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A nonprofit board is an important part of making sure an organization is taking steps towards its goal.
A nonprofit board is an important part of making sure an organization is taking steps towards its goal. For the Biophilic Institute’s board, this means providing knowledge and action steps to transform communities’ environmental, economic, and personal well-being.
The Biophilic Institute was formed at Serenbe in 2013, and six years later, industry thought-leaders have come together in an expanded Biophilic Board. Their vision for the Institute is to turn personal responsibility into local and global action to nurture living systems for future generations, and the core program they’re utilizing to accomplish this is the annual Biophilic Leadership Summit, which is hosted by the Institute, Steve Nygren of Serenbe, and the University of Virginia’s Dr. Tim Beatley with the Biophilic Cities Project.
The annual Biophilic Leadership Summit is a gathering of nature-centered change makers, urbanists, architects, and environmental trailblazers, who explore how biophilic design, practice, and policies can impact our health and wellbeing.
Alfie Vick is the Georgia Power Professor in Environmental Ethics at the University of Georgia. He is a licensed landscape architect and a LEED Fellow. In addition to teaching gin the CED, he is on the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of the Institute of Native American Studies.
He continues to practice as a principal at Solidago Design Solutions, and his professional work has included several LEED-certified buildings, including the LEED Platinum headquarters of the Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alfie was the Founding Chair of the Sustainable Sites Technical Advisory Group for the US Green Building Council, and is on the Board of Directors of the Athens Land Trust. His research focuses on green infrastructure and sustainable site design, landscape performance metrics, native plant communities, and Cherokee ethnobotany.
Bill Browning is one of the green building and real estate industry’s foremost thinkers and strategists, and an advocate for sustainable design solutions at all levels of business, government, and civil society. His expertise has been sought out by organizations as diverse as Fortune 500 companies, leading universities, non-profit organizations, the U.S. military, and foreign governments.
Bill founded Green Development Services at the Rocky Mountain Institute in 1991, and was the Director of Design and Environment at Haymount. He co-founded Browning + Bannon, LLC in 2005, and was a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Board of Directors.
He has served on numerous environmentally conscientious boards and councils, and is the author and co-author of many books and articles on the topic. In 2006, Bill founded Terrapin Bright Green.
Erin Jende is the Director of Marketing Communications, Americas at Interface, and has served in this role since April 2017. Before, she was an Account Executive with Interface for six years, and was the Vice President of Marketing at Cartral Doyle Creative Company for seven years.
Greg Kasparian is the co-founder of Creek Retreat. His and his wife’s vision for a wellness retreat took shape in August 2017, the month after they chose to call Serenbe home. Greg’s career has been spent in the wellness space, including the opening of the International Dermal Institute in NYC in 1999.
Harriet Langford is President and Trustee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a Georgia-based private family foundation honoring the legacy of her father, the late Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011). Prior to assuming her current role, Harriet owned a specialty printing business in LaGrange, Georgia.
Harriet’s entrepreneurial leadership skills, her servant spirit, and her passion for team sports made her transition into nonprofit leadership in 2011 a natural one. She is on the boards of the Georgia Conservancy, Sustainable Atlanta, the Biophilic Institute, and the Troup County Strategic Planning Committee.
Jeff Tkach serves as the Chief Impact Officer for the Rodale Institute and is responsible for expanding its global influence in healing people and the planet by unlocking the transformational power of regenerative organic agriculture.
Previously, Jeff served as Managing Director and Vice President for Rodale’s Organic Life and Prevention Magazines, where he oversaw business objectives and strategic operations for both brands. Other previous roles include VP of Sales & Marketing at Life Time Fitness, Group Publisher at Active Interest Media (AIM), and overseeing Yoga Journal and Vegetarian Times. A Pennsylvania native, Jeff received a BA in marketing from Kutztown University and a post-grad “Authentic Leadership Certificate” from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. He regularly speaks at industry organizations on behalf of Rodale Institute in an effort to catalyze the human connection to regenerative organic agriculture and its ability to heal the world.
Jim Durrett is executive director of The Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) - a local government entity with taxation power whose mission is to create and maintain a safe, accessible and livable urban environment in the heart of the Buckhead commercial area in Atlanta, GA. Previous positions include Founding Executive Director of the Livable Communities Coalition, Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute’s Atlanta District Council, VP of Environmental Affairs at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Senior VP and COO of The Georgia Conservancy.
Previous nonprofit board experience includes Georgians for Passenger Rail, the Georgia Conservancy, PEDS, the Hambridge Center, and VSA Arts of Georgia. Duarte earned a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and an MS in Geology from the University of Georgia. He completed post-graduate work in hydrogeology at the University of Texas.
Mark “Puck” Mykleby was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps following his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1987. He was designated a naval aviator in April 1990 and as a qualified F/A-18 pilot in December 1990. From January 1991 to May 2006, he served in five fleet fighter squadrons and performed numerous operational squadron billets to include Director of Safety and Standardization, Pilot Training Officer, Aircraft Maintenance Officer, Operations Officer, Executive Officer, and Commanding Officer. Mark’s operational and combat experience includes numerous deployments (land based and ship borne) to the European, Pacific, and Southwest Asian theaters in support of Operations PROVIDE PROMISE, DENY FLIGHT, SOUTHERN WATCH, and IRAQI FREEDOM.
In June 2007, Mark was assigned to the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) where he developed strategy for Special Operations Forces. From July 2009 until April 2011, he served as a special strategic assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that capacity, he co-authored with Navy Captain Wayne Porter “A National Strategic Narrative,” a concept and vision for a 21st Century grand strategy for the nation. Mark retired from the Marine Corps in July 2011. Mark is now a co-director of the Strategic Innovation Lab at Case Western Reserve University where he continues his work on grand strategy and sustainability.
Mary Davidge has been the Director of Global Design, Real Estate and Workplace Services for Google since September 2014. Before fulfilling this position, Mary was a principal at RM+W Architecture and Interiors for 15 years, and was also a principal at her own company, Mary Davidge Associates for 12 years. Her work focuses on green building and sustainable architecture.
Michael Taylor
Monica Olsen is a marketing executive with over 20 years of experience working with Fortune 500 to boutique brands, advertising agencies and Silicon Valley start-ups. She has extensive brand and client work with a deep agency background. She currently leads marketing for Serenbe. She lives in the Serenbe community with her husband and two young boys.
Dr. Phillip Tabb is a Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M. He created the masterplan for the wellness community Serenbe. His publications include Solar Energy Planning published by McGraw-Hill, The Greening of Architecture: A Critical History and Survey of Contemporary Sustain-able Architecture and Urban Design, Serene Urbanism: A Biophilic Theory and Practice of Sustainable Placemaking and Coedited Architecture, Culture and Spirituality published by Ashgate. Tabb teaches studio design, the theory of placemaking, and he is a practicing urban designer and licensed architect.
Stephanie Stuckey is an Advisor at Southface. She coordinates Southface’s municipal, organizational and corporate sustainability efforts to leverage existing and new Southface programs while providing sustainability strategy, consulting and project management services. Stephanie is also the Program Coordinator for Clean Cities-Georgia, the Department of Energy-funded program that works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders and other stakeholders to save energy and promote the use of domestic fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in transportation.
Stephen Gallant is a 36-year veteran institutional investor and senior investment management executive. He brings a well-rounded understanding of best practices in investing, along with a proper understanding of governance, risk management, and operations.
In his last role, Stephen co-conceived and co-founded Somerset Reinsurance, a reinsurance solutions company designed to provide needed capital relief to the global life insurance and annuity market. From inception, Stephen led the launch of the company in Zurich, Switzerland. Mr. Gallant led the early development of the corporate governance structure, the regulatory licensing process, the asset management and risk management processes, and the implementation of the firm’s system architecture. Stephen served on the Board of Directors of Weisshorn Re and was Chief Investment Officer since inception.
Before his entrepreneurial endeavor, Stephen was Head of Rates for ING Investment Management’s Proprietary Fixed Income Group. He served on the firm’s Executive Team, where the firm set investment strategy, made tactical decisions, addressed operational needs, and oversaw risk for the firm’s $80 billion portfolio. Before his career at ING, Stephen spent thirteen years trading in the US fixed income market. Mr. Gallant is a member of the CFA Institute, where he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He received a BS in finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Steve Nygren discovered the property now known as Serenbe on an outing to introduce his children to the Georgia countryside. He purchased the first 60 acres, along with the existing buildings, in 1991. Weekend visits for the Nygrens literally transformed their lives and in 1994 he sold his Atlanta home and relocated full-time to Serenbe. In 1996, he turned the 1930s horse barn next to his house into guest rooms and opened the Serenbe Bed & Breakfast.
Steve was raised on a Colorado farm and began working part time for Stouffer’s Food Corporation while attending the University of Colorado. Seven years later, Steve was the National Director of Sales and Marketing for Stouffer’s Hotels. In 1973, Steve opened the Pleasant Peasant restaurant, which grew to a corporation of 34 restaurants in eight states by the time of his departure in 1994.
He has been active in many civic and charitable organizations, including serving as Chairman of the Midtown Alliance, Chairman of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association and Chairman of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chairman of The Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance. He currently serves on the Department of Community Affairs Board and chairs the Task Force for Comprehensive Planning for Georgia.
Dr. Tim Beatley is the “Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities” at the University of Virginia, School of Architecture, and the coiner of the term “green urbanism”. He received a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986, and is the founder and executive director of the Biophilic Cities Project. Tim is the author of numerous books and research articles, most notably Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature Into Urban Design and Planning. Tim’s work concerns sustainable living and practices, creative strategies to build green communities, and living practices that reduce humanity’s ecological footprint and increase equitability.
The 2020 Summit is April 26-29 at The Inn at Serenbe. More information can be found at biophilicsummit.com. If the BLS answers the “why,” the Nygren Placemaking Conference answers the “how.” Join city planners, developers and other town leadership this Fall to learn about visioning, developing and building your own community and how to navigate zoning, policy and other roadblocks. Details and registration is at nygrenplacemaking.com.