Larry Santoyo, Director
EarthFlow Design Works
The design team is led by Larry Santoyo, an ecological designer, land use planner and business consultant. He is among the most experienced Permaculture Designers and Educators in the US and has taught environmental design at colleges and universities nationwide including UC Berkeley and California State PolyTechnic University. For over twenty years, L. Santoyo has assisted private individuals in the design and construction of "Home Ecosystems" and has assisted companies in developing industrial ecologies and sustainable business practices.
Larry Santoyo is Vice President of the Permaculture Institute (USA), Co-director of The Terra Foundation, and is the founder of the MicroVillage Network.
Contact Larry Santoyo
Kathryn Ellen, Design & Resource Consultant
EarthFlow Design Works
Kathryn Ellen has been studying permaculture for over 15 years now, applying it first to her gardening career on the east coast, and then later, to the research and development of Home Ecosystems with EarthFlow. Working behind the scenes, she assists on the design of plant pallates as well as identifies local, often overlooked, resources to fill the needs of various projects. She, grows, makes and uses non-toxic home cleaning products and is a proud dumpster-diver, advocate of no-work/no-mess composting and initiator of the NO PLASTIC STRAWS (Plastic Straws are for Suckers) project.
Contact Kathryn Ellen
Corinna Gebert, Architectural Designer
Dipl. Ing. Interior Architecture, LEED AP
Trained as an architect in Germany, Australia and the USA, Corinna's background is in spatial design and planning with her main focus on the interrelations between built and natural environment.
A native of Germany, Corinna combines the engrained environmental awareness of an ecologist upbringing with design and construction experience gathered on three continents.
Corinna has worked for firms in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Frankfurt, and Hamburg since 1999 and returned to Los Angeles in 2003 where she has since been employed with Aleks Istanbullu Architects. As a project manager and designer, Corinna brings creativity, organizational skills and professional curiosity to her work. She thrives on optimizing processes and results, implementing and educating clients and peers about the principles of sustainable design, permaculture, and an overall awareness for our impact on the environment.
A LEED AP and graduate of the 2007/08 Permaculture Design Course with Earthflow Design, Corinna is co-founder of taproot design group, an interdisciplinary collaborative dedicated to promoting and implementing Permaculture Design Principles in projects of all scales -from private homes to street medians, community gardens, corporate offices and school campuses.
Contact Corinna Gebert
Permaculture Designers...
Scott Pittman, Director
The Permaculture Institute (USA)
Scott Pittman has taught permaculture since 1985 in over 18 countries on
four continents. He worked with the people of different cultures and
backgrounds, from indigenous tribes in South America to corporate teams in
Equatorial Guinea. Over the years he trained thousands of students, counting
now at least 5 generations of instructors that received training from him.
Scott is known for his foundational work in establishing permaculture
movement in the US Southwest, for which he received a Community Achievement
Award from the Permaculture Institute of Australia.
Contact The Permaculture Institute
Toby Hemenway, Author
Gaia's Garden:
A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
Toby Hemenway is the author of the first major book on permaculture
for North America,
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
(Chelsea Green, 2001) and past associate editor of
the Permaculture Activist, as well as Scholar-in Residence at Pacific University, Adjunct Professor of Graduate Education at Portland State University, and Director of the Center for Pattern Literacy. His writing
has appeared in Whole Earth Review, Natural Home, Kitchen Gardener,
and other national magazines. He teaches, consults, and lectures on
ecological design and biomimicry throughout the country.
Contact PatternLiteracy.com
John Valenzuela, Design Consultant
John Valenzuela is a horticulturist, consultant and educator who has returned to live in Northern California after being based in Hawai'i for 15 years. He has taught permaculture to a wide range of people from school children, to university students, general public, and displaced sugar cane workers, in Hawai'I, Costa Rica. Washington state, and California. His special interests are home gardening, trees, traditional agriculture, plant propagation, and ethnobotany.
Contact John Valenzuela
Jude Hobbs, Designer
Cascadia Permaculture
Jude Hobbs is a horticulturist, Permaculture designer, and activist. Since 1982, she has provided whole system environmental design solutions in urban and rural settings. As an associate with Agro-Ecology Northwest, she works with small-scale farmers and two eco-labeling organizations, Salmon Safe and LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology).
Jude has presented Permaculture workshops and courses throughout the West and Hawaii for 17 years, developing curricula that encompass diverse learning styles. She has co-facilitated the Advance Pc Certification Course in Teaching for 5 years. Jude is a co-founder of Cascadia Permaculture Institute.
As a way to support local organizations, Jude is on the board of the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, Eugene Permaculture Guild and the University of Oregon's CASL (Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living).
She has written the Oregon State University Bulletin (EM: 8721) A Guide to Multi-Functional Hedgerows and soon to be published: On-Farm Biodiversity Resource Guide: For Dry lands, Uplands & the Maritime Northwest.
Contact Cascadia Permaculture
EarthFlow Associates &
Recommended Consultants...
Greg Reitz, Principal
REthink Development
REthink Development is a green development and consulting company that builds innovative, sustainable, and high performing developments by using a strong contextual, environmental, and story driven development process we call Contextual Development. REthink's combined mix of real estate experience, leading green building expertise, technology product development and marketing skills, and entertainment production experience gives us a very unique perspective, vision, and set of skills.
There are three key elements to REthink's Contextual Development approach:
Context: REthink surveys the complete context of the project including the history of the site, its location in the city relative to industries, land uses and transportation, the character of the neighborhood in which it is built, the local environmental conditions, and the role in the community it currently serves.
Sustainability: REthink thoroughly addresses the environmental and health aspects of the project through an integrated design process employing green design measures ensuring the new building is higher performing and more respectful of the people, place, and environment for which it is built.
Narrative: At the nexus of context and sustainability a completely unique and compelling project emerges. REthink will tell this story in ways which resonate with the spirit of potential buyers and tenants enabling them to make a personal and substantive connection to the space.
Contact REthink Development
Owen Dell, Landscape Architect
Owen Dell & Associates
Owen Dell is an award winning, internationally recognized landscape architect. He is the owner of County Landscape & Design in Santa Barbara, Ca. Owen Dell is a contractor specializing in sustainable landscape design and construction. Dell is a seasoned veteran speaker; he teaches and lectures around the country and internationally on sustainable landscaping, business management, interface fire safety and other topics.
Owen Dell is the author of the best-selling book "How to Start a Home-Based Landscaping Business and a regular contributor to numerous national horticultural publications. He is also co-star of the popular Santa Barbara-based television comedy show Garden Wise Guys. He's the founder of the Fossil-Free Landscaping Group and the Neighborhood Foodshed Project, both based in Santa Barbara.
Contact Owen Dell & Associates
Takanori Ito, Architect
Takanori Ito started his career in architecture under the guidance of his master craftsman father Katsutoshi Ito, where he learned the ancient art of traditional Japanese mokuzou kenchiku (wood construction architecture). His formative years were spent working with his father on a variety of residential and temple projects in Japan. In pursuit of broader horizons, his architectural career took him to London where he was involved in large scale commercial projects including the regeneration of the Docklands area, the Caribbean to design exclusive upscale homes and resorts and China where he is currently working on the ecological regeneration of a 12th century monastery. Takanori's passion for caring for the earth, knowledge of ecological and permacultural design principles, awareness of natural energy flows and rigorous trainingin both ancient and modern techniques, combined with his sensitivity to the needs of the client, create the conditions for a higher creativity to emerge.
Contact Takanori Ito
Marilyn Miller Farmer, Architect,
Habitat Studio, San Luis Obispo, CA
Marilyn Miller Farmer is the Principal-in-Charge of Habitat Studio, Marilyn received her Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and became a registered California Architect in 1992.
Marilyn has over 20 years of experience in both residential and commercial projects emphasizing ecologically sensitive design. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, and has been the recipient of several notable honors and awards, including First Place Award in the AIA/UIA International Sustainable Design Competition in 1992 and an AIA Design Merit Award for the Claiborne and Churchill Winery, California's first commercial strawbale building.
In 2002, as Architecture Department Head at Cuesta College, she initiated and coordinated an architectural associate degree program revision to include Sustainable Design.
Contact Habitat Studio Architecture
Geofrey Collins, Architectural Designer
SCO Studio, Los Angeles
SCO Studio was founded in 1993 while Geofrey Collins was with Frank Gehry's Architectural practice. Geofrey received his architecture degrees from Cincinnati and SCI-Arc.
SCO Studio has designed scores of projects for home and office, giving each client a unique opportunity to create a serene and conscious environment.
With a Permaculture Design Certificate and experience with solar Earthship homes in New Mexico, Geofrey combines Green practicality with organic aesthetics
Contact SCO Studio
Michael Moss, Principal
Moss Cadora Development Co.
Michael Moss is a real estate investor and developer. His intent is to create awareness and green inventory for families and investors. He is developing three post-platinum Eco-Lofts in the heart of Santa Monica's Ocean Park district. Michael is a California native, has a BA in Economics from Humboldt State University, drives a Bio-diesel and applies Cradle to Cradle and Permaculture Design Principals to his life.
Moss Cadora Development is developing other green projects and offers Green Building services, Consulting and Co-Venture Investing opportunities.
Contact Michael Moss
Irina Farber, Real Estate Sales Consultant
Santa Monica, CA
Irina Farber promotes principles of Permaculture Design and sustainability in helping her clients to make better choices in creating their Real Estate portfolio. She works closely with other ecological building and design professionals to educate her clients about the importance of using sustainable non-toxic materials and technologies.
She has studied Permaculture Design with Earth Flow Design Works since 2005 and has worked on numerous projects. She is currently in the process of getting her eco-broker certification.
Ms. Farber provides consultations and home analysis to prospective sellers to prepare and list their properties for sale. She is also an experienced negotiator and helps find buyers best suitable property for their needs.
Contact Irina Farber
Valerie Sacks, Principal
Sacks Real Estate Consulting
Valerie Sacks formed her consulting firm after practicing law in both the public and private sectors in the Los Angeles area, first as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California and subsequently as a transactional land use attorney. Valerie Sacks specializes in helping to shepherd clients' real estate development projects through the challenging, and too-often unpredictable entitlement processes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Valerie focuses on obtaining the necessary entitlements from the applicable local government entities on behalf of homeowners and developers of mixed-use commercial and residential projects, condominium conversions, subdivisions, restaurants, offices, schools, and other commercial and industrial uses.
Contact Sacks Consulting
