Karen Chen
Eco-Analysis and Education Coordinator
Karen Chen is a community organizer, teacher, entrepreneur, and activist collaborating on initiatives across several disciplines to cultivate innovative diversity, leadership, and resource awareness in our communities. Serving as the development chair for Sustainable Fairfax (www.SustainableFairfax.org), a local interest group dedicated to the integration of community, economy, and ecology, she is also a products consultant for Plan-It Hardware (www.PlanItHardware.com), a leading green products distributor and activist-business working to green the hardware and home improvement sector. She is co-founder of EcoGatherings, and a member of the board for Symbiosis Events (www.symbiosisevents.com), a sustainable living events production company. A doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies focusing on integral ecology, Karen was also certified in Permaculture Design at the International Institute for Ecological Agriculture in 2004.

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Matthew Garrambone
Permaculture and Eco-Education Specialist
Matthew Garrambone graduated Northern Arizona University with a degree in Environmental Communications. For two years, he worked with Friends of Flagstaff's Future in Arizona co-coordinating a campaign to preserve open space. Since moving to Sonoma County, he has studied Permaculture with the Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness program, and works full time at Harmony Farm Supply & Organic Nursery in Graton. He is currently participating in the Leadership Program for A Sustainable Future based in Santa Rosa, CA. and is continuing his education in Permaculture and sustainable community building. Matthew is a Course Administrator for the Symbiosis Permaculture Course, in September 2007 (www.symbiosisgathering.com).
www.RITESproject.org

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Pedro Gomide
Sustainable Event Planning Coordinator
Coming from a musically inclined family and with a background in film production and advertising, Pedro started hosting electronic music events in the 90's. He participated in the development of the trance scene in Brazil, by being one of premiere down-tempo DJs playing at festivals throughout the country and producing indoor/outdoor events. Joining Reality Engine, he helped to develop it into a world-class Audio-Visual label and innovative multi-media production company. The combination between his talents and his awareness to the need of creating a sustainable world brought him to join EcoGatherings. He provides production skills and consultation for cultural events, with features such as live music, workshops, panel discussions, art installations, and permaculture gardens.
» www.kymastream.com

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Bosque Hrbek
Site Planning and Management Coordinator
Bosque is a modern renaissance man with global event management experience and a background in eco-education. In 2004 he became certified in Permaculture Design in La'Akea, Hawaii, and continued on to facilitate a Natural Building course in Red Hook, New York. He is a co-founder of Symbiosis Events (www.symbiosisevents.com), and has managed stages from the Soulclipse Festival in Antalya, Turkey to Yuri's Night at NASA's Ames Research Center. Bosque is an integral team member who specializes in a providing a holistic overview of the event planning process, while maintaining attention to detail and a strong focus on the core vision.
» www.symbiosisevents.com

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Karen Kohley
Eco-Education and Human Resource Specialist
Karen Kohley graduted from the Univerity of Iowa in 2003, with her B.A. in Foreign Language Education. She is currently attending the Regenerative Designs and Nature Awareness Institute, where she is studying to reconnect people to their roots in the earth, their ancestors, and their community. A certified teacher, she has led various outdoor excursions for K-12 students throughout California, Utah, and Costa Rica. She has taught Spanish, ESL, ecology, botany, biology, astronomy, rock climbing, and snorkeling. In 2005, she worked for a wilderness therapy company in Utah with at risk teens that were experiencing difficulties. Upon returning to California, she began working with Stepping Stones, an organization that is dedicated to creating meaningful rites of passage for youth as they transition from childhood to adulthood. As a certified Permaculture design student and WFR student, she is a student teacher for the Permaculture First Responder Certification course.

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Kevin Kohley
Sustainable Event Planning Coordinator
Kevin is the Project Coordinator of Eco-Gatherings, an International Resource for Eco-Logical Event Production, and a core member of the Symbiosis Gathering production team. He is also a graduate of the Regenerative Design Institute, a year-long intensive Permaculture training, where he studied under the guidance of Penny Livingston. Kevin, in conjunction with Critical Mass Productions and the RITES Project, is currently working on a film entitled Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within, which investigates the evolution of consciousness and the spontaneous reemergence of rites of passage. Kevin earned his Masters of Arts degree at California School of Integral Studies. While there, he focused on historical trends of conscious evolution, rites of passage, and complex systems during his studies in Philosophy, Consciousness and Cosmology.

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Mia Rose Maltz
Permaculture and Bio-Remediation Specialist
Mia Rose Maltz is a co-founder and Executive Director of the RITES Project (www.RITESproject.org). Mia has been studying mycology, mushroom cultivation and mycorestoration with Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti, for over ten years. Mia was certified in Permaculture Design at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in 1999 and again at Earth Activist Training in 2002. In 2003, she was certified to teach Permaculture at the Diamond Light Center in Oakland. Mia and the RITES Project facilitated their first Permaculture Design Course, Permaculture in Paradise, in Kaua'i, Hawaii in 2004. Mia is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy. She has received numerous awards, including one recognizing her outstanding achievement in volunteer coordination for the Pepperweed Project from the city of Sebastopol in 2005. Mia has presented her research in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the International Marine and Freshwater Fungi Symposium. Mia enjoys teaching about Permaculture, mycorestoration, and bioremediation. She attended Colgate University, and completed her B.A. in Culture, Ecology, and Sustainability from New College of California in 2000. Mia is a doctoral candidate at U.C. Berkeley, in their new Center of Interdisciplinary Bio-inspiration in Education and Research (CIBER).
www.RITESproject.org

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Jen Zariat
Eco-Analysis and Communications Coordinator
Zariat is an award-winning independent designer and photographer, with an international portfolio spanning over 10 years. She has pursued a number of eco-conscious initiatives for her clientele, including open source technology, carbon-neutral web hosting, and 100% recycled/non-toxic printing, powered by wind energy. She is also an accomplished live event producer, co-founding Symbiosis Events (www.SymbiosisEvents.com), as well as EcoGatherings. She currently spends her time finding ways to integrate the functions of these organizations to provide a greater support framework for her clientele and community.
www.zariat.com