Leyla Uysal

Leyla Uysal (Mehtap Leyla Turanalp Uysal)  is a native Mesopotamian from the DINNA tribe of Pirsûs in Kobanê territories of modern Türkiye. She is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning within the Environmental Planning and Policy Program at MIT. Her academic focus spans Planning, Design, Policy, Climate Change, Ecosystem Restoration, Environmental Policies, Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and water-related issues. 

An award-winning designer with a Master’s in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), her distinguished body of work integrates expertise in design, landscape ecology, and ecosystem restoration with resilience-building approaches. During her time at Harvard, she explored art, drawing and design within the context of climate change, ecosystem restoration, nuclear power plants explosions and their impacts on beings and non-beings, indigenous climate knowledge, and urban resilience in the face of global warming—research she continues at MIT, with a specific emphasis on Kurdish and climate change contexts. 

She holds a BA/BS majoring in Urban and Regional Planning, with a minor in Ecology,  from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Turkey, where her work concentrated on regenerative agriculture, permaculture and ecosystem restoration. 

In addition to this, Leylâ also, holds an executive education degree from Sloan Business School at MIT. 

Beyond academia, Leylâ is the visionary founder and CEO of Bajer Watches, a company dedicated to celebrating Kurdish heritage while empowering women and children in Kurdish communities worldwide. As a mother, she brings a unique perspective to her work, driven by a deep commitment to creating a more equitable and sustainable world for future generations. 

Her multifaceted roles as a designer, entrepreneur, fashion designer, artist, photographer, planner, researcher, activist, and gardener are all influenced by her role as a mother.