Where strategy meets living systems

Current AI paradigms are rooted in anthropocentric, extractive models—raising urgent questions around AI ethics and safety. This approach deepens the polycrisis and meta-crisis. A different path is possible: cosmic, Nature, human, and synthetic intelligence working together. By listening and observing rather than intervening and controlling, we can learn from living systems—mycelial networks, stigmergy—and build a regenerative, paradigm-transcending model.

As co-steward within the core group, engaged in co-creation and collaboration through constant divergent flaring in thinking and convergence in doing. Took the initiative from concept to reality through strategy, financial modeling, and rhythm of business design.

An opportunity to experiment and push boundaries—examining how current paradigms have failed, while co-designing alternatives grounded in living systems principles and responsible AI.

Screen fatigue and disconnection from Nature are pervasive globally. Young minds especially need activation towards analog experiences and Nature immersion. This app fosters mindfulness, kindness, reciprocity, and interbeing—using the ancient art of haiku to bring a passion for poetry to a wider world.

Developed through wholistic design, co-design with haiku poets and community groups, and iterative user testing. The app leverages AI services, RAG-hybrid architecture, and a Small Language Model (SLM) to deliver observation prompts, haiku feedback, and age-appropriate learning pathways. A public domain haiku corpus—including masters such as Bashō—displays original kanji alongside English translations in minimalist design.

Simplicity is central. The app engages people seeking balance between technology and presence, bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary practice—using screens to encourage users to put them down.

Humanity faces a meta-crisis—climate change, biodiversity collapse, and systemic breakdowns fuel existential anxiety worldwide. Yet a positive tipping point is emerging: a global awakening that Nature's vitality and the rights of non-human life are essential to human well-being. Current AI tools fall short: Large Language Models consume enormous energy and hallucinate, producing unreliable information that undermines trust among citizens seeking clarity on Rights of Nature.

Co-designed with Earth Law ecosystem partners—organizations advancing ecocentric worldviews, deep time perspectives, and planetary governance—a non-hallucinatory layer using RAG hybrid architecture was developed through rapid prototyping and global engagement. The model is trained on an attributed corpus from trusted Rights of Nature and Earth Law sources, ensuring accuracy and traceability.

Earth Law partners provided invaluable feedback and testing, ensuring the AI reflects the movement's rigor. Separate learning pathways serve new and advanced practitioners. Attribution and transparency model the co-creation principles the Rights of Nature movement seeks to advance.

While the state's epidemiology program was robust and greatly admired, its data collection was in need of modernization. County-by-county, a patchwork of disparate disease-specific surveillance systems and paper-based reporting co-existed. In line with the CDC's national strategic direction for data modernization, the decision was made to adopt a market-ready, best-in-class technology solution spanning the entire state.

For this multi-year engagement, success required a balance across people, process, and technology—skillfully incorporating the discipline of product leadership into the realm of public health and ensuring the platform could be customized to meet the needs of each specific disease surveillance team.

By practicing active listening, convening stakeholders regularly, and driving transparency, stakeholders felt respected and included. A phased approach with rapid prototyping sprints and user acceptance testing ensured the implementation's relevance and resilience.

Small hold farm-producers help preserve ancient and indigenous methods of cultivation with direct positive impact on soil, landscapes, and biodiversity. But too often they are not recognized nor provided with the necessary financial and marketing support. On the island of Crete, grassroots organizations are well-placed to harness and scale traditional practices but need better connections and visibility to expand their impact.

Engaged multiple organizations across Crete in the circular design of two food products—carob-based spread and carob-based granola—and expanded collective impact towards redefining food systems. Carob is culturally significant to Cretan heritage, intercropped with olive trees using sustainable practices rooted in centuries of Minoan agricultural tradition.

Ancient varietal food crops, upcycling of carob spread remnants to granola, 100% eco-friendly compostable packaging, and a concept closed-loop glass bottle reuse model developed in collaboration with the hospitality industry.

Remote Native American lands are often classified as food deserts. Many tribal members drive long distances to purchase groceries due to limited local produce. Poor soil and inconsistent water availability make home and community gardening difficult. In the Pacific Northwest, extreme heat, drought, and wildfires worsened by climate change present further challenges to localizing food production.

A collaboration with tribal leaders, the local housing authority, and community members to secure a USDA SBIR-I grant for a feasibility study showing linkages among the climate, cultural, and economic impacts on indigenous food systems through installation of a proof-of-concept micro-farm.

Despite COVID-19 related challenges, the initiative launched on time with a well-received community opening ceremony. The blueprint was presented at the InterTribal Ag Council in Las Vegas, Spring 2022. A follow-on agrivoltaics impact assessment ensures the micro-farm becomes net energy positive.

Globally, demand for artisan goods continues an upward trend with uniqueness of craft being a strong competitive advantage. In many developing countries the craft sector represents an opportunity for women's expanded economic inclusion—behind agriculture, artisan activity is often the second largest employer for women. But most artisan enterprises exist in the shadows of the formal sector, and interventions can be fraught without deep understanding of the highly localized, sociocultural, and geographic dimensions involved.

Focusing on two pilot countries, a public-private alliance collaboratively mapped specific artisan value chains through a participatory approach—capturing perspectives and motivations of artisans themselves to bring greater clarity to barriers and potential levers.

Providing all stakeholders the ability to visually understand components of the value chain through a visual language where literacy is not required allowed for fuller participation and ensured that artisans' lived experiences, local knowledge, and worldviews were incorporated.

At the time of this initiative, 15% of all fabric in India was produced on handlooms and India was the seventh largest producer of textiles globally. Yet 57% of India's 4.3 million handloom weavers were living below the poverty line. In the informal sector, occupational health and safety standards are poor—many of the 10,000+ chemicals used in textile production are bioaccumulative, hormone-disrupting, and cancer-causing. Behind agriculture, textiles are the second largest polluting industry globally.

After collaborative R&D with local artisans and environmental experts, the living wage, fair trade, B-Corp social enterprise SLOWCOLOR was launched in the U.S. in 2011. Focusing on the U.S. wholesale market and small boutique stores, SLOWCOLOR worked to drive awareness and foster connection between end consumers and artisan producers through exquisitely beautiful products—scarves, wraps, throws, and blankets—all naturally dyed and handmade using premium linen and organic cotton yarns.

Co-designed collection for loom interchangeability through a simplified product story and limited palette. Weaver cooperatives never carried costs of raw materials or inventory and set their own labor rates. SLOWCOLOR production never exceeded 15% of any cooperative's total capacity.

Globally, the number of unbanked individuals remains high. In Mexico City, particularly among domestic workers and caregivers, a sizable population lacks access to traditional banking services.

Sponsored by executive leadership in banking/finance and in partnership with two strategic organizations—one advocating for domestic workers, the other a network of bodega stores acting as banking transaction centers. A proof-of-concept app demonstrated that micro-savings and micro-investments for the unbanked are feasible leveraging digital wallets, blockchain, and cryptographic technologies directly on smartphones—a device ubiquitous among the unbanked population.

Despite COVID-19 challenges, the initiative launched with only a slight delay and was well received by the target audience. The app proved the viability of the business model and the platform selected.

Digital innovation is changing the financial industry at break-neck pace. This renowned, member-owned institution was struggling to rationalize and modernize its disparate services across Auto Loan, Home Loan, Insurance, and Financial Advisory—leading to member frustration. The credit union sought to remove friction and sustain membership growth with a steady focus on member experience and product leadership.

Collaborated with service division product leads to build an omni-channel strategy enabling consistent member experience across all services. Redefined product roles to be member experience centric. Co-defined unique 'click and mortar' member journey maps by service area to bridge the gap between digital and physical experiences.

Compelled executives to shift focus from multi-channel—a product-centric approach—to omni-channel: a member-centric, personalized, and more wholistic approach. An omni-channel strategy not only ensures the next best offer is personalized for each member, it also breaks down silos, stretching across business units and uniting product teams.

Watersheds are viable nature-based solutions to water security. But without clarity on the positive impacts to water quality and quantity, the entire investment is put at risk. For this project, associated structured and unstructured data for a single watershed—gathered manually and from sensors and tracking devices—was made explicit, balancing data quality and data quantity for rigorous data science needs.

Orchestrated a global technology innovator's subject matter experts alongside the conservation group's senior leadership in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two organizations.

Early insights from data analysis pointed to key aspects of successful intervention in the watershed and amplified the work of hydrologists, data scientists, and the multitude of stakeholders involved in making the watershed initiative successful.