The Board of Trustees
Thomas Ugo Ermacora. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR. FATHER. EXPLORER.
Thomas is a passionate dano-italian urbanist and geographer acting mostly as a creative social entrepreneur focused on sustainability. After working with architecture and planning professions on Zero Carbon projects in Europe, he shifted towards a trust in participatory design practices and started CLEAR VILLAGE to rethink space, one village at a time and focus on upgrading the existing with communities. Thomas also runs the transition consultancy Etikstudio to promote sensible lifestyles through experience platforms such as exhibits and events for which he currently acts as Strategy & Creative Director, involving curatorial practice and concept design. One of the main outcomes has been a travelling platform exhibition on cycling culture called Dreams on Wheels in collaboration with Gehl Architects and Biomega amongst others. It has been touring for 8 years now and been seen by over a million people since it was selected as official COP15 prelude and supported by the Danish Foreign Ministry. Beyond these activities he has owned an organic slowfood-inspired restaurant, a webtv production company and acts as business angel or board member in a few early stage green start-ups such as Ethical Economy ltd making value-based performance tools, the Material Connexion Award 2009 nominee Cellucomp ltd and Inhabitat.com , the largest online sustainable design publication. Regional Ambassador for INDEX, member of Bioneers and Royal Society of Arts Fellow, he was recently appointed advisor to the RIBA Building Futures think tank. Thomas is the Founder of CLEAR VILLAGE.
Alice Holmberg. DESIGNER. CHAOS PROCESSOR. OPTIMIST.
Alice focuses on the sustainable social impact of design –both immaterial and material. Her work covers a wide spectrum of design, ranging from high-end fashion to community focus. She has also researched the impact of fashion culture on the individual identity in a global perspective, a publication about which will soon be out on the streets. She has been awarded membership of the German National Academic Foundation for her socially responsible conceptual designs and of TED for her entrepreneurial energies and is a fellow of the RSA in London.
The encounter of the completely abstract and the earthbound is her home ground and she facilitates discussions that go from principles to action points. As such, she has been a part of developing a new university faculty, helps companies connect pre-industrial potential with post-modern values and is never short of a good plan and a smile. At CLEAR VILLAGE, she applies her creative and entrepreneurial powers as the Programmes Director and is a member of the Think Team.
Paul Hughes.DESIGN PRACTITIONER. DESIGN PHILOSOPHER. THOUGHT LEADER.
Paul works to find the right balance between theory and practice within the field of design. His place of repeated practice is Amsterdam, and he holds a variety of visiting lectures to share his understanding on the theory of design. For CLEAR VILLAGE, Paul is a Trustee and a member of the Think Team.
In our interconnected world we are facing global challenges, across every aspect of life, challenges we have never faced before, Paul believes that these challenges are in essence design challenges. It is this broad scope of design that he feels we are called to address. We can feel empowered to do so once we realize that we can analyse the past because it exists, however the future does not yet exist therefore we need to design it. Paul’s training and practice move from the level of the individual through community to government. For individuals his focus is on Design Thinking where reflective action is encouraged. For communities and organisations his focus is on Co-creation where the skill of consultation is developed. For governments and institutions his focus is on stimulating Design Ecologies where the emergent qualities are sought after. He believes CLEAR VILLAGE works to create, stimulate, and nourish each of these levels.
Wouter Steiner. LAWYER. ENTREPRENEUR. POSITIVIST.
Wouter acts as lawyer for companies specialised in green energy and mobile communication, he is one of the CLEAR VILLAGE Trustees and our special capacity for commercial and legal advise.
Karsten Stampa. ECONOMIST. SHEPHERD. CURIOUS.
After studying economics in Berlin, Karsten started his professional life as a business consultant for several German financial institutions in strategic management, re-engineering, financial planning and control. During his master studies in Berlin and Cambridge he concentrated on how to control clusters of creative industries and sustainable creative businesses, the reason he came in touch with CLEAR VILLAGE. Within the organisation, Karsten is responsible for the organisational development and also a member of the CLEAR VILLAGE Think Team, where he concentrates on the economic side of a CLEAR VILLAGE – how to set up, develop and use regional economic development approaches to foster sustainable (economic) communities.
Henning is Founder of Byens Ojne. Previously he was Head of Planning at Schonherr, Head of DAC Sustainable Cities and part of DACʼs management team. In 2008, he became a member of the Danish green think tank CONCITO and of the World Future Council Expert Commission on Cities and Climate Change.
Michael Norton, London
In 1975, Michael Norton set up the Directory of Social Change, which became the UK’s leading provider of information and training to the non-profit sector. In 1995, he set up the Centre for Innovation in Voluntary Action through which he has initiated a raft of innovative projects worldwide. These include: street children’s banks in South Asia; village publishing and libraries in Andhra Pradesh, India; UnLtd, a foundation supporting social entrepreneurs in the UK, and now operational in India and spreading internationally; YouthBank, where young people become donors supporting local initiatives run by young people; MyBnk to promote financial literacy and enterprise skills; FoodCycle, where cooking unused food for the needy; and Buzzbnk, a crowdfunding platform for social enterprise. He has recently established the International Centre for Social Franchising, and has a Professorship at the Graduate Business School at the University of Cape Town. He is author of 365 Ways to Change the World, The Everyday Activist and numerous books on fundraising.
Operations Team
Alan Reitsch. ECOLOGIST. ARTISAN. ADVENTURER.
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in the United States, Alan studied Behavioral Ecology and Anthropology at Reed College and received his Bachelors of Science degree in Marine Ecology from the pioneering, inter-disciplinary Evergreen State College. Following his years of Field Biology researching whales, dolphins, and sea birds around the world, including Antarctica, Alan embarked on a career in Information Systems and Technology. He worked his way from technical support engineer to Software Engineering Director and Lead Application Architect at the world’s largest online auto-sales company and to CIO at Africa Aid, a medical mobile network non-profit based in San Francisco, California. Alan has had many successes working with some of the world’s top marketing organizations, and is passionate about film as a writer, director, and editor. Alan is thrilled to unite with the co-creative placemakers at CLEAR VILLAGE to help solve tough challenges faced by global communities.
Frank van Hasselt. PHILOSOPHER. SCRIBBLER. LOGICIAN.
Frank grew up in Holland and Hong Kong and studied philosophy & modern languages at Oxford. As well as writing several novels and screenplays, he has also worked at a variety of companies across Europe. Most recently he has been in charge of strategic accounts at Ethical Economy, a London-based company which enables individuals and organisations to live their values. Frank’s interest in language on the one hand and in ‘philosophy in action’ on the other attracted him to the idea of contributing to CLEAR VILLAGE’s communications.
Robin Houterman. URBANIST. DEVELOPER. GLOBAL VILLAGER.
With a background in urban planning and design, Robin worked both on theory and practice of urban regeneration in the Netherlands. Predominantly working for social housing associations, he specialised in regenerating inner-city neighbourhoods. Currently he is enrolled in a Msc in Urbanisation & Development at the London School of Economics with the goal of understanding urbanism from a developmental perspective, particularly in cities in the global south.
Hana Hull. LINGUIST. MUSER. PHILANTROPE.
Hana is a native Londoner and is currently a part time student of Linguistics with French & Portuguese at Birkbeck College. Having come to join the team from a similar position at Ethical Economy Ltd, she is greatly enthused by Clear Village’s vision & mission.
Samantha Irvine. LAWYER. URBAN ANIMATOR. ENTHUSIAST.
Samantha is a lawyer-turned-urbanist. She moved from her native Toronto to London a couple of years back to pursue a career in the built environment. She now holds an MA in Historical and Sustainable Architecture from New York University and is a Graduate Fellow in Sustainable Urbanism with the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. Samantha is passionate about food politics and sustainability, the psycho-social aspects of design, and the intersection of land use policy and sustainable cities. She joined CLEAR VILLAGE on secondment from the Prince’s Foundation because she believes that its approach to collaborative regeneration can have a long-lasting positive impact.
Chris Vaughan. ENTREPRENEUR. MUSICIAN. ACTIONIST.
Chris started his career working in logistics at some of the UK’s largest music festivals including Glastonbury, WOMAD, Secret Garden Party and Reading. He has been a music promotor in and around London and founded the acclaimed alternative live-music events company You Choose Jamborees before being commissioned by Hackney Council to curate their Parks for Life summer music programme. After working at Oxfam UK, Chris worked as Head of Events at international education charity Gemin-i where he broke a world record setting up the first ever Sumo Run and organises annual travel events across Europe. He has travelled extensively throughout Africa over the course of a decade, is involved with a music collaboration going by the guise of William Sommers and generally likes to be outside.
James Brady. ASPIRING ARCHITECT. CYCLIST. MAPPER.
James grew up in South Wales, completing a Foundation in Art before going on to study Architecture at Cardiff University. After volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in New Jersey, he moved to Brooklyn and worked directly with clients on historic renovations which increased his passion for low energy design as they strove for Passivhaus energy standards. Since graduating with a commended masters in architecture, James spent the summer training for a charity bike ride and completed the 220 miles through the length of Wales in one day. James has a passion for mapping and strives to understand the socio economic issues that affect the urban condition through visualisation of urban information. At CLEAR VILLAGE, James hopes to tie in local solutions that benefit the larger scale.
Teresa García Alcaraz. ARCHITECT. INTERVENTIONIST. TRAVELLER.
Born and raised in Barcelona, Tere studied Architecture at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and after several years of working in Barcelona, continued her architectural studies in London, where she took an MA in Architecture of Rapid Changes and Scarce Resources. Fascinated by cities and their cultures and people, Tere researches gaps between the formal and informal in urban environments. She specializes in participatory planning and design, slum-upgrading and diversity in the built environment. She has worked in Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. Tere is also a member of L.P.U., one of the regular writers of Polis and the author of Archithoughts. Tere joined the CLEAR VILLAGE team with the idea of making all these ideas happen.
Mirjam Wurtz. ARCHITECT. URBANIST. REALISTIC IDEALIST.
Mirjam spent seven years living and working as an architect in Paris, where she discovered her love for cities, street life and communities. Her interest in the interaction of the physical fabric and social, political and environmental factors led her to join the LSE’s Cities Programme, where she recently graduated from the MSc City Design and Social Science. Mirjam is interested in spaces and buildings for the everyday, where dreams can be dreamt, plans made and projects put into practice. Besides that, she loves cooking, photography, gardening and travelling to uncommon places. At Clear Village she is part of the design team.
Lucia Parrino PHD CANDIDATE. ENQUIRER. TRANSDISCIPLINARIAN
Lucia is a Ph.D. candidate in Design for Cultural Heritage at Politecnico di Milano and focuses on cultural and heritage programmes for Small Works. After studying economics and management of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts, Tourism, Territory and Local Development, her current research interests include heritage and intercultural dynamics, eco/sociomuseological approaches to local development, and the role of culture, creativity and heritage in contemporary cities and neighbourhoods. She moved from Milan to London to join CLEAR VILLAGE and to be involved in local development and researching by designing.
Chris Wise. PLANNER. ORGANISOR. COMMUNITARIAN.
Chris grew up in Montreal, Canada, where he completed a BA in Human Geography before obtaining an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Amsterdam last fall. Chris was first drawn to place-making and sustainable transportation through the Shared Space design concept and has since followed his passion for involving stakeholders in rethinking the public realm by coordinating and facilitating community forums, workshops and street festivals. From his years as a bassist and drummer in multiple touring and recording projects, Chris knows about laying down a solid foundation in team building, as well as the importance of honest and constructive communication for collaborative projects. He is excited to be working with the Clear Village team on Small Works.
Think Team
Jennifer Leonard. San Francisco.
Jennifer co-authored “Massive Change” with Bruce Mau, a book about the future of global design, voted 1 of 5 top books of 2004 by Wallpaper magazine. She is a specialist in research and communication methods and interdisciplinary Project Leader at IDEO.
Dr Kristina Börjesson. Sweden/UK/France.
Kristina holds a PhD and is Research Associate at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She is dedicated to the designed object and its contribution to holistic sustainable development.
Daniel holds a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, and a PhD in Sustainability from the Centre for the Study of Natural Design (University of Dundee), where he is a research supervisor. Daniel works part-time as the academic director of Findhorn College and as a researcher for the International Futures Forum.
Chris is a partner at Terrapin Bright Green, a strategic environmental consulting group, and a senior associate at Cook+Fox Architects. His interests include high-performance design at both the building and community scale, zero energy communities, biomimicry, and water conservation.
Korinna Thielen. London.
Korinna works at the Institute for Sustainability, where she is responsible for developing a research centre for the built environment within the Thames Gateway, Europe’s largest regeneration area. She is well experienced in planning, designing and delivering complex urban projects.
After creating works for architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Thomas Sandell, Filipe is working on his own vision of Evolutionary Architecture, which uses his profession as an instrument to accelerate global development.
Alastair trained as an Anthropologist and his wildlife photography took him around the world with the BBC and WWF. His current work as a facilitator and leadership adviser supports projects such as CLEAR VILLAGE.
JENNIFER LEONARD
