Alumni NewsAlumni newsAlumni Spotlight An Interview with Spring 2009 alumnus, Darcy Everett Q: What were you doing before the Ecosa semester? A: Before Ecosa, I was working as an interior designer at a furniture dealer/design firm in Lexington, KY called CG Concepts. Before that, I graduated from the College of Design at the University of Kentucky. While I was in school studying interior design, I had always had an interest in sustainability. My senior year of college, I did an independent project on sustainable design after reading the book Cradle-to-Cradle by William McDonough. So, after that I was always interested in learning more about sustainability. After working in the commercial design world for about two years, I needed a change. I began researching Master's programs in sustainable design and realized they were few and far between. I also stumbled upon the Ecosa website at this time. I think I read through the home page and was sold. I knew that was the place. I called and talked to Tony on the phone about the program and he just confirmed that Ecosa was the next step I needed to take in my career and life! A: After I graduated from Ecosa, I moved back to Kentucky and began looking for a job. I signed up for Americorps and sent out my application to a ton of different places all relating back to what I had learned at Ecosa. I got an interview for a program manager position at an environmental non-profit here in Lexington, called Bluegrass PRIDE. I did the interview, got hired, and started there in August. At Bluegrass PRIDE, I work on two programs. The first is helping apartments and businesses start and expand recycling programs for their residents and staff. The second is a program I recently helped launch related to stormwater and water quality here in Lexington. We work with the city of Lexington to help educate businesses and apartments on how they can improve water quality. I am really excited about this program because a recent survey completed in Lexington showed that almost 83% of people did not even know they lived in a watershed, so now I get to go out and help educate them so they can make better choices!! A: I can honestly say that Ecosa impacted my career path 200%. Ecosa gave me the knowledge, experience, and confidence to go out and make a difference in my local community and helped me become just a more conscious person in general. A: Yes! My new co-worker has told me many times that when she called Tony and spoke to him as a reference for this new job, she was concerned that I had such a heavy design background, she didn't know if this was the job for me. Tony told her that design is in everything, and that, I completely agree with! But more than just design, Ecosa gave me knowledge on many topics I am utilizing today, a big one being water, ...watersheds, green infrastructure techniques, rainwater harvesting, localizing it, etc. Also, dumpster diving....we do dumpster dives for many businesses to see how well they are recycling! I can thank many of my fellow ecosans for that one. A: I certainly hope so! I know it is a great feeling when I visit an apartment complex that doesn't have any recycling at all and set them up through our recycling program, and then go back a month later and see those recycling bins filled to the brim. I also just think going out and educating people about the issues is helpful, I am amazed at how many people just don't really know! Q: What have you learned through your work experiences since Ecosa? A: I've learned that it is an uphill battle, but a very worthy battle! A: Well, I think the conversation is at least out there, which is great. So, I think setting the example is a huge opportunity. I know since coming back from Ecosa, just explaining my experience to other people, and explaining the changes I made in my life have made others re-evaluate or at least think twice maybe, which is empowering. I don't know, there are still many things that need to happen, but as Tony told us many times....know that while you are making a difference doing whatever you're doing, trust that there are others out there doing their part as well. Q: How did you get to be so cool? A: That is obvious....I slow it, spread it, and sink it!
Ecosa Alumni Updates
David Rand (Fall 2008)
David is now working for the City of Chicago as the coordinator for the city run farmer's markets. He is responsible for connecting farmers to markets and to restaurants and promoting local food sourcing. He is also a member of Slow Food Chicago and is on the committee for event planning. There are some great ideas for events. The City of Chicago has just given 14 vacant city lots to an urban agriculture group which David will be helping develop. Dan Hatch (Fall 2004)Dan is a partner with fellow Ecosa Alumnus Brian Hayes in Grounded Design Studio (see below for link). Dan has also been recognized by the Design Futures Council which has has selected him as one of a half-dozen professionals for its 2009 class of Emerging Leaders. These individuals will receive registration scholarships to attend the 8th Annual Leadership Summit on Sustainable Design in Chicago Sept. 30 - Oct. 2. The citation reads: Hatch is the national vice president and the Chicago president of the nonprofit organization Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. He recently co-founded the firm Grounded Design Studio in Chicago. Hatch received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati and took time off during his thesis to study ecological design at the Ecosa Institute in Arizona. His background includes human rights work, community organizing, and grassroots activism. Brian Hayes (Fall 2004)Brian is partner in Grounded Design Studio along with alumnus Dan Hatch (see above). We are a small firm doing architectural rendering and graphic design, as well as small scale architectural design. At Grounded, we are creating a model for living simply, working passionately, and positively impacting our surrounding communities. Our aim is to provide quality design services at a reasonable price, with a sustainable focus, and work with people from all walks of life. To see the great work of this company and link to Brian, Dan and partner Jamie click this link www.groundeddesignstudio.com Rosemary Lapka (Fall 2004)
Rosemary is currently advising a 9-person Global Communications Center team on communication design of their OVOP (One Village, One Portal) project, a web-base tool to develop SII (Social Information Infrastructure) and provide social services and generate income for the people at the BoP (Base of the Pyramid) in the 85,000 villages in Bangladesh.
Her prior experience was over 3 semesters when she designed and taught 4 courses at Carnegie Mellon's Doha campus. 'Communication Design Fundamentals', introduced the basics of visual communication for business, computer science and information systems undergraduate students. 'Examining Sustainability in the Gulf'- introduced the concepts of sustainability and systems thinking. 'Design for People and Planet' introduced students to design research, conceptual models and visual representation and developing a service design to meet the needs of the low-income labor class in Qatar. 'Qatar Communication Design' expanded on the student's previous work in communication design and gave them real communication design challenges. I also acted as the adviser for LiveGreen, CM-Q's student environmental group. Tiffany Broyles (Fall 2003)
Tiffany has completed her studies at the Architecture Association in London and is back in New York working as the Sustainability Co-ordinator for the architectural firm KPF Kohn Pederson Fox, an architectural firm with a global reach http://www.kpf.com/main.asp Tiffany is getting married in September! Congratularions. We are planning to meet at the Greenbuild conference, which is in Phoenix this year. Steve Skelton (Fall 2008) and Shana Payne (Fall 2005) are engaged!
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