Course Teachers*

David Holmgren

David is best known as the co-originator of the permaculture concept following the publication, along with Bill Mollison of Permaculture One in 1978. Since then he has taught, consulted and supervised in urban and rural projects around the world.

At home (Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria), David is the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. Internationally, David is one of the most respected teachers and leaders of the Permaculture movement, know for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to fossil fuel dependent consumerism.

David’s passion flows into the broader conversation about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, the focus of his seminal book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. David is no longer flying but will be joining our course via zoom.

Orland Bishop

Orland Bishop is the founder and director of ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation in Los Angeles, where he has pioneered approaches to urban truces and mentoring at-risk youth that combine new ideas with traditional ways of knowledge. ShadeTree serves as an intentional community of mentors, elders, teachers, artists, healers, and advocates for the healthy development of children and youth. Orland’s work in healing and human development is framed by an extensive study of medicine, naturopathy, psychology, and Indigenous cosmologies, primarily those of South and West Africa.

Charles Eisenstein

Charles Eisenstein is a visionary thinker, economist, and author. His work covers a wide range of topics, including the history of human civilization, economics, spirituality, and the ecology movement. Key themes explored include anti-consumerism, interdependence, and how myth and narrative influence culture. According to Eisenstein, global culture is immersed in a destructive "story of separation", and one of the main goals of his work is to present an alternative "story of interbeing". Much of his work draws on ideas from Eastern philosophy and the spiritual teachings of various indigenous peoples. Eisenstein has been involved in the Occupy, New Economy, and permaculture movements.

Dan Wahpepah

Dan grew up immersed in American Indian Movement culture and his traditional ways. His father is a spiritual leader and his uncle founded West Coast AIM. He has traveled extensively with his father learning about the Red Road, a Native American Spiritual path of purpose rooted in living in right relationship with all beings with whom we share this Earth. He eventually landed on the reservation where he participated and held an officers position in ceremony. Dan teaches from the indigenous perspective, focusing on decolonization, healthy thinking, and “returning to being a human being.” He will be joining us live and in person.

Esther Stutzman

Esther Stutzman (Yoncalla) is a traditional storyteller and educator. Stutzman, who is Komemma Kalapuya (from the Willamette Valley) on her mother’s side and Hanis Coos from the Oregon coast on her father’s side, is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Stutzman works with schools, museums, libraries, and universities to share her culture and history; she is also involved in a Kalapuya language revitalization project. Stutzman is a founding member of the six-woman Old West Cowgirl band, Slow Ponies. For over 50 years, Esther Stutzman has told Kalapuya and Coos stories learned from family members and Tribal Elders. She provides an indigenous perspective for didactic tales and histories that dismantle stereotypes and bridge cultural chasms.

Bayo Akomolafe

Bayo Akomolafe is the Chief Curator of The Emergence Network, a speaker, author, fugitive neo-materialist com-post-activist public intellectual and Yoruba poet. After meeting with traditional healers as part of his quest to understand trauma, mental wellbeing and healing in new ways, his deep questions and concerns for decolonized landscapes congealed into a life devoted to exploring the nuances of a “magical” world “too promiscuous to fit neatly into our fondest notions of it.” Now living between India and the United States, Dr. Akomolafe has been Visiting Professor at Middlebury College, where he’s taught on his own formulated concepts of ‘transraciality’ and postactivism. He currently lectures at Pacifica Graduate Institute, California and University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. Bayo is the author of two books, These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home (North Atlantic Books) and We Will Tell our Own Story: The Lions of Africa Speak. He is also the Executive Director and Chief Curator for The Emergence Network and host of the online postactivist course, ‘We Will dance with Mountains’. www.bayoakomolafe.net www.emergencenetwork.org

Monica Ibacache

A native of Chile, Monica is a New York City–based community organizer, sustainability educator, and ecological designer since 2007. An avid gardener as a small child with her grandparents in Chile, she rekindled her passion for growing food as an adult while living in southeast Alaska.

Monica is committed to improving food systems while advancing social and environmental justice globally. She has dedicated her life to working with diverse and marginalized communities in education and local development in the U.S. and abroad. Monica has advanced certifications in Permaculture Design and Teaching and serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Permaculture for Children (IPEC), Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA), the International Permaculture Convergence Committee (IPCC), the Indoor Gardening Society (IGSA), and the Permaculture Association of the Northeast (PAN). Joining us Live from New York via Zoom.

Nathaniel Nordin-Tuininga

Education Director
Education@lostvalley.org

Nathaniel Nordin-Tuininga is a long-time environmental educator, born and raised within the Intentional Communities Movement. He spent much of his childhood learning directly from 1200 acres of meadows and forests and from the elders who helped him cultivate a deep reverence for the more-than-human world. His life has been an ongoing exploration of alternative educational models, especially those that focus on the influences of the natural world. He holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon, two graduate degrees in Waldorf Education, and an Ecovillage and Permacultural Certification from Lost Valley Educational Center. Nathaniel has been living off of the grid and electricity free for the better part of the past decade. He brings patience, joy, and an intimate appreciation for the ecological interdependence of life.

Andrew Millison

Andrew Millison has been studying, teaching and practicing Permaculture since he took his first design course in 1996. He started teaching Permaculture at the college level in 2001, and has been an instructor at OSU in the Horticulture Department since 2009.

Andrew first learned Permaculture in the drylands, where he studied at Prescott College for his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. In Arizona, his focus was on rainwater harvesting, greywater systems, and desert agriculture. He started a Permaculture landscape design and build company, and also worked in an ecologically-based Landscape Architecture firm. In recent years, Andrew’s focus has been more on design for climate change resilience, broad scale water management for farm and development planning, Permaculture housing developments, and Oregon water law for obtaining water rights.

​Andrew has developed a successful online Permaculture program through OSU and in recent years moved into media production, traveling internationally to film and produce educational content focused on permaculture-based food and water systems. His most well known work is his YouTube video series “India’s Water Revolution”.

Brian Byers

Brian is a permaculture designer, educator, and activist with over a decade of agricultural experience working in the Willamette Valley. He is passionate about building resilient local communities, reconnecting people to nature, and growing nutritious food. He has a bachelors degree in philosophy. He has studied and taught permaculture alongside Andrew Millison, Heiko Koester, Tom Ward (aka Hazel), Jude Hobbs, Rick Valley and many others. Brian is certified in permaculture design, as well as holding advanced certificates in surveying, forestry, and teaching. Brian has been the lead teacher of the Lost Valley PDC since 2016. He is also a founding member of the Center for Regenerative Peoples.

Heiko Koester

Heiko is a permaculture designer and teacher who specializes in assisting clients with home landscape conversions. For over 20 years he has applied unconventional gardening techniques to creating lush jungles filled with food, medicine, and beneficial habitat. He has experimented with a huge diversity of useful plants, creating his own model for bioregional landscaping. Heiko plant skills classes focus on edible, medicinal, and native plants, and offer comprehensive training on uses, cultivation, and wild crafting of useful plants. His sideline nursery offers a selection of edible, medicinal, and native plants for sale. He is also currently installing a demonstration garden at his home. Heiko’s services are offered through Urban Ecogardens.

Diana Leafe Christian

Diana’s mission is to help intentional communities get started successfully, function effectively, and achieve their goals. She has learned what works well from founders and long-time members of more than 170 communities worldwide — ecovillages, cohousing neighborhoods, housing co-ops, shared group households, income-sharing communes, and more. Her books are Creating a Life Together (2003) and Finding Community (2007).

Diana teaches workshops, offers consultations, and presents keynote addresses and breakout workshops for conferences internationally. In 2017, she received the Fellowship for Intentional Community’s Kozeny Communitarian Award, a lifetime achievement award for contributions to the US communities movement. Her workshops and webinars include Starting a Successful Ecovillage or Intentional Community, Helping Your Community Thrive, and Sociocracy for Intentional Communities.

Diana is a certified as a trainer for Gaia Education’s Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) course, a Board Member of GEN-US (Global Ecovillage Network-US) and formerly a board member of GENNA (GEN-North America). She contributed chapters to the Gaia Education/EDE books Beyond You and Me and Gaian Economics, and the GEN book Ecovillage: 1001 Ways to Heal the Planet. She’s written articles for Communities magazine, GEN Newsletter, the Communities Directory, GEN Newsletter, Permaculture Activist, Permculture Design, and Permaculture magazines. She lives at Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina. *Diana will join our 2024 teaching staff via Zoom.

Kara Huntermoon

Kara Huntermoon is the Southern Willamette Valley’s local expert on wetlands Permaculture.  One of seven co-owners of Heart-Culture Farm Community in the Long Tom Watershed, she manages the 33-acre integrated Permaculture community farm, breeds livestock and vegetable varieties, experiments with grafting on noncommercial rootstock, and teaches WWOOFers and apprentices.  Climate adaptation and mitigation are a major focus of her farm work.  Since 2009, Kara has taught butchering classes at primitive skills gatherings, with a focus on hands-on skills, emotional vulnerability, and ecological resistance.  Kara also founded Liberation Listening, an interpersonal healing method that focuses on building resilient relationships to resist oppression and move towards the future we want.

Ejo McMullen

Ejo McMullen moved to Japan in his late teens and stayed into his twenties, teaching secondary school and eventually receiving ordination and training at Daijoji Monastery in Kanazawa. He is the abbot of Buddha Eye Temple in Eugene, Oregon, where he has served since its founding in 2004, and is also secretary of the Soto Zen Buddhism North America Office in Los Angeles.

AIYANNA BROWN

Aiyanna is a descendant of the Headman Camafeema of the Komemma/Kalapuya and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. She was raised traditionally and is accomplished in American Indian drumming, dancing and singing. She is an accomplished storyteller and has presented cultural stories for the Northwest Indian Storyteller’s Association and in many other teaching sessions in schools and libraries. Aiyanna has been associated with a traditional Native youth culture camp for most of her life, serving as a youth counselor and later as an adult counselor. She was the primary instructor for Kalapuya language sessions at camp as well as a participant in curriculum development. She is involved in the development of the Farm-to-Table food movement using traditional food sources.

Dianne G. Brause

Dianne Brause, a founding member of Lost Valley Educational Center, was born and raised in a small unintentional (but close-knit), German/American farming community in Ohio in 1944. While having a more or less normal childhood, she soon deviated from the norm, by joining an Arab American Friendship Tour visiting, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon during the summer of 1964. After college, she joined the Peace Corps and served in the Dominican Republic for 2 years, helping to set up the country’s first birth control clinics. 

Diane traveled extensively in the 1960s and 1970s, from South and Central America, to Europe, the Middle East, India and Nepal. She completed a self-directed, self-designed MA degree program in Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology in 1975 from Beacon College. One of her major papers was a design for an intentional community she dreamed of living in, and in 1989 she co-founded Lost Valley Educational Center in Dexter, OR, where she lived and worked for the next 19 years, rotating through many of the jobs and responsibilities afforded to her there. 

A few of her many skills include–gardening, setting up legal structures, and facilitating conflict resolution sessions between members confronting the differences of opinion that inevitably come up in growing the spirit of community. Dianne considers herself extraordinarily fortunate to have lived her entire adult life “northwest of normal”!

Dima Tsatskin

Born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1983, Dima has also lived in Tiraspol, Moldova (Transnistria), Sarasota, FL, and Jackson, MS. After 18 years of enjoying the Florida beach scene, Dima started to crave mountains and forests, which brought him to Oregon in 2014, along with his canine companion Gandhi, where they were blessed with an opportunity to live in this intentional community.

Dima has been practicing Pranayama Breathwork for 10+ years. Studying under Dmitry Lapshinov (practicing adept of five spiritual traditions:Taoist Qigong of Shen family traditions and traditions of Wudang mountains; Japanese art Zen; Cossack Spas of “Topor’” clan; Yoga of the “18 Tamil Siddhars” tradition; Tibetan “Bon” Zogchen tradition and Tibetan Tantra of Jonang tradition which saved the secrets of six yogas of Naropa and six yogas of Niguma.) Breathwork practice has significantly improved his life and health in all directions and he is excited to share his experience with you!

Justin Michelson

Justin Michelson lived and worked at Lost Valley from April 2010-October 2021. Throughout his stay, he has balanced his time between land/garden stewardship and administrative oversight. From 2012 to 2017 he was the Executive Director, overseeing the operations of the organization in the realms of finance, education, human resources, organizational development, legal issues, networking and fundraising, and communication with the Board of directors. Justin now runs an onsite native edible plant nursery. Justin has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Colorado College, and is a certified Permaculture Designer; he has been studying agriculture and Permaculture since 2007. He has been living in intentional community since 2006. Justin has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 2001 and now leads classes through The Eugene Insight Meditation Community and his own Nature’s Heart Retreats , and teaches regularly in Eugene.

Laird Schaub

Laird Schaub has lived in intentional community for 41 years: 39 years at Sandhill Farm (a small, income-sharing community he helped found in 1974 in northeast Missouri); followed by 20 months at nearby Dancing Rabbit, an ecovillage started in 1997 with a core mission of modeling how to live a great life on a resource budget that’s only 10% of the U.S. average. For three decades he’s also been integrally involved with the Foundation for Intentional Community—a North American network dedicated to providing the information & inspiration of cooperative living to the widest possible audience. Recognizing the value of what is being learned in intentional communities about how to solve problems collaboratively and work constructively with conflict, I started a part-time career as a process consultant in 1987. He now lives in Duluth, MN and spends much of his time on the road conducting trainings, working with groups, and attending events all over the country. Recreationally, my passions include celebration cooking, duplicate bridge, wilderness canoeing, and the New York Times Sunday crossword.

Amanda Krichbaum

Amanda Krichbaum is a long-time resident of the Eugene, Oregon area, and a former staff and member at Lost Valley, where she was lead coordinator of the Heart of Now personal growth and interpersonal relating workshop. During non-COVID times she helps bring Heart of Now workshops to Lost Valley 3-4 weekends per year. In the HSS Amanda leads classes on alternative economics from an inspirational angle, taking direction from the works of Charles Eisenstein. She believes it is possible to have it all – a lighter footprint on the Earth, a cooperative community-rooted method of consumption that does not add fuel to the flames of abusive capitalism, and a more satisfying day-to-day life.

Mary Lou Seereiter

Mary Lou Seereiter has been a pioneer in the field of Somatic Education and Therapy since 1980. Her background in dance and choreography have forged her pursuit of the longevity of a healthy, moving body. Her interest in Body Psychology led her to various forms of Healing Arts. Mary is a certified teacher and practitioner of Body-Mind Centering, a certified Laban Movement Analyst (CMA) and a skilled practitioner and teacher of Authentic Movement. She holds a Master’s degree in Dance with a related field in Anatomy and Kinesiology. She is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) through the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA).

Rachel Powell

Rachel is a Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher, has been teaching since 2014 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a background in the mental health field. She is a homeschooling mother of two, dedicated to a mindful parenting approach. Motherhood sparked her interest in natural living and getting back to the basics, making all of her own home and body-care products with non-toxic ingredients. Rachel has been a life-long crafter which naturally fed her interest in ancestral skills like sandal making and other leather works. She studies primal nutrition and is very devoted to her health journey. Her interest in Intentional Communities continues to grow as she carries her vision of village that our ancestors once had throughout her daily life.

Shana Deane

A student of life, beauty & spirit; fierce seeker of truth; For the past 15 years, Shana has been teaching and leading workshops and courses in compassionate communication and conflict resolution via the lens of Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication model and Dominic Barter's Brazilian Restorative Circles, as well as being in private practice as a mediator, counselor, end-of-life doula, and Zegg Forum Facilitator.

From being part of NY City Occupy's team implementing communication trainings, mediations and healing circles... To the past 12 years of co-producing and facilitating Network for New Culture Summer Camps... To currently studying and training within the Nonviolent Global Liberation community (NGL) developing facilitating pathways toward peace and reconciliation. Shana continues to be fueled by a passionate belief in collaborative community living and loving, distributive leadership, and the unveiling of shame as a way toward living authentically, interconnectedly alive.

Wali Via

Wali Via farmed at Winter Green Farm in western
Oregon from 1985 until his retirement in 2018. Winter Green was among the first farms to be organically certified in Oregon. The diversified farm uses biodynamic methods extensively. Winter Green operates the oldest Community Supported Agriculture program in Oregon, sells at several farmers markets, as well as to retailers, and wholesale accounts. He served on the board of the Biodynamic Association from 2016-2018 and has been an active member of the Oregon Biodynamic Group (oregonbd.org) since 1976.
Wali is dedicated to providing opportunities for people to deepen their spiritual lives including their relationship with the natural world. He is a senior teacher in the Inayati Order (inayatiorder.org), a universalistic Sufi order, that accepts all
people and paths leading to the unfoldment of the light and power latent in the human being. He currently is the head of the Ziraat activity of the Inayatiyya, dedicated to healing humanity’s relationship with the Earth and using agriculture
symbolically as a means to further one on the spiritual path.

AMY PALATNICK

AMY PALATNICK discovered early on that the best life hack was to follow inspiration. Initially groomed for mainstream success, she had an awakening while in college and swapped her Pre-Med major for Buddhism. Life responded by leading her down many magical paths with delectable opportunities, and she learned to keep planting seeds and see what sprouted. Following her nose around the country, she paused in Eugene, where daily rainbows were a clear sign. There, she became a professional potter, with a thriving business at the Eugene Saturday Market. Later she became a devoted Nia instructor, sharing a movement and lifestyle practice that both heals and conditions the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Continuing along the path of personal growth, Amy got her master's degree in Processwork therapy and facilitation, and became a coach and a somatic meditation ("Realization Process") teacher. Undyingly passionate about helping others find deeper connection to their bodies, lives, and especially their sexuality, Amy teaches workshops and weekly drop-in classes and writes about body image, sexuality, dating, and self-love.

Additional Instructor bios coming soon!

Colin Doyle

Colin Doyle grew up in Massachusetts, has degrees in anthropology and religion, has worked and studied in Sub-Saharan Africa for a total of 15 months, lived in a tiny indigenous village in South America for nearly a year, and has traveled or worked in various other places. Before coming to Lost Valley he taught environmental education to 5th- and 6th-graders in the mountains of New Hampshire and Southern California. He also led backpacking, canoeing, and other trips with teenagers for three summers. Colin was the Education Director at Lost Valley 2011-2020, and was the prime force behind the Holistic Sustainability Semester and PDC course during that time.