generation of change leaders.
Want to explore your own path in sustainability?
As Degmo advises, “Start where you are and with what you have. Don’t wait for the perfect project or role to appear.”
Discover our Sustainability Change Leadership Upskill course and Circular Service Design Upskill course to learn how you can drive meaningful change in your organisation – for the people, for the planet, and for the future.
WANT TO GET NOTIFIED ABOUT OUR EVENTS?
Join our mailing list for tips, events, and opportunities.