The Lab is a project of Re-Vision Labs: building communities that integrate people, physical environments, and online networks. For more information about us please visit our website at Re-VisionLabs.com.

FOUNDERS

Specialties: Film, Design, and New Media, Social and Cause Marketing, Community Building, Strategic Planning, Developing Local Value

Bio: Melinda Briana Epler has spent the majority of her life learning how to effectively create sustainable social change. As an award-winning filmmaker, artist, and writer, she has traveled across the globe creating mass media that provokes awareness and action.

In addition to her work on nearly fifty documentary and narrative film projects, Melinda has written for numerous publications about local foods, local living, green design, edible landscaping, waste reduction, and community building. At her online publication One Green Generation, she inspires thousands of people each day to begin living a sustainable lifestyle.

Melinda also acquired fifteen years of strategic planning experience writing and researching multi-million dollar federal grant proposals for community development. Her clients included the governments of Bellingham, Vancouver, Tacoma, Thurston County, Klickitat County, and Washington State.

Informed by years of directing media productions, leading community service projects, and studying group dynamics and infrastructure, Melinda has become a highly effective motivator and cultivator of online and offline communities. She believes emotional storytelling combined with creative imagery are the keys to conveying ideas, alluring interest, and inciting sustainable participation.

Education: Melinda holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from University of Washington, a BFA in Fine Art and Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York, and a MFA in Cinema and Television Production from the University of Southern California.

On the Office Shelf: Deep Economy by Bill McKibben, Small is Possible by Lyle Estill, Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature by Imhoff, Baumgartner et al.

Favorite Quote: “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” – Woodrow Wilson.

Nutty Tidbit: When she graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York, she had cotton-candy-pink dreadlocks and wore all black.

Specialties: Social Media, Communication Systems Design, Advanced Customer Interaction, Community Organizing, Change Management, Monetization, and Business Model Innovation.

Bio: Brett Horvath is a designer, an instigator, and an entrepreneur. By forecasting emerging business models – and then building operations and projects that take advantage of new market realities – Brett has been able to witness first-hand the “Groundswell” effect within many different industries.

Brett is Director of Your Revolution, a non-profit that created innovative engagement strategies for young voters in 2008, and has helped more than a dozen community and national non-profits with their social media and organizing strategies. Brett is also the director of Komunikado, an organization that helps both for-profit and non-profit entities evolve by leveraging networked communication, advanced customer interaction, and social media.

Brett believes that too often organizations confuse cultural problems for technological ones. People are the most important part of any system, and that’s the first place Brett starts when trying to evolve or create an organization’s model.

Education: Brett never got around to finishing his degree at the University of Washington because there just wasn’t a program for him. After working in the public and private sectors for 4 years, the UW asked Brett to come back and create such a program. Brett is currently an adjunct instructor at the Masters in Communication and Digital Media program, and has been commissioned to create a new center at the UW called The Media Space. The Media Space is an interdisciplinary innovation incubator, bringing the best students from all parts of the university to collaborate with corporations and organizations. Together they conduct agile research and design novel products.

On the Office Shelf: Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, The Wealth of Networks by Yochai Benkler, Closing the Innovation Gap by Judy Estrin.

Community Service: Brett is a “Strategist-at-large” for several community non-profits and makes pro-bono work a regular part of his routine. Brett also teaches advocacy and empowerment techniques to young international refugees in the Seattle area.

Nutty Tidbit: When he was in the 4th grade, Brett decided he wanted to be the first to build self-replicating nanotechnology. However, to this day, Brett is incapable of opening boxes of cereal without destroying them.

Specialties: Media, Media Integration, Business Development, and Sustainability Plans.

Bio: Dan O’Shea spent 25 years in the radio business working in New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle. With his work in local and national sales, local sales management, national sales management and business development, Dan has had a wide range of media experience in a variety of markets. At the core, Dan believes in the value of passionate fans of a well-developed brand. His favorite campaigns use integrated media that reach out to a wide market, incorporating the essence of the brand and communicating it in a relevant and passionate manner.

With a lifelong love of the outdoors and a belief that business can do good things, Dan earned a Certificate in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in 2007. Using that knowledge Dan began working on campaigns marketing renewable energy, energy efficiency, organic and fair trade foods. He organized the sustainability platform for one of the smallest footprint concert series in the US: The Concerts at Marymoor. He also co-wrote the sustainability plan for Entercom Communications, the 4th largest radio broadcaster in the US. In 2008, he gave the keynote address at the Washington State Recycling Association’s annual meeting.

Dan has always been involved in some sort of environmentally conscious activity. From volunteering with the Sierra Club, to a 30 Day NOLS survival course, a Wilderness-EMT certificate, and creating a hiking guide. He has served on the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Committee and the Wilderness Society North Cascades Marketing Committee.

Education: Dan holds a Certificate in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute.

Personal Hero: Nikola Tesla

On the Office Shelf: The Sustainability Handbook by Blackburn, Cradle to Cradle by McDonough & Braungart, Good to Great by Collins, Natural Capitalism by Lovins, Lovins, & Hawken, Getting to Scale by Bamburg, Steady State Economics by Herman Daly

Nutty Tidbit: Dan abandoned a perfectly good career in 1989 to travel around the world for three years.

Specialties: Operations, Community and Network Building, Custom Sustainability Strategies, Strategy Planning, Event Production

Bio: Gabriel Scheer is, foremost, a connector. With broad experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Gabriel loves to think strategically about how to create the spaces where communities grow and thrive. Gabriel excels at building, extending, and fully taking advantage of networks – by utilizing social marketing, creating buzz, and working to identify and build upon areas of shared interest across diverse groups of people.

Gabriel is the Executive Director of Seattle Greendrinks, a non-profit organization working to connect people around environmental issues. Previously he worked in operations at Zipcar (formerly Flexcar), where he was particularly proud of his successful work serving low-income populations, and his accomplishments as General Manager for Zipcar in the Southern California market. Gabriel has worked, traveled, and studied in several countries including New Zealand, Japan, England, and Brazil.

Education: Gabriel has an oddly-combined BA in both Vocal Music Performance and Political Science from Luther College. He also holds Masters Degrees in Public Affairs (MPA) and International Studies (MAIS), both with a focus on Environmental Management.

On the Office Shelf: Raising the Bar by Gary Erickson, Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe, RenGen by Patricia Martin, Seattle & the Demons of Ambition by Fred Moody, Natural Capitalism by Lovins, Lovins, & Hawken, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.

Community Service: Gabriel served on the Board of Sustainable Seattle for several years. He is co-founder of Sustainable Capitol Hill, a group that serves as a platform for neighborhood empowerment, particularly around ideas of sustainability. He also hosts house concerts and writes music reviews for Glide Magazine, and regularly volunteers for KEXP, PCC Natural Markets, and NARAL.

Nutty Tidbit: While working as a volunteer at a conference, Gabriel once did a brief stint working security for the Canadian Prime Minister.

Specialties: Strategic Planning, Community Organizing, Public Affairs, and Management Systems.

Bio: Zach Silk is an innovative strategist, organizer, and manager with a track record of success. He has extensive experience in non-profit, advocacy, and electoral fields, and has recently worked in some of the most competitive electoral races in the country. He began his career as a community organizer.

After serving as Political Director for Washington Conservation Voters, Zach went on to build and lead a team that took a political newcomer from obscurity to one of the top 10 congressional challengers in the country. Later he founded his own consulting firm where his clients included MoveOn.org and Washington State Democratic Party. His work has been rooted in leveraging the power of community and networks to make political change.

Most recently, he served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Washington Governor Chris Gregoire’s successful reelection campaign. He oversaw the outreach and organizing operation and was the point of contact for Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change.

His academic work has focused on international relations, leadership theory, leadership ethics and Government 2.0. He is currently doing qualitative research on business decision making and utilizing Web 2.0 tools to make government more transparent and effective.

Zach grew up in rural America, lived and worked abroad and has traveled extensively in Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Education: Zach holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. He holds a Masters Certificate in International Relations from the Universiteit van Amsterdam and is currently a candidate for an MPA from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs.

On the Office Shelf: Neighbor Power by Jim Diers, Natural Capitalism by Lovins, Lovins, & Hawken, Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky.

Favorite Quote: “We must believe that it is the darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world. We will see it when we believe it.” – Saul Alinsky.

Nutty Tidbit: He played in a rock band for a dozen years and really enjoys a good rodeo.

Specialties: Strategic Planning, Information Technology, Operations, International Consulting, Program Management, and Foreign Languages.

Bio: Torrie Sullivan brings over a decade of international consulting and leadership experience in operations, information technology and program management. Prior to joining Re-Vision Labs, she was founder and COO of a medical tourism company aimed at setting global standards for medical care abroad. She also served as both the Director of Business Solutions and Director of IT in various financial services organizations.

Previously, as a “Big 4” consultant for Arthur Anderson and Bearingpoint, Torrie managed enterprise-wide projects for global organizations such as GE Capital, Life Technologies, Honda Finance and the Ministry of Health in Singapore. Living in Spain and Italy, she worked in several startup software companies and studied international business in Mexico and China. All of these experiences have helped in her role as adjunct faculty member of various universities teaching entrepreneurship, leadership and resource management.

Torrie’s passion has always been around helping people find their unique gifts and use them in service to others. It took many years of soul-searching before she recognized and embraced that her gifts are in creating and growing purposeful companies with authentic leadership. To that aim, her volunteer efforts have centered around empowering women in business through teaching entrepreneurship and helping them to create strong relationships and supportive connections within their community.

Education: Torrie obtained her MBA with emphasis on executive management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Bachelor’s Degrees in Management Information Systems and Spanish.

On the Office Shelf: Leadership from the Inside Out by Kevin Cashman and The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander.

Favorite Quote: “We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson.

Nutty Tidbit: Torrie is a self-proclaimed “self help” addict and has read nearly 500 books on everything from how to learn harmonica in 7 days to becoming aware of and trusting your intuition.

FELLOWS

At Present: Aurea Astro is helping to build a colorful social media presence for RVL incorporating video, graphic design, and good ol’ fashioned witticisms. Aurea employs her favorite hobby of talking to strangers to gather “word on the street” and relay associated updates to the RVL brains.

In the Future: Collecting discount rain gear, influencing public policy using various media and becoming famous in the process. Run another marathon and not come in last, though “there’s nothing wrong with that and we’re all winners.”

My Past: Sun-loving surfer from Hawaii turned rain whisperer and soggy cyclist in Seattle.

Jesse Burns has experience developing innovative and experiential leadership development trainings for a variety of organizations and sectors, including Wharton Business School, Google, Duke, and the University of North Carolina.

He has also contributed research around strategy development and implementation, and refined program evaluations for the Executive Leadership Program for Educators: a collaboration between Harvard’s Business School, Kennedy School, and Graduate School of Education, which improves leadership, networks, teamwork, and learning at a systemic level in some of the largest school districts in the United States. Recently, Jesse assisted the Executive Director of the Sightline Institute, a sustainability think-tank based in Seattle, by furthering their Strategic Planning Process and contributing research to a recent report on Green Collar Jobs. Jesse earned an Ed.M. in School Leadership and Development from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and a BS in Biology (Ecology Emphasis), Chemistry Minor, from Western Washington University.

Jesse’s experiences highlight his interest in productively integrating vast amounts of information into unique approaches to complex problems. At RVL, he works on industry research in global development, education, and the environment.

At present: Maddy Frey is working on projects with RVL relating to health, social entrepreneurship, and community engagement.

In the future: Poverty and inequality are major causes of poor health in both developed and developing countries. Maddy hopes to help communities start social entrepreneurship as public health intervention. In the meantime, she’d like to provide health education in family planning or other prevention-oriented programs.

My past: Born in Seattle and graduated from Garfield High School, Maddy has also lived in Massachusetts (Smith College) and Indonesia (1.5 years for study abroad and then working in appropriate technology). Most recently she graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s in Public Health, and spent the summer kayaking, hiking, and ideating.

At Present: Kristen Kosidowski is focused on projects involving community empowerment and environmental sustainability, locally and globally. She also leads a team to refine internal processes and procedures at RVL.

In the Future: Kristen plans to grow more kale and fewer tomatillos in her garden, join an orchestra again, and travel to Europe and India. She also has big plans for continued education, community activism, and outdoor play. “Endless possibilities inspire my sort of choose-your-own-adventure approach to the question of, ‘what next?’”

My Past: Hailing from Wisconsin, the land of cheese and beer and large hills (no – the Midwest isn’t entirely flat). Best time to visit is early fall. Studied at UW-Madison and in Quito, Ecuador, and graduated with a BS in Spanish, Latin American Studies, and a minor in Environmental Studies, plus a nearly-completed elementary education degree. “My work and life have revolved around the space where nature, food systems, health, justice, education and happiness intersect.”

A recent transplant from Washington DC, Anima Sarah La Voy is a social entrepreneur with a background in psychology and progressive politics. She is the founder of Swing Semester, an organization providing young people with a springboard into progressive politics during election cycles. In 2008, Swing Semester participants worked at 14 campaigns and organizations in the swing states of Ohio and Colorado, knocking on over 200,000 doors in the final weeks before the election. Participants lived with host families, studied an original syllabus of progressive thinking, and could elect to earn academic credit, making Swing Semester comparable to a semester abroad, but here at home.

Through her roles as apprentice to a political philosopher and enrollment manager for a series of private visioning retreats held among liberal and progressive leaders, Anima has pursued an understanding of the psychological and historical underpinnings to human progress. Anima completed her psychology degree at Earlham College, where her original research on the relationship between moral reasoning and political ideology earned her the distinction Junior Fellow at the American Academy of Political and Social Science. In 2008, Anima was named one of America’s “40 under 40” Emerging Leaders by New Leaders Council. Anima currently advises the Three Degrees Project and Ashoka’s Youth Venture in Seattle.

At Present: Kristin Norris is excitedly taking on some of the heavy lifting of the graphic and web design elements at RVL. In her free time she can found running a design studio downtown, scaling miniature mountains, studying animation and randomly leaving the country to explore whatever else happens to be out there.

In the Future: Kristin plans to start up a series of business ventures (exact details are still unknown), sell most everything she owns (except her beloved computer) and wander around the world in search of the next big thing (or little thing, or interesting thing, or just the next thing).

My Past: All the way from Los Angeles, Kristin is also a recent transplant in the Seattle landscape, carrying with her only a degree in acting, a license in massage therapy, a history of internships in communications and design and a passion for endless self-imposed education.

Nick Spang’s strengths are in program management, visioning, strategic planning, communications, and client relations in the realm of e-government solutions and environmental management. He loves to communicate and work with people to make projects succeed, especially complex projects that require careful planning and implementation.

Nick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up there as well as in Geneva, Switzerland as a teenager. After his undergraduate studies (UW, BSc in Zoology) he worked for six years in Costa Rica, Australia, Africa, and Alaska studying bird ecology, marine fisheries, and marine mammals. After graduate school (UW, MSc Forest Research Management and MPA Environmental Management), Nick worked in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Forest Service headquarters as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Preceding his work at Re-Vision Labs, Nick worked in Seattle at an environmental consulting firm serving public and private clients in Clean Water Act policy analysis, regulatory development, and compliance.

Ashley Best has been researching the ins and outs of the United States’ education system as well as tracking the daily education-related highlights found on social media networks. She continues to  write a weekly column in The Lab, featuring highlights in the field of education. Born and raised in Seattle, Ashley graduated from Seattle University in 2008 with a bachelor degree in Sociology and Pre-Law.  She has a passion for learning, building personal relationships, and enjoying the small moments in life.

“RVL is exciting to me because of its social conscience and proactive problem-solving strategies involving community building! I am a nerd at heart and love going to school; graduate school is most definitely in the cards for me.”

Sean Conner is a Physicist and Mechanical Engineer by education and entrepreneur by heart.  Sean has a variety of design experience, including as Lead Engineer at Ionographics, Inc. and Mechanical Designer at Santec, as well as come consulting work.  He has authored children’s books, enjoys climbing Mt. Rainier, problem solving and relationship building.  He notes, “My passion for problem solving comes from my love of projects and my personal conviction to see good works done.”

Ariyah DeSouza has marketing and management experience in the pharmaceutical, health care, technology and banking industries. At Bank of America she developed a multi-million dollar “paperless banking” online marketing program to engage 24 million customers using Triple Bottom Line and Six Sigma methodologies. She also served as public relations coordinator for Duke University Medical Center and built a national conference marketing plan to attract international physician talent to Duke. As a CSR consultant, Ariyah developed Burt’s Bees eco-metrics for its use as sponsor of the annual Raleigh, NC Earth Day festival; she received a stipend to write a business case for the Stanford School of Business; and she has provided area expertise for UNC’s Greening Website, among other projects. She earned an MBA focused in Consulting and Sustainable Enterprise from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a BA in English and Women’s Studies from Duke University. Currently she works at Microsoft, and is a board member of OUT for Sustainability and Seattle Net Impact.

Regan Kohlhardt is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or “The Hole,” as she describes it.  At RVL, she drank her fair share of espresso, exposed the rest of the staff to the wonders of bike spandex, and assisted with grant supplications and completion of client work in social media applications. In the fall I started a job in Squamish, British Columbia as an Admission Counselor for Quest University. From here, I’m writing a weekly blogging series at The Lab, focusing on community and collaboration. On the future horizon, who knows where I’ll be going! It’s still a mystery but the potential plans include: a sailing and ski trip to conquer the world’s coastal mountains, a stint of living off the land and eating what I grow, an eventual Urban Planning graduate school adventure, and a solid effort at saving the world by re-designing the transportation and energy industries so that they run off of sweet love and sweet love alone – War is hard to wage when your only source of fuel is compassion!

Kelly Rula is a significant contributor to Communications Department. Her work focuses on global development, social media, community organizing, and messaging.  Kelly landed in Seattle by way of Dallas, Bowdoin College in Maine, and most recently Alta, UT.

“I feel very lucky to be doing what I love to do at Re-Vision Labs: read, write, and network! I’m just starting a new job at Cascadia Consulting, but plan to continue to be involved with RVL. I currently write and update a weekly blog post for The Lab regarding the latest in global development.”