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Hello, I am a design educator and biomimicry proponent. Happy to connect with anyone building design curricula and courses that are conducive to life.

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bruce snaddon - Senior Lecturer - Cape Peninsula University of Technology | LinkedIn

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Senior Design Lecturer CPUT · Dr Bruce Snaddon is a Senior Lecturer teaching Communication Design at under and post-graduate levels in the department of Applied Design, within the Faculty of Informatics and Design (FID) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. It is within this environment that he sees his mission to build design curricula that are more awake and relevant to world change. He holds an MPhil in Education (UCT) and a PhD in Design (Oslo School of Architecture & Design). He represents his faculty in a number of forums that further the aims of design education that is contextual, meaningful and sustainable in the broader community. He also serves on several public and private education institution boards locally and abroad.
Bruce worked in the design and advertising industry in Cape Town and the UK for eleven years before pursuing a teaching career.

Specialties: Graphic Design
Design Pedagogy
Design Activism
Participatory Design
Design for Sustainability · Experience: Cape Peninsula University of Technology · Location: City of Cape Town · 500+ connections on LinkedIn. View bruce snaddon’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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we have a great dessert.

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Stefan Esser ("361 Creativity and Innovation")

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Stefan Esser ("361 Creativity and Innovation")

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I aim to integrate biomimicry into my business of catalyzing synergies, creativity, and innovation, with an emphasis on learning from and protecting nature. My focus is on combining biomimicry with emerging technologies (AI, 3D/4D printing, smart devices, robotics) while promoting biomimicry education in Catalonia, Spain.

Contact me through (24) Stefan Esser | LinkedIn

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Stefan Esser - Cambio Global e Innovación en la Asociación Sèlvans - Associació Sèlvans | LinkedIn

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Collaborating with Selvans.ONG & Launching "361 Creativity and Innovation S.L.U." · Experience: Associació Sèlvans · Education: Universitat de Barcelona · Location: Badalona · 246 connections on LinkedIn. View Stefan Esser’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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Weaving western and Indigenous sciences to birth new worlds for collective re-storying of the Anthropocene

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Building a Gift Community within the Twin Cities

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Rites of Passage

Software Engineering

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-patrick-moore-1a49b52aa/

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I am a poet and community outreach coordinator for GisJane. Founder of Keep St. Pete Lit

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Mark Henderson,

Holding space for regenerative leadership in nature; Exploring the transformational potential of business; NatureProcess coach & mentor

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Wanna-be Biomimic living outside of Nashville working on the integration of Biomimicry and Theology.

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Tess Rayner

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Franziska Valerie Hagenauer - Industrial Designer | LinkedIn

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Franziska Valerie Hagenauer - Freelance | LinkedIn

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Freelancing Industrial Designer with a strong background in biomedics<br>_analytical… · Experience: Freelance · Education: Universität für künstlerische und industrielle Gestaltung Linz · Location: Germany · 332 connections on LinkedIn. View Franziska Valerie Hagenauer’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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Anjan Prakash, Founder- The Butterfly Effect

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Anjan Prakash, Founder- The Butterfly Effect

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Biomimicry Professional | Organisational Design | Possibilities Catalyst

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B.t kavade road, BT Kawade Road, Ganesh Nagar, Ghorpadi, Pune, Maharashtra

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B.t kavade road, BT Kawade Road, Ganesh Nagar, Ghorpadi, Pune, Maharashtra

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B.t kavade road, BT Kawade Road, Ganesh Nagar, Ghorpadi, Pune, Maharashtra

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Namaste to all, I am Sunetra from Pune , Maharashtra. It's Great to connect with Biomimics across globe.

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Lian van Leeuwen, currently participating in the Biomimicry Practitioners course as a next exciting step in my sustainability career

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Hi there! My name is Alice, I'm a biology graduate with a master's in design for sustainability and my main field of interest lies at the intersection of people and nature. My master thesis focused on biomimicry for social innovation by drawing inspiration from nature to strive for more sustainable social systems. I'm very curious by nature and I enjoy exploring new challenges and how solve complex problems. I've also been developing my skills as a a field/scientific illustrator. I'm currently the Design Catalyst at Biomimicry for Social Innovation. Let's connect and collaborate on nature-inspired projects for a better future!

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Alice Teixeira - Design Catalyst - Biomimicry for Social Innovation | LinkedIn

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Biologist & Designer for Sustainability · I'm a biology graduate with a master's in design for sustainability and my main field of interest lies at the intersection of people and nature. My master thesis focused on biomimicry for social innovation by drawing inspiration from nature to strive for more sustainable social systems. I'm very curious by nature and I enjoy exploring new challenges and how solve complex problems. I've also developed a passion for nature/scientific illustration. Let's connect and collaborate on nature-inspired projects for a better future! · Experience: Biomimicry for Social Innovation · Education: Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa · Location: Lisbon · 199 connections on LinkedIn. View Alice Teixeira’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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Petter Alsén, Linköping University

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Ayla KISER of Luminus Biomimicry

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Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg, Wageningen, Paesi Bassi

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PhD topic: The ethical and philosophical implications of biomimicry

alessio.gerola@wur.nl

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I'm in the world of CPG and more of an explorer of biomimicry as I seek deeper knowledge in problem-solving.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwachsman/

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Sean Wachsman - Liminal Brands | LinkedIn

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Part generalist, part consigliere with a business owner’s mindset. That’s the brand… · Experience: Liminal Brands · Location: Louisville · 500+ connections on LinkedIn. View Sean Wachsman’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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Hometown of the Biomimicry Institute and AskNature! www.biomimicry.org | Asknature.org

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Biomimicry Practitioner

Author of the book: "From Nature's Mouth: The Handbook for Bioinfused Human Communication (Inspired by Biomimicry)"

Designer of the bioinfused framework

Member of Biomimicry Switzerland

Founder of Eclosions - Marketing & Communication (www.eclosions.ch)

Co-founder of Alpine Genius Think Tank (www.alpinegenius.com)

My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelaemch/

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Charissa Snijders

charissa_snijders_architect

https://www.csaarchitect.com

email charissa@csaarchitect.com

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750 million+ members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

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I aim to learn the key ingredients to foster collaboration in the world of eco-innovators, as a PhD candidate in Product Design.

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Namaskara everyone! This is Srikanth Vellore, UX Designer with Green Digital Skills based out of the [ex?] Garden City of India, Bengaluru, Environment enthusiast. Vegan.

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Designer, biomimicry researcher and PhD student

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Alice Araujo Marques de Sá - Founder and Designer - Marques de Sá Design | LinkedIn

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Designer and biomimicry researcher. · Master's Degree in Design by the University of Brasilia (UnB). Specialization course in Architectural and Urbanistic Sustainable Environmental Rehabilitation (UnB). Bachelor's Degree in Product and Graphic Design, at UnB. Interested in: bioinspired design, biomimicry, architecture, history of art, equestrian arts, watercolor, illustration and music. Fluent in English, French, and Portuguese. · Experience: Marques de Sá Design · Education: Institut des Futurs souhaitables · Location: Brasília · 364 connections on LinkedIn. View Alice Araujo Marques de Sá’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.

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Biomimicry inspired designer/systems thinker/storyteller. Working to shift perspectives and values to more holistic lenses in economies and behaviour.

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Biomimicry Canada/Alberta Prairies and beyond

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Hi! I'm a Colombian biologist working in Biomimicry and Biodesign research, consulting and teaching. I am very interested in the research and development of nature-inspired technologies for sustainable innovation and regenerative design.

I currently work as a research lead for Sharing Nature's Genius LLC and Biomimesis Caribe foundation. I'm open to keep learning and collaborate in other projects too! I'm seeking new opportunities to start a PhD position and also work together with other consultancy and research-innovation projects worldwide.

Let's connect! :)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-luc%C3%ADa-mart%C3%ADnez-toledo/

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Hi guys!!

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Annemarit van Broekhoven - Let's connect with our hearts and minds to the genius that surrounds us.

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The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Johanna Westerdijkplein, The Hague

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I am a Building technology tutor at TU Delft, construction manager with an holistic soul, certified Biomimicry practitioner and at the moment I am supporting the Biomimicry Living Lab at Thuas, Den Haag, under the supervision of a super woman, Laura Lee Stevens.

Through my eco acoustics studies I connected with the Uni of Bristol and at the moment we are exploring possibilities to launch their own biomimicry based product.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmina-campochiaro-1222b710/?originalSubdomain=nl

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Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.

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Broadacres Country Estate, Syringa Avenue, Broadacres AH, Sandton

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Broadacres Country Estate, Syringa Avenue, Broadacres AH, Sandton

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Broadacres Country Estate, Syringa Avenue, Broadacres AH, Sandton

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Aspiring Biomimic, inspired by nature!

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Hey, I am currently working for BiomimicrySA but I am originally from Europe. I will be back in Europe soon and i am keen to connect to the EU biomimicry network soon ;)))

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Milan Master - Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sustainability and Green Building Engineer and Biomimicry Practitioner at BiomimicrySA. Looking forward to exploring the world of biomimicry through various lenses that bring regenerative design to the built environment and beyond!

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Ar. Chetan Shivaprasad

Bengaluru

Practising Architect

Biomimicry Educator

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BiomimicrySA

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Learn Biomimicry Practitioner Certificate - Jeannette van Rijsoort

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Nordic Biomimicry is a Nordic Knowledge Hub & Education Platform for Biomimicry. We bring together the knowledge, network and tools for Biomimicry, Biomimetics and Bio-inspired design that are based on nature, its life principles and solutions for sustainability.

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nordicbiomimicry.org

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Montepreti is a nature academy, thriving with many multispecies, olives, vines, bees, insects, animals and humans that live on this mountain. Montepreti envisions a reconnecting to nature be it through the arts, design, the senses, poetry, biomimicry or simply by participating with all the produce on the land through gardening, olive picking, beekeeping or biodynamic wine-making.

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So happy to be with this group of people recognizing we are part of and not apart from nature!

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Australia's most biodiverse city - home to koalas, kangaroos, lace monitors, carpet pythons, so many spiders, several biomimics!

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Rashida Atthar

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BiomimicrySA's base in Cape Town (be sure to also see our "field office", the Regenerative Living Lab, in Tsitsikamma)

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As a regional network of The Biomimicry Institute, biomimicrySA promotes the study and imitation of nature's remarkably efficient designs, bringing together scientists, engineers, architects and innovators who can use those models to create sustainable technologies.

﻿This process of consulting life's genius utilises a clear, proven design methodology, complete with effective implementation tools, developed over a decade of work with companies, entrepreneurial organisations, universities, governments, and non-profits. biomimicrySA connects, inspires, educates, & enables biomimics in South Africa

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Biomimicry is the practice of learning from and emulating nature's genius to create products, processes and systems that are sustainable and resilient - even regenerative. Connect with us to learn, teach or do biomimicry. AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOMIMICRY PODCAST. LEARN BIOMIMICRY ONLINE. CONNECT. IMMERSE IN NATURE. ARRANGE PRESENTATIONS. TEACH.

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I am looking forward to learning more about Biomimicry and to be more inspired and encouraged that chosing Biomimicry for my thesis methodology was the best idea

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Biomimicry Colorado

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Gina LaMotte

Biomimicry for Social Innovation

~applying nature’s intelligence to cultural evolution, community, social justice, leadership, & organizational transformation~ Check out our various educational offerings:

http://BSIsocial.org

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Lily here! I teach online, host local hikes, and am working on some cool collaborative projects :)

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Anna Vroegindeweij

Product designer, part of the Biomimicry living lab, one of the authors of The Building Biomimicry Bridges book, creator of The Oyster Spot and overal obsessed with fungi, lichen and nudibranches.

Working with Biomimicry, Biodesign.

Readying for the ASU Masters program.

Contact me if you would like to connect :)

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Biomimicry researcher and database cultivator for SNG's nature-inspired innovation consultation services and biomimicry technologies database. Let's connect! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-morano/

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The country of magical nature.

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Sustainability has become a concept that could be improved. Many people make lofty promises and set ambitious goals, but these often lack a clear action plan for how to achieve them. With our intelligence, technology, information, and connectivity, we should be able to do better than this. There is a better way. We need to learn from nature. On a poetic level, biodiversity and nature hold the key to their survival, and we must play our part in building a life-friendly future. We need to create more nature-inspired innovations than ever. It's time to start thinking outside the box and learn from biomimicry.

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Hi, I’m Linden Wolbert 👋🏼 Science Communicator, Biomimetic Monofin Designer & Visual Storyteller

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Regenerative designer, architect, biomimicry practitioner, futurist

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I'm a Bioinspired Business Consultant working in London 🙂🌱

I work with start-ups using biomimicry as a tool to guide founders who are looking to build regenerative businesses from the ground up.

I use a set of Bioinspired Business Principles to help start-ups and SMEs build healthy, effective and resilient teams inspired by nature.

If you're working in bioinspired business or would like to learn more about how to apply nature's principles to your own start-up I'd love to connect!

Subscribe to my substack here - https://wildstart.substack.com/

Connect with me on LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-colclough/

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I am so excited to join the Confluence and learn from the amazing speakers. See you all tomorrow. Best wishes. Melissa B

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IADE - Creative University, Avenida Dom Carlos I, Lisbon

# data[].attributes.headline
IADE - Creative University, Avenida Dom Carlos I, Lisbon

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IADE - Creative University, Avenida Dom Carlos I, Lisbon

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Bio-Inspired Design Lab at UNIDCOM-IADE (Faculty of Design, Technology and Communication)

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My name is Anais Colmant, I am based in South Africa. I have recently graduated at the University of Maastricht majoring in Economics and Sustainability. Currently, I am a new intern at BiomimicrySA. I am very eager and curious to delve into the magic of biomimicry - open to all kind of learnings and opportunities!

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Pininfarina of America Corp., Brickell Key Drive, Miami, FL

# data[].attributes.headline
Pininfarina of America Corp., Brickell Key Drive, Miami, FL

# data[].attributes.subject
Pininfarina of America Corp., Brickell Key Drive, Miami, FL

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I am Pininfarina's senior design business advisor. My role involves identifying areas for growth and supporting the creation of strategic, sustainable strategies for design, architecture, and product plans that utilize nature-inspired principles and bio-design expertise.

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Hello hello! My name is Katie Losey and I'm piping in with my two mutts from a tiny apartment in NYC's West Village! I'm thrilled to be here to support a discipline that lights me up and excited to meet this glorious group of folks standing shoulder to shoulder to share it with the world! Thank you LearnBiomimicry for bringing us all together.

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Michellie Hernandez MD | Biomimicry Practitioner Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

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Michellie Hernandez MD | Biomimicry Practitioner Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

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Starting a Blog on Medicine, AI and Biomimicry coming soon

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Let's get inspired by nature's and each other's genius!

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Rani Soebijantoro from AMBIZ, a regenerative business consulting firm.

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Hi from Bangalore, India!

Murali

Electronics Engineer

Nature inspired designs for sustainable electronics

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With a Biomimicry Specialist certification from ASU and Biomimicry 3.8, along with 43 years of experience leading Brand Strategy for major CPG companies, I guide brands to new market strategies and insights. Using nature as our mentor we rely on ancient proven approaches to build communities where all can thrive and grow. I am located in the Ohio River Valley in the Outer Bluegrass region of Kentucky, Grant’s Lick to be geographically precise. My base of operations is a relocated 1850’s log cabin situated in a temperate and broadleaf mixed forest.

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Maëlys Renaud

@Biomimicry Institute

@Climate Tech Cities

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Dennis Kiley, EcoPsychology Initiative: info@ecopsychologyinitiative.com

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Activate The Therapeutic Power of Nature. Discover how best to incorporate nature into your work and take your existing skills to the next level. Integrate nature therapy into your work with clients, students or patients.

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Jessica Berliner, co-founder of Learn Biomimicry.

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Creating biobased materials inspired by Biomimicry!

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My name is Annelien, I am 24 years old and want to bring nature-based solutions to the industries that need to change your way of working. Please reach out if you are ever in Belgium, I would love to meet!

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Improving Our Community for Future Generations

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Tammy McLeod

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Eric Sperling: Hello, everyone, welcome back to Arizona Achievers where we are all about empowering leaders and joining us today we have Tammy McLeod, she is the President and CEO of the Flinn Foundation. Tammy, thanks for being here.

Tammy McLeod: Thank you for having me.

Eric Sperling: You just got done telling me you have the best job in Arizona. So, tell us a little bit about the Flinn Foundation.

Tammy McLeod: Well, that's a true story. The mission of the Flinn Foundation is to improve the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations.

Eric Sperling: Sounds like a big mission.

Tammy McLeod: It's a big mission, but one that it's easy to commit to every single morning when I get up, and I love the work. The foundation has been around for over 50 years, focused predominantly in the bio sciences, but we also support arts and culture, higher education and civic leadership.
[01:00]
Eric Sperling: So for those who aren't familiar with what a foundation really does is there's and I'm sorry, the gentleman's name?

Tammy McLeod: Robert Flinn.

Eric Sperling: Robert Flinn.

Tammy McLeod: Dr. Robert Flinn.

Eric Sperling: Dr. Robert Flinn, right? He sets this up and then it's your, your mission, your goal to kind of fulfill the wishes, correct?

Tammy McLeod: That's right. So we obviously always refer back to donor intent, which was, the foundation was set up by Dr. Flinn and by his wife, Irene Flinn, who also deserves a lot of the credit in the setting up the foundation. Irene was a patron of the arts, but most of the wealth of the endowment of Flinn Foundation actually came from Irene because she was an early shareholder in IBM.

Eric Sperling: Oh, wow. Okay, so that's right.

Tammy McLeod: Right.

Eric Sperling: Let's talk about the foundation and its mission and what you guys are doing and you know, one of the common themes when we have CEOs and business owners sit up here is just is leadership, right? And, you know, talking to you for 20 minutes just before this interview, that's sort of at the foundation of everything you do is leadership and cultivating leaders and try to be a magnet for leaders, right? And tell us a little about that, and how it how it also spreads across all those four areas you were talking about?

Tammy McLeod: Absolutely. So we do have four areas of bio science, arts and culture, higher education, and our civic leadership program. And in each one of those, I think the work that we're doing at the Flinn Foundation to catalyze and to bring forward important work for Arizona is about the leadership and each one of those pillars. For example, in the arts and culture space, we bring in programs that help our largest arts and culture organizations focus on creative and financial health. And in doing so, it deepens the skills of each one of those leaders, but also then places them into a cohort of other leaders so that they have a strong network on which to depend.
[02:48]
Eric Sperling: And that's one of the things I mean, again, we're talking about common themes here, but building a network and knowing who to call when you need to call somebody, right. And that's something that you guys, you mentioned being a catalyst for that, something you guys really helped develop, right?

Tammy McLeod: It is. And I think the interesting thing about that is that it's actually been a byproduct of the focus of the work.

Eric Sperling: So, what's the focus?

Tammy McLeod: The focus of the work was on really building that leadership. But as a natural outcome, once you've done that you have, in fact a network of leaders, and how do we now continue to cultivate and nurture that network, so that it remains strong and that people remain engaged in it so that they can access it quickly, to find other people who are like minded, or better yet who aren't like-minded so that they can actually test out an idea or drive something forward, whether that's an arts and culture or civic leadership or in the bio sciences.
[03:40]
Eric Sperling: And people are always looking for opportunities. And you were telling me that you're really looking for those people who want to be public servants, who whether, again, whatever field that is, but those are the people that you're attracting, right? Tell us about what the need is stories that are developing. We talked about networking, but some of those influential people in our community have kind of come through your door, so to speak.

Tammy McLeod: Yeah. That's been a lot of fun to see. And, you know, all the credit for that program development happened at Flinn before I was there for sure. But one of the programs that we really focus on is the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership that was developed just over 10 years ago at Flinn and the precipice of that program is really the Flinn Brown Fellowship. That is a series of nine consecutive weeks that individuals from around the state of all backgrounds come in and learn about policy. It's really deep policy education, so that then they can take that and put it together with their own experience and go out and influence and cultivate change that may not quite have occurred, how they got in there.

Eric Sperling: And some of the specific examples where if somebody's really passionate in astrophysics or something, and they want to, you know, conserve the environment and you know, have darker skies, you know, they don't know anything about policy behind that.

Tammy McLeod: That's right, that's right.

Eric Sperling: So you help put them on that path of understanding.

Tammy McLeod: We do, to try to put them on that path, but also to make them aware of other individuals out there who might help them along that path.

Eric Sperling: Right.

Tammy McLeod: And so, I think that's what the network does for them, it really is a way for them to reach out, whether it's finding someone that has a different skill set than they do, or someone who can give them an opinion on how to take something forward. But yeah, that's a terrific example, we've actually had someone like that, who is an astrophysicist, you know, very much in their own world, working on things, but wanting to make a bigger impact because of that work that they do. So how do you keep the skies dark? How do you work together with others around the state, because you can't just do it for one small community, but in fact you've got to do it for a broader organization?
[05:48]
Eric Sperling: You've been leading the charge over the Flinn Foundation for a little over two years, right?

Tammy McLeod: That's right.

Eric Sperling: And you came from APS.

Tammy McLeod: That's right.

Eric Sperling: Tell us a little bit about what you did at APS.

Tammy McLeod: I was at APS for a long time, and I always joke with people that I had almost every job there. I started there originally as a group, a very small group of people that were helping the company prepare for what we call retail wheeling and that was when electricity was about to be deregulated, and they wanted some folks with different backgrounds to come in and help them prepare for that. That had a different outcome than everyone anticipated in the state but nonetheless, it was a terrific place to launch a career. We've got very involved in the customer work there.

Eric Sperling: Exactly.

Tammy McLeod: So really spending time listening to customers, developing customer programs, working in tangent with the Arizona Corporation Commission to develop outcomes that were good for the customers and ultimately good for the company as well.
[06:38]
Eric Sperling: And a lot of big businesses, whether you've read stories about a business that was tanking and turned around or had major issues with customer service, all seem to follow this common theme of, and it sounds like common sense, but just listening to the customers, right? And then you've been able to do is sort of use that experience at APS, bring that into the foundation world a little bit. Tell us a little bit how the customer service experience at APS is now helping you in the current role as the CEO of the Flinn Foundation.

Tammy McLeod: I think that that's exactly true that the customer work is a real common thread in what most of us do for a living. It's just realizing that and bringing that in. That customer work was very involved in listening to customers, in realizing that our employees who were servicing the customers probably had better ideas than I did a lot of the time. In the early days at the Flinn Foundation, I brought in everyone together, and we sat together, regardless of what your job was, so we had the receptionist together with the vice president of bioscience research together with the individual who manages our building facility.

Eric Sperling: And so these people are meeting and are talking for the very first time.

Tammy McLeod: Yeah, they knew each other but they didn't really ever work on a common project. We brought them together, had a couple of days of design thinking training, to understand how do you do empathetic listening and listen to a customer. Who our customers? Brought in then individuals who had actually received grants from the foundation and let you know, the facilities guy meet with somebody who had received an arts grant. And you know, again, a first time conversation, but really to understand that perspective to perform an empathetic interview, so that then they could take that and say, 'how could we improve upon this process or develop something that would better serve this grantee of ours?" who in fact, is a customer.

Eric Sperling: You said the phrase, 'you know, we shut down for a couple days' and as a business owner or leader of a department, you know, you go 'oh, I can't shut down for a couple days'. But the importance of actually doing that to focus on, you know, it's called a design thinking, the impact that had on the foundation.

Tammy McLeod: What I think the impact was, was probably something I didn't intend, which is really the beauty of it. It was to me in fact, let's learn what design thinking is, what it in fact did for us was get everybody together in a room and saw that we could work collectively on something that wasn't necessarily our area of expertise. It also then, you know, so developing some teamwork there but getting people to think more horizontally, about something that they could impact, starting to understand what everyone's strengths were in the room. Regardless of what they're working on, there's somebody else there that they could go talk to about their project, about their program that will perhaps make a contribution to it. And then keeping everyone focused on you know, 'what is that outcome?, Who are those customers that we're trying to serve?'

Eric Sperling: And was that I don't want to say was it cloudy before, but was there a sense of clarity that came out of that where suddenly there were employees who cared a lot more about coming to work every day?

Tammy McLeod: I think what we can say for sure, is that it gave everyone an expanded sense of what we do.

Eric Sperling: Okay.

Tammy McLeod: These are customers. We didn't have a reason sometimes for everybody to meet a grantee in the arts, but everybody got to sit down with customers, with grantees and really understand from their perspective how Flinn impacted them. And they heard, certainly some areas where we could improve, but they also heard the great work that we do. So yes, I would say that, in fact, in the end, they were happier to come to work every day, really sort of had a more emboldened sense of the mission.
[10:34]
Eric Sperling: Yeah. And if you spend time on your website, you know, your, your jaw drops a little bit for all the stuff that you guys are doing. Tell us what you're most excited about. What are the things that you see happening now around the horizon that you're really, really passionate excited about?

Tammy McLeod: We do a lot of fun stuff. It's hard to pick one thing out. For me personally, the fact is, the reality is that I go to work and I learn something every single day, because we are doing something in so many different areas. I have been really excited about the fact that we have brought in this design thinking internally, so that people can work together on things. I have been really excited about the fact that we have done more statewide in recent years, so that we're really getting out and impacting some smaller organizations, some smaller communities than we've done before. That we are realizing that we do have common threads amongst the programs and if we really focus on some of those realities on a horizontal fashion, that we can perhaps drive even further outcomes for our programs. Focusing on that leadership. Focusing on that idea that we build networks within both of those. Focusing on the idea that mentorship is important in those, I think that will in fact, that's exciting and will impact Arizona even more.
[11:40]
Eric Sperling: Speaking of mentorship, you were telling me one of the most things you're passionate about is improving the K through 12, right? It is impacting that world. What are some of the things over at the Flinn Foundation that are being done in that area?

Tammy McLeod: We see education as a continuum, P-20, which is starting in the early year's preschool age till going through university. We look at that entire segment, and I think one of the things that we're working on right now that's really exciting, is what we call TRIF, which is part of what was Proposition 301. There are 12% of the dollars that are dedicated directly to the universities for their research capacity, and each of the universities uses that in a slightly different way, but that is really building research capacity, which doesn't just benefit that university, but what we're seeing is that it's a magnet for additional dollars to come into the state. And then ultimately, those dollars that come into the state are a way for the state to recruit additional leaders in those areas.

Eric Sperling: Sure.

Tammy McLeod: We're really excited about the impact of TRIF, which is the Technology and Research Initiative Fund.
[12:51]
Eric Sperling: And am I miss speaking or one point did you say to like some of that research is making sure that things go from the lab to the bedside as fast as possible.

Tammy McLeod: Yeah.

Eric Sperling: So it does impact all of us.

Tammy McLeod: It really does. We believe that a lot of the work that we do, especially in the bio sciences will have a positive impact in the health system in Arizona. We are looking specifically at those researchers that have developed something, whether that's a product, a process, a discovery that we can move away from the bench to the bedside, and hopefully with our dollars, do that somewhat quicker, so that we can get it out there. Also, to cause them to collaborate with other entities in the state. A lot of the research that we're funding is research that is, in fact, collaborative: we believe that will accelerate the ability of getting those discoveries out of the lab much faster when it is collaborative.
[13:42]
Eric Sperling: Because we're on the subject of collaboration right now, the roadmap that you were telling me about, that you're really excited about and it was almost 20 years ago. Tell me a little about the roadmap that was designed.

Tammy McLeod: Obviously this predates me at the Flinn Foundation but previous leaders that Flinn had terrific foresight, and the Board of Directors had terrific foresight to really step back. We were largely committed to health care but what was a way that we could take the dollars that we were spending in health care and make the biggest impact on Arizona. It lined up nicely with a time that TGen was actually coming to fruition in Arizona. But leaders came together from business, from the nonprofit world, from the universities from healthcare, all the way, you know, government, and they came together as a collective, which we call the Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, and they really developed a plan, which has, came to fruition in 2002. It's still in existence today and we see it going on further, that really focused on "what do the bio sciences mean to Arizona? How do we develop that as a place so that predominant research is coming out of Arizona, that's attracting other strong leaders that's cultivating a strong bioscience ecosystem, so that companies are bubbling up in life sciences and these great jobs for those graduates that we want to retain in Arizona. It's got a lot of implications in different ways. We believe that it's the longest standing such roadmap in the nation.

Eric Sperling: And you got to feel proud about I mean,

Tammy McLeod: Yeah, it's terrific.

Eric Sperling: That's exciting. Well, we should all feel proud because it's affecting all of us here.

Tammy McLeod: It is. And it's not the Flinn roadmap, which I think is a really important thing but it's Arizona's roadmap, and that's evidenced by the people that come together every single month to work on it. We have folks that work on different aspects of it, and it's really exciting to see people in the community just come in and engage around the goals of this roadmap.

Eric Sperling: That's fantastic. Well, Tammy, thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with us.

Tammy McLeod: Thank you for having me.

Eric Sperling: You know, the Flinn Foundation is doing, as we just mentioned, incredible things for Arizona. So thank you so much.

Tammy McLeod: Great to be here.

Eric Sperling: Thank you. We'll see you next time.

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Improving Our Community for Future Generations with Tammy McCleod - STN

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Tammy McLeod, President & CEO of the Flinn Foundation speaks on their mission to re-invest in the community and improve the quality of life for future generations.

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unfoldnature: pine bark study_sketch_ieva pesch

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