Leader Spotlight Series: Noemi Florea, Founder of LÆRO Design Studio
Jacinta Gordon | November 11, 2024
Kicking off Wild Gift’s Leader Spotlight Series is social impact leader, inventor, and 2024 Wild Gift Fellow, Noemi Florea. Noemi is the founder of LÆRO, a design studio specializing in product-service solutions for a sustainable world.
Meet Noemi Florea (WG ‘24), Founder and CEO of LÆRO Design Studio. Her current project, Cycleau, is a compact water recycling system that converts greywater into drinking water, addressing water accessibility and disaster relief. Designed to retrofit into buildings without access to clean water, Cycleau was inspired by the water contamination and rising utility costs faced by many in her home state of Maryland.
We asked her about her Wild Gift Fellowship experience so far.
WG: In what ways has the Wild Gift Fellowship helped you so far in your journey as a founder?
Naomi: The Wild Gift Fellowship has helped me develop a stronger sense of leadership and emotional intelligence, and has also helped me clarify my values and align my commitments with my venture's intended impact. I'm looking forward to participating in the trek and experiencing the transformational personal impact alumni have referenced in the past!
WG: What specific problem or challenge is the Wild Gift Fellowship helping you gain clarity on?
Naomi: The fellowship so far has improved my emotional awareness and how I'm able to bridge connections between my personal well-being and my ability to lead a team.
WG: Please share any achievements about your venture that you’re proud of!
Naomi: We have not raised investments, but have secured $220K in grant funding to date. Also, we have secured four pilot contracts across three countries, including two commercial pilots with customers including UNICEF and 100TM.
Noemi at Governors island Island, NY, with her product Cycleau!
Every move that Noemi Florea makes is carefully thought out. It is the mark of a great designer. The look, use, texture, and impact of all she does come through truly. When she decided to become an innovator, or what some call a social impact entrepreneur, her capacity for inventiveness predominated the transition.
- Monica Saunders, Forbes Magazine
READ MORE: “Noemi Florea Is On A Mission To Transform Water Justice” [Forbes July 26, 2024]
While being featured in Forbes is an amazing accomplishment, Noemi and Cycleau haven’t stopped there. We asked Noemi about her recent accomplishments and here’s what she shared.
Cycleau presented at the DOE Cradle to Commerce Summit to advance the applications of wastewater heat recovery within their product.
Noemi was sponsored by UNICEF Innovation30 to present Cycleau at the Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference while exploring pilot opportunities with UNICEF Tajikistan.
Cycleau signed their first commercial pilot contract with a residential property developer based in Sinaloa, Mexico.
Cycleau completed two pilot installations on Governors Island in New York City, including a pilot of one outdoor, solar-powered pilot unit and one indoor, retrofitted unit.
Cycleau was selected as the runner-up winner of Reckitt Benckiser’s Lead2030 Challenge for SDG6 and received sponsorship to attend the One Young World Summit hosted in Montreal, CA in September 2024. Noemi was accepted into Cohort 3 of the 776 Fellowship funded by Alexis Ohanian.
Noemi was invited COP29 in Azerbaijan to present Cycleau with UNICEF in November 2024.
Cycleau confirmed a pilot with UNICEF in Tajikistan, which will be rolling out in starting in December 2024.
Noemi secured a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to incorporate wastewater heat recovery into Cycleau, improving the energy efficiency of building water heaters by up to 40%
LÆRO will begin accepting pre-orders for Cycleau starting in January 2025!
We're honored to support Noemi and her development of Cycleau, both through our virtual programming and the Wild Gift 16-day trek. To stay up to date on her journey, visit Laero.org and follow her on LinkedIn.
Thanks for reading the Leader Spotlight segment of the Wild Gift Blog. If you are a Wild Gift Alumni and want to be featured, please email jacinta@wildgift.org.