Regenerative Design Expert,
Published Author, Keynote Speaker
I'm the inaugural CEO of Built by Nature, a network and grant-making fund with a mission to accelerate the timber building transformation in Europe and the UK.
Built By Nature connects key actors across the built environment and forest economies to spark city-scale projects and amplify stories of ground-breaking timber projects and solutions. In close collaboration with its major partners and front-runners, Built by Nature aims to change perceptions around timber construction and reshape the built environment system.
From 2020-2022, I was Head of Regenerative Design, and the Climate Change Practice Lead at global consultancy firm Mott MacDonald, based in the beautiful harbour city of Sydney.
As CEO of the International Living Future Institute, I spent a decade creating regenerative frameworks such as the Living Building and Community Challenge programs. I scaled the organization internationally and created a global movement around Biophilic Design.
An architect whose buildings have been awarded, I was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2013 and named as a US Green Building Council LEED Fellow in 2014.
In 2015 I was named as one of the top ten women in sustainability through a Women in Sustainability Leadership Award.
I've been guest and keynote speaker on the global stage at events such as SXSW Austin, Greenbuild, Klimahouse Europe, Net Zero and Building Energy. My TedTalk: Bringing Biophilic Design to Life can be viewed here
I'm the author of Creating Biophilic Buildings, My essay Buildings Designed for Life appears in the anthology All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions to Climate Change.
I am a frequent keynote speaker, where I convey the complexity of shifting our built environment to create thriving ecosystems and societies with passion and clarity. My TedMed talk: “Using Biophilic Design to heal body, mind and soul” and book “Creating Biophilic Buildings’ summarize the potential for the connection between people and nature to change the places we live, work and play in.
My essay in the Penguin anthology “All We Can Save” and in The Guardian focus on how bringing nature into our urban centers can address climate change and biodiversity together.
I have led hundreds of workshops that transform the way that teams approach their projects from the beginning, often revealing that the seemingly impossible is possible.
My SPEAKER REEL
My mission is design that gives back to people and planet and doesn’t just make things a 'little less bad', but looks at a vision of restoring and recovering.”
PODCASTS
PUBLISHED WORK
