Bruna César
Biologist, VR Group | Sao Paolo, Brazil
I was in contact with nature since new-born when I lived on a farm in Brazil. We were there surrounded by the Atlantic Rain Forest. It was in Brazil, about five months ago, that Biomimicry came into my life, and that was just the beginning…
Bor Kai Hsiung
Biologist | Taichung, Taiwan
Even though I heard about the concepts of biomimicry a long time ago, I am only beginning to understand what biomimicry is and get interested in studying it after I watched Janine Benyus’ TEDTalk over the internet. I wish I can help to spread the idea of biomimicry further and incorporate it into my profession after I finished this program.
| Carl Irani Nanotechnology Research Scientist | Orlando, FL, USAI will finish my Biomimicry Specialist Program and take the skills that I have learned and implement those with my Nanotechnology and biomedical skills into future companies that I will own and work for to make a more sustainable greener future for many generations to come. |
Dixie Hudson
Program Head, Interior Design, BCIT | Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dixie’s passion for design has been developed through her broad experience as an interior designer and educator. Biomimicry has captured her spirit and Dixie now wants to inform as many as possible regarding the simplicity and application of Life’s Principles.
| Thomas Knittel Vice President, HOK | Seattle, WA, USAThomas Knittel is a Vice President at HOK, focusing on design and sustainability in the Seattle/San Francisco studio. His projects range from local, regional to international; recent projects include an academic teaching facility for KAUST in Saudi Arabia, The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a commercial center in Sao Paulo, and a mixed-use center in Wuhan, China. |
France Guertin
Environmental Engineer | Raleigh, NC, USA
France’s trademark has been to inspire innovation and create a desire for change. Raising two beautiful daughters has made her realize the importance of Education and she now devotes part of her time to heading an Eco-school where she shares her love for Nature with students using yoga, environmental principles and biomimicry.
Jack Mevorah
Associate Vice President, Cannon Design | Washington, DC, USA
Jack speaks regularly on topics ranging widely from blast-resistant design to Biomimicry. Passionate about emerging technologies, Jack also heads-up the Technological Sophistication group in his firm—helping to define not only what the firm does, but how they do it. It is through this group that he plans to bring new, sustainable materials, products, and systems to their designs. He is an avid climber and outdoor enthusiast.
John Paulick
Industrial Designer, MAAX Bath, Inc. | Philadelphia, PA, USA
Is an avid nature enthusiast and innovative industrial designer, John finds his contribution to life most meaningful when creating nature inspired products for our surrounding world. He sees biomimicry as a harmonious blend between his passion for design and his fascination with nature. John has accepted the genius of Nature’s 3.85 billion years of R&D as a truly superior mentor, to which all others fall secondary.
Janus Welton
Architect/Owner. EcoArch DesignWorks – Assistant Professor of Interior Design, Sage College of Albany, Dept. of Visual Arts | Saugerties, NY, USA
In 2000, I founded my own design and consulting practice EcoArch DesignWorks, PC. to focus on my holistic brand. A lifelong passion and recognition of “Patterns in Nature” permeates my design work, teaching, and research focusing on redefining sustainable designs for buildings and interior systems for human habitation by exploring and mimicking forms and functions of natural systems.
Joe Zazzera
President, Plant Solutions | Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Joe and his company, Plant Solutions, have been providing Interior Plantscape and Living Wall-Design, installation and maintenance services since 1981. His hope is that as a future Biomimic, he can use his knowledge, experience and education to create living built environments that are based on the principals of nature.
Kris Callori
Architect, EDI | Albuquerque, NM, USA
Kris is constantly striving to move teams towards regenerative design solutions, acknowledging that we have the intuitive knowledge as designers to allow climate to drive form, and create buildings that are truly integrated with the surrounding environment. She is an advocate for ideas that inspire the way we build, fostering continued progress towards a healthy and prosperous society.
Karen Johnson Rossin
Interior Designer, Graduate Student | West Palm Beach, FL, USA
I am a “Biophilic,” Native Floridian, bird freak, master swimmer and mom. Currently finishing a MFA in Interior Design at Miami International University of Art and Design. My thesis topic is the application of Biomimicry in the practice of Interior Design. As the Guild puts it I have been “infected…”
Kathy Zarsky
Systems Director, HOLOS | Austin, TX, USA
Kathy is the Founder of HOLOS, a sustainability consultancy whose core tenet is systems thinking and collective intelligence. Kathy attended a biomimicry immersion workshop in Veracruz, Mexico in 2009 that further inspired her systems thinking approach which is now incorporated into several initiatives she is leading. Her most rewarding job is the daily adventure of raising two future entomologists.
Maria Luisa Gutierrez
Packaging Designer | Mexico City, Mexico
Since I took the Biomimicry Workshop “Innovation and Design Inspired by Nature” last year, I’ve loved Biomimicry. All my life I’ve been mesmerized by nature’s wisdom and beauty. I did my social service at the Chapultepec Zoo designing toys for animals, which requires a lot of observation and creativity. Nature, painting animals and singing in a choir are my passions.
Randy Anway
Architect, New Tapestry | Old Lyme, CT, USA
Currently living on two acres about halfway between Manhattan and Boston and roughly 180 degrees east of Cedar Rapids Iowa and the early 60′s, there is an invisible part of my unfinished life consisting of restless poems and painterly scribbles. I did happen to get a master’s degree and pass the Architectural Registration Exam though an insatiable curiosity about subjects like ‘biomimetic architectures’ makes me something of an outlier among my peers.
Rowan Edwards
Principle and Creative Director, Sphereful.com | Oakland, CA, USA
The love of having my hands dirty led me to study Art and Design at CCAC in the late 80’s where I studied furniture design. In 2008 after 20 years of furniture/art and being involved in the Sustainable building, I found CCA’s new Design Strategy MBA the best method to achieve the next level in sustainable systems thinking. My current focus is not only in Biomimicry as an innovation sparkplug but Design Thinking and Strategy as catalysts for inspired leapfrogging.
Torrey McMillan
Educator | Cambridge, MA, USA
Torrey is a passionate educator specializing in sustainability. With a background in ecology, resource policy, systems thinking and environmental psychology, she considers herself a generalist, most interested in bringing diverse ideas together. A question she asks herself a lot: “What would a biomimetic economic system look like?” She is also curious about the intersection of biomimicry and systems dynamics.
Seema Anand
Architect, Nataraj and Venkat Architects | Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Seema is a mother, a professional, a concerned citizen of the world and a “closet” activist on sustainability and gender equality issues. With a focus on working towards sustainable habitats, she considers Biomimicry as a ‘lighthouse’ that will guide her approach to design and problem solving. She nurtures a dream to teach and contribute at a global level in moving towards sustainable happiness.
Toby Herzlich
Facilitator, Trainer | Santa Fe, NM, USA
Toby is a facilitator and trainer with a focus on leadership, organizational excellence, and culture change. Her work is directed toward developing leadership within progressive nonprofits, supporting values-based planning in large and small organizations, and cultivating visionary leadership among women and men. With a practice aimed toward the diverse needs of multicultural groups, Toby’s participatory methods emphasize dialogue and collaborative problem solving, to foster collective intelligence toward sustainable solutions.
Sarah Thielman
Global Design Manager of Front End Innovation, Procter and Gamble | Cincinnati, OH, USA
As a Global Design Manager for one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, I am inspired by the opportunity I have been given to impact the lives of people around the globe and the way we think about innovation. One thing that unites us is our interest in working with the earth and its systems to create a better life experience for all.
Tessa Mackay
Engineering and Environmental Management, Hatch | Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Civil, structural engineer by training, but done all sorts since! Sustainable Development practitioner for a while and now doing environmental management. Enjoy climbing mountains, exploring nooks and crannies of all corners of the world both in the wilds and in the cities (until it all gets a bit much and the countryside is required again). Dabbling in photography. And finally, just defrosting from 6 months in St Petersburg, Russia.
| Bruna César Biologist, VR Group | Sao Paolo, Brazil I was in contact with nature since new-born when I lived on a farm in Brazil. We were there surrounded by the Atlantic Rain Forest. It was in Brazil, about five months ago, that Biomimicry came into my life, and that was just the beginning… |