As an Ecological Economist by training, I have worked at the intersection of nature and society–always under the premise that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of nature. I pioneered methods for using the then new art and science of geographic information systems (GIS) for mapping the economic, social and cultural value of the land and the sea to the humans who live and work there. I am the editor of a book about that. This work directly informed the creation of a large network of marine protected areas along the West Coast of North America and beyond–so large, it’s visible from space. My training is foundational to everything I do, and I see systems and patterns that both reflect nature and are deeply interdependent with it at every level of human pursuits.

I articulated practical ways for translating the concept of Resilience into design principles for the organizations, communities, and economies we want to live in. An operating system for the 21st century, if you will. A publication on making resilience real at regional levels was the best thing he’d read on the matter, according to Buzz Holling–the visionary ecologist who more or less invented the field of resilience thinking. Not surprisingly, many of our current institutions and systems are still stuck in the 20th century, including the philanthropy-industrial complex itself. This led me to leave my job as President of Ecotrust and co-found Armillaria, a tech for good company focused on mobilizing the data, people and capital we need to address the urgent issues of our time and create the world we all want to live in.

Technology without principled design that puts people and planet first is hubris. History is replete with examples of analog and digital technologies that end up wreaking havoc and having unintended consequences. At the same time, technology, especially contemporary digital technologies, holds the promise of advancing solutions for a thriving planet and just societies. The tech company I co-founded, Armillaria, creates digital infrastructure that more effectively and equitably mobilizes people, knowledge, and capital towards addressing the most urgent challenges of our time. Integrating contemporary innovations in technology, finance, and law, Armillaria is focused on the development of incentives and mechanisms for achieving coordination at universal scale.

My most recent experience as an entrepreneur who happens to be a woman, an immigrant, and a tech founder with a social purpose has helped catalyze a global movement. I have grappled personally with the deeply rooted systemic and structural issues that prevent too many talented entrepreneurs from accessing the capital they need to build the companies they deserve to imagine. The amazing Jennifer Brandel, Aniyia Williams, Mara Zepeda, and I wrote about all this in Zebras Fix What Unicorns Break, which resonated so profoundly cross the world that we launched Zebras Unite—quickly becoming the largest (and only) global hybrid cooperative of founders, investors and others who are building the businesses that are better for the world.

At the heart of so much systemic injustice in the US and elsewhere lie the persistent wealth inequities, and I have developed a practice around imagining, advising on, structuring and developing bold strategies for hacking legacy financial systems. Not finding the capital I and other women with growth stage companies needed, I co-founded a revolving loan fund and peer support program in my home state of Oregon. That experience led to the conception and creation of the Inclusive Capital Collective, a national network of innovative BIPOC fund managers and their allies. And I maintain an advisory practice of working with capital entrepreneurs who are using innovative equity, debt and / or real estate strategies to create community health and wealth. I love nothing better than bending the tools of the existing financial system towards justice!

Our humanity is a feature, not a bug–and yet so many of us contort ourselves into the norms, patterns and pathologies of “business as usual” that put us out of alignment with our principles, our bodies, our communities, and the planet. I have spent the last decade unlearning most of what I ever learned about business, and it’s been an equal parts joyful and painful process of discovery, adaptation and evolution. Most of what I learned is grounded in the teachings of Carol Sanford, who talks about regenerative businesses as expressing their essence in every aspect of their pursuits. My most brilliant coaches and guides on this journey of unlearning the toxic and developing regenerative norms are the women of color I get to call my friends. I have a talent for turning these new norms into effective operating systems for the businesses of the future.

Form should follow function, and the function that is systemic change typically requires innovative forms. I have a knack for seeing the nodal “acupuncture points” for applying change and the structures, processes and products that need to to exist to bring about the outcomes we want. Combined with my deep knowledge of corporate forms, strategy, and governance, I have helped nurture into existence a number of impactful hybrid organizations. I have a professional network of aligned lawyers, accountants and other technical helpers needed to bring these new creatures into existence in ways that both comply with the legacy institutions and rules, and build a bridge to the future we want.

The motto of the boarding school I attended in Germany was Plus est en vous, which roughly translates to “there is more in you,” with an implied and silent “than you think.” So there are probably other ways in which the building blocks and way points of my career portfolio could be useful to what you are working on.

If you think that might be the case, please get in touch and let’s explore!