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Emergent Leadership

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The greater Seattle area is an amazing place to practice sustainable design.

One of the numerous benefits of practicing here is the many choices of enlightening sustainable building events to attend. In just one month’s time this fall I have 6 days blocked out for conferences (EcoBuilding 2013 and Built Green), design slams (Seattle 10x10x10), panel discussions (WNSF’s Women in Building), and site tours (Bullitt Center). And that was after filtering out the events that I couldn’t find time for!

Even with all these events to feed my green design appetite, the one I’m most thrilled to attend this year is the Emerge Leadership Workshop at Islandwood in early December.  I interviewed Kathleen O’Brien about this project almost two years ago on The EcoLogical Home, and have been longing to participate ever since.

After many years at the leading edge of green building design, Kathleen created Emerge as her legacy project. The transformative program, boasting a faculty touting personal leadership experience and deep knowledge in sustainable building, is held a few times a year in different west coast locations. The upcoming session is a two-day immersive residency in the beautiful setting of Islandwood Conference Center on Bainbridge Island.

Emerge is perhaps the most intriguing offering to our community since The Living Building Challenge. The intimate, customized training program encourages us to uncover our unique strengths and engage in servant leadership to create a chain reaction of positive change. It seems to be quite effective – as one recent participant reported; Emerge is “the only workshop of this kind I’ve ever attended, where it has ‘stuck’”.  Another alumnus simply stated the experience was “life altering”.  

As early adopters of green building, sometimes we can feel like “I’ve heard about this before” and pass up learning events. But how does that serve us, or the path toward a restorative future we are passionate about? The momentum of this movement depends on our participation – and our leadership. Luckily for us, and the next seven generations, leadership is a learned skill – and Emerge Leadership might be just what we need.

If you are committed to a resilient, restorative future, get up and go to at least one event this fall and winter. Invest some time and money in yourself, and connect with others on a similar path. There are exciting things afoot, with new faces and perspectives to inspire our next essential steps.

Emerge Leadership Workshop Residency will be held December 7-8 at Islandwood on Bainbridge Island. Emerge Leadership Workshop (non-residency) will be held January 24-25 at Earth Advantage Institute in Portland.

Testimonials

Testimonials

“Living Shelter has been a pleasure to work with on our campaign project. It was clear that they really worked to create a project that was purpose built to our needs, and from a fundraising standpoint, they are always incredibly responsive to updating renderings and drawings that we've needed for donor meetings.”

—Mike Ritter, Capital Manager, Pasado's Safe Haven

“Our experience in working with Terry Phelan was exceptional! Her talents go far beyond what you would expect from a traditional architect. She has a team that truly listens to your goals, and makes them happen! In doing so, they will surprise you with unexpected spaces that impart a very comfortable feel, usually only found in older homes. In addition to designing our primary residence, the Living Shelter team also helped us with conceptual drawings for a coastal property (future build). That was a very fun project, and shows their flexibility to work with various situations. Creative, knowledgeable, professional and a joy to work with - highly recommend!”

—Michele Scaglia, Client

“We can't recommend Living Shelter highly enough. From our initial dreaming, through concept and design, and on into construction, Terry and the LS team were collaborative and creative -- committed to making our new home sustainable, livable, and beautiful. They helped us a create a healthy home that fits the site and our lifestyle.”

—Mary Huycke, Client

“I worked with Living Shelter Design to design and construct my new home in the mountains near Mt Adams in Washington. Their whole team was fantastic to work with! The design ideas presented creatively addressed my aesthetic and space needs, while also fitting within the available budget. Their flexible approach to developing the design made me feel confident that I could build the house of my dreams. The Living Shelter team was also there during construction to help assist the builder and provide the backup support to address all snafus that invariably arise while building a new home. They were so responsive and got the job done for me!”

—Kim Gilmer, Client

“As an interior designer, I have had the pleasure of working with Terry and the Living Shelter team on many projects. They are extremely professional, knowledgeable about sustainable building, and genuinely wonderful people. I highly recommend them!”

—Sandy Campbell, Entero Design

“Terry Phelan is deeply committed to reducing the environmental impact of her buildings, and her work in load bearing straw bale structures is exceptional.”

—Habib John Gonzalez, Director of Sustainable Works

“Did we tell you we love the plans? We do! You really worked magic. Thanks a lot. We are REALLY happy.”

—Judi and Scott Nicolai

“Terry has consistently demonstrated the rare combination of tenacity, caring, and professionalism throughout.”

—Jane Bakken and Jack Fecker