Anika Chakravarti

Based in Texas | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2025

JOB SCOPE Anika integrates biomimicry into client projects, supported by research of biological strategies and systems.

HISTORY Anika has experience working in the energy industry, leading decarbonization projects for clients around the globe who seek to reduce emissions from their industrial assets via technologies such as carbon capture. She also has experience in wildlife conservation and plastic recycling projects, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Any organism that lives in extreme dry conditions and has evolved a strategy to acquire freshwater for survival fascinates me. The Namib Desert Beetle (Stenocara gracilipes), Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys spp.), and Thorny Devil Lizard (Moloch horridus) come to mind! And also all other organisms that exist on this planet. How can one choose. :)”

HIDDEN TALENT Juggling

FAVORITE QUOTE “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — William Shakespeare

Anne LaForti

Based in California | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2022

JOB SCOPE As a project manager, Anne leads and executes a variety of biomimicry innovation projects.

HISTORY Prior to joining B3.8, Anne worked in a wide variety of fields, including real estate development, office and project management, IT delivery and support, event production, and operations.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Beneficial Fungi: I love the way mycelial hyphae (tiny root-like hairs of underground mushrooms) can reach out in all directions to provide protection, communication channels, and resource reciprocity between nodes in its network.”

FANTASY TRAVEL DESTINATION “I would love to someday go mushroom hunting in old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest with Paul Stamets.”

FAVORITE QUOTE “True Agility: Find out where you are. Take a step toward your goal. Adjust your map based on what you learned. Repeat. When faced with 2+ options of roughly the same value, pick the one that makes future change easier.” – Dave Thomas ‘Agile is Dead’

Caitlin Cox

Based in Washington, DC | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2025

JOB SCOPE Caitlin manages and provides financial support for internal and external events.

HISTORY Prior to joining B3.8, Caitlin supported the implementation of large-scale USAID-funded initiatives, managing multifaceted programs and operational strategies—primarily in Nigeria—with a focus on advancing health systems and optimizing supply chain performance. Before transitioning into the international development sector, she built a strong foundation in event production, supporting the execution of high-impact, large-scale events across both domestic and international stages. Caitlin is deeply committed to integrating her expertise in global development and experiential operations to continue to drive meaningful, mission-aligned impact that benefits both people and the environment in which we live.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Hard question! But if I had to choose one it would be ginkgo trees. They hold a special place in my heart from memories with family members since passed, and I’m fascinated by their resilience and how ancient they are!”

COMFORT FOOD Moo Goo Gai Pan or Paneer Tikka Masala (though I’ve never met a curry I didn’t like)

RIVER, LAKE, OR OCEAN? Ocean, purely for the wonders you can find snorkeling over a reef!

Dr. Dayna Baumeister

Based in the North Cascades and the Northern Rockies | Co-founded Biomimicry 3.8 in 1997

JOB SCOPE Dayna does anything and everything at B3.8, including covering the broad niches of ideation, strategy, and education. She inspires clients as a biologist at the design table and leads the professional training programs.

HISTORY “Before Biomimicry 3.8, well…it’s hard to remember a time before Biomimicry 3.8. Janine and I had our first conversation in January 1998, just two months after her book was published. It’s been a wild ride ever since.”

FAVORITE ORGANISM “You can never ask a biologist their favorite organism—what would all the ones I didn’t mention think of me?”

FAVORITE BOOK “Currently reading (multiple times—it’s so rich): Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.”

RIVER, LAKE, OR OCEAN? “Ocean, hands down. Floating over a vibrant, thriving coral reef.”

FAVORITE QUOTE “I put Einstein’s quote about same thinking = same results, different thinking = change the world, on my email signature years ago and have never changed it for a reason.”

Read more in Dayna’s bio

Emily Fricke

Based in Montana | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2021

JOB SCOPE Emily Fricke provides operational support to our B3.8 ecosystem and business infrastructure through a lens of professional empathy and integrated collaboration.

HISTORY Before joining B3.8, Emily worked for a national healthcare company, managing complex operations and supporting clinical teams providing quality patient care. With an Interdisciplinary background in Gender and Multicultural Studies, she has spent her professional career supporting people from early stages in life, to young adults and families navigating society with limited resources, to currently working with business operations teams striving to achieve impactful strategic initiatives. Through a trauma-informed care model, Emily has adapted her background in service-oriented social work towards people operations, team development and strategic growth for mission-driven companies.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Redwoods – the mother tree of the forest and the tallest trees on Earth. Living in groves, redwoods intertwine their roots to create a family-like support system, developing strength and resiliency through their unity.”

RIVER, LAKE, OR OCEAN? “Ocean – I absolutely love the sensation of being completely submerged underwater in another living reality.”

FAVORITE BOOK The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Farid Mohamed

Based in Texas | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2021

JOB SCOPE Farid performs the role of project manager, leading and executing a variety of biomimicry innovation projects.

HISTORY Farid has over 15 years of technical consulting experience where he led the execution and deployment of geo-technical consulting services, focusing on the integration of multiple technical domains enabling transition technologies in subsurface developments of oil and gas, geothermal and carbon storage assets.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Fungi – imagine where would we and our planet be without fungi? They are responsible for almost all our food production and most of our processed materials. They are also to be thanked for many of the important medical breakthroughs in human history that treat both physical and mental ailments, for naturally sequestering and slowly releasing carbon, for optimizing industrial processes, and so much more!”

FAVORITE QUOTE “Sometimes you have to create what you want to be part of.” – Geri Weitzman

Janine Benyus

Based in Montana | Co-founded Biomimicry 3.8 in 1997

JOB SCOPE Janine guides the vision of the B3.8 and leads research and ideation.

HISTORY Janine is a natural history writer who has published five books, including “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,” which popularized the term biomimicry and set the stage for the practice to become an innovation tool used worldwide.

Read more in Janine’s bio

Maria O'Farrell

Based in North Carolina | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2020

JOB SCOPE Maria collaborates with B3.8’s project partners and clients in the dual role of project manager and researcher on a multitude of different biomimicry innovation projects. She utilizes her biological knowledge and research abilities to offer large organizations insights to solve a variety of design challenges, from the way we make truly innovative products to how we embed resilience into our organizations. Using the biomimicry design methodology, Maria helps develop products and processes which are sustainable, innovative, effective, energy efficient, and life-friendly. Additionally, she developed and manages a system for research hygiene at B3.8

HISTORY Maria holds degrees in zoology and botany and is one of only eight biologists to be recognized as a Certified Biomimicry Professional. She was also one of the first students to complete the Master of Science in biomimicry program at Arizona State University.

Maria has diplomas in green building and renewable energy technologies. She served as both program and project manager for the nationally awarded Renewable Energy Technologies Diploma Series for over five years in the College of Engineering at NCSU. She has also worked on two multimillion-dollar solar programs for the US Department of Energy.

As a former contractor for B3.8 (at the time, Biomimicry Guild, LLC), she worked on projects with Herman Miller, Kimberly Clark, Burts Bees, and SERA architecture, as well as contributed to the “AskNature” database, researching biological concepts and design principles. Maria continues to play a unique role as a biologist who takes complex biological data and translates it into language digestible by any department, from marketing to R&D.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Mimic octopus because of their intelligence and their astounding ability to adapt so seamlessly to almost any environment.”

HIDDEN TALENT Landscape and Wildlife Photography https://maria.smugmug.com/

FAVORITE QUOTE “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” – John Cage

Mark Dorfman

Based in New York | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2007

JOB SCOPE Mark manages, designs, and conducts research, primarily for projects with a chemistry-related challenge.

HISTORY Mark spent the past several decades as a research scientist for public-interest, not-for-profit environmental organizations (primarily INFORM, Inc. and the Natural Resources Defense Council) with a focus on green chemistry and clean water issues.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Cyanobacteria. They were the first creatures—some 3+ billion years ago—to develop photosynthetic technology. We still haven’t figured out how to completely reproduce it.”

FAVORITE BOOK Freedom at Midnight by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins

HIDDEN TALENT Swing dancing

Read more in Mark’s bio

Nicole Bellisle

Based in North Carolina | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2024

JOB SCOPE As COO, the core function of Nicole’s role is to align operational systems and team rhythms with the organization’s strategic vision and objectives. Through nurturing a culture of care alongside operational excellence, Nicole seeks to build cohesive, high-functioning teams and ensure clarity in executing company initiatives. Her focus is on developing seamless systems that support sustainability, team well-being, and long-term success, while integrating biomimicry principles into our core operations. She also plays a critical role in ensuring the financial health of the organization, keeping an eye on compliance, policy, and governance.

HISTORY Nicole has worked with thousands of executives and founders from around the world in her roles at Harvard University, Techstars, Impact Hub, and Leaders on Purpose (a global organization serving Fortune 500 CEOs). She has helped grow 8 companies in the last 10 years, including a startup that was funded on Shark Tank. She is the founder and president of Living Leaders, an educational institute that supports conscious leaders to build regenerative companies that are not just sustainable for our planet, but also sustainable for people. Much of her work is focused on healing work trauma and toxic work culture, through more conscious leadership practices and self-healing work. She is the host of the Living Leaders Podcast, about conscious, regenerative leadership.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Dragonflies because they start their life as aquatic creatures that have only known water as the medium they exist in. When it’s time to go through metamorphosis, they instinctually know to climb a reed towards sunlight, where they undergo alchemy and learn to fly through the air, existing in new form with new capabilities and beauty.”

FAVORITE BOOK? Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

COMFORT FOOD Thai Red Curry

Nicole Miller

Based in Montana | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2012

JOB SCOPE As CEO, Nicole is responsible for the strategic direction of the company. She also works closely with clients and partners to identify the best opportunities to effectively integrate and apply biomimicry.

HISTORY Prior to joining B3.8, Nicole served as the Managing Director for the Montana World Trade Center and as the Director of Sourcing for Overstock.com. Her professional experience in sustainability reporting, environmental and social compliance, global supply chains, private label development, social entrepreneurship, and economic development supports her efforts to introduce biomimicry as a platform to mitigate risk, build resilience, and advance innovation.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “Mycelium—it continues to blow my mind that there is an entire network of communication below the forest floor working to maintain the health of the ecosystem.”

COMFORT FOOD “Pizza—I make it at least once a week. In the summer, I harvest fresh basil, arugula, and veggies from my garden. Delicioso!”

RIVER, LAKE, OR OCEAN? Ocean

Read more in Nicole’s bio

Rachel Hahs

Based in Illinois | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2021

JOB SCOPE As Director of Client Services, Rachel leverages her extensive background in environmental and sustainability consulting and biomimicry to help clients align business success with regenerative outcomes. She coordinates and contributes to Biomimicry 3.8 (B3.8)’s project delivery & thought leadership, internal- and client-facing tool development, and cultivating trusted relationships to support an exceptional client experience. She also collaborates with strategic partners to expand the delivery and implementation of biomimicry-based solutions at scale.

HISTORY Prior to B3.8, Rachel was a sustainability professional and environmental scientist at URS/AECOM for 13 years. She managed multi-disciplinary project teams and provided technical support to deliver sustainability and environmental program evaluation, development, implementation, and reporting services for both private and public sector clients. As a systems thinker, Rachel’s professional experience led her to look for a more impactful place to intervene in the system. In 2013, Rachel was introduced to biomimicry and was immediately hooked. Rachel is a Certified Biomimicry Professional and holds a Master of Science in biomimicry degree from Arizona State University.

HIDDEN TALENT Furniture making

FAVORITE QUOTE “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

Zeynep Arhon

Based in California | Joined Biomimicry 3.8 in 2022

JOB SCOPE Zeynep takes on project management tasks and supports B3.8’s marketing/communication efforts.

HISTORY In conjunction with her work at B3.8, Zeynep teaches biomimicry and business courses in the Master of Science in biomimicry program at Arizona State University.

Her corporate background includes strategic leadership and brand management positions at leading multinationals such as The Coca-Cola Company and Georgia Pacific.

As an entrepreneur and consultant, Zeynep introduced cutting-edge marketing and innovation tools (i.e., experiential marketing and future trends) in Turkey, her home country. A strong calling to align her work with her love for the planet led her to biomimicry. After graduating from the Biomimicry Professional Program in 2010, she integrated biomimicry into her consulting practice and worked towards spreading sustainability thinking among business leaders in a challenging, developing global economy. Her efforts included writing in business publications as a columnist and contributor, creating and hosting the first biomimicry radio show in Turkey, and creating a biomimicry-based online course for young entrepreneurs in Europe.

Zeynep has been living in San Francisco since 2012. She has a Master of Science in biomimicry degree, along with an MBA and a BA in Political Science & International Relations.

FAVORITE ORGANISM “California coastal Redwoods. They drink water from the fog, grow tall and live long, create ecosystems… So much inspiration for redesigning business processes and models with nature’s strategies!”

HIDDEN TALENTS “Graphite drawing and cooking some of the lost recipes from the Ottoman cuisine.”

FAVORITE QUOTE “What you seek, is seeking you.” – Rumi