Friends and collaborators~Human Resources~Global Initiatives~Music~Contact

Friends and Collaborators

"Here and there are people who know how to take good care of themselves, who live joyfully and happily. They are our strongest support. Everything they do, they do for everyone." - Thich Nhat Hanh

The people on this page are reachable, open and willing to answer questions about their work, and give whatever advice and resources they can. Please take a few moments to read about them.

Agamemnon Otero - London, UK

"The images & tones I work with all derive from natural phenomenon. Nature's bold colours & wild geometry guide my painting. From the high trails of Scotland & Switzerland, to the low marshes of Maine & Brazil, my voyage is to succinctly distill the world around me. Painting the physical world gives me inspiration. Capturing meditative moments or paradoxically explosive ones, I endeavor to create an immediate image that acknowledges beauty, as well as challenging that ideal. My style is to stay close to my subject, while invoking its energetic pulse. I am fascinated by the space in-between, the crack amidst the physical and metaphysical worlds we inhabit."

Agamemnon was born in Uruguay. He was raised in New York State, USA. Working from sight & memory, Agamemnon doesn’ ;t use projectors or enlarging devices. His works are painted in acrylic or oil on canvas, varying in size from 30 centimeters to 18 meters long. He has completed commissions & sold work throughout the United States & the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland , Brazil, & Uruguay. He has exhibited in the USA, UK, Brazil & Uruguay. He lives with his English wife in central London & works out of the studio he constructed himself.

Benjamin Barber

Benjamin R. Barber is the Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, and founder and director of the CivWorld project and its annual Interdependence Day event. An internationally renowned political theorist, Dr. Barber consults regularly with political and civic leaders in the United States and Europe.

Dr. Barber was a founding editor and, for 10 years, editor-in-chief of POLITICAL THEORY. He writes frequently for publications such as Harper's, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Die Zeit, La Repubblica, and others. Dr. Barber is also the author of 17 influential books, including STRONG DEMOCRACY (1984) the international best-seller JIHAD VS. MCWORLD and FEAR'S EMPIRE: WAR, TERRORISM AND DEMOCRACY (2003).

His newest book, CONSUMED: HOW MARKETS CORRUPT CHILDREN INFANTILIZE ADULTS AND SWALLOW CITIZENS WHOLE, was published in March 2007 by W.W. Norton.

Dr. Barber holds a certificate from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an M.A. and Doctorate from Harvard University. For some insightful, refreshing, political theory and clear thinking, take a look at STRONGDEMOCRACY, thebarberbloglog.

















COLIN McCRATE - Seattle Urban Farm Company

Colin McCrate has been organically gardening/farming for 7 years.   He worked at a small market vegetable garden for several seasons before taking a position as Garden Manager at an Environmental Education center on Orcas Island.  He has since worked for Farmhouse Organics in Poulsbo, WA and Village Acres Farm in Mifflintown, PA. Colin has been designing and installing gardens in Seattle for the past two years and officially founded the Seattle Urban Farm Company in January of 2007.

Are you interested in eating more fresh, organically grown vegetables? Would you like to have a secure, sustainable food source in your backyard?  Have you always wanted to have a garden, but don’t feel you have the time or know-how to get started?   If so, you might be interested in the services that Seattle Urban Farm Company provide.   We use our collective farming and gardening experience to establish a productive organic vegetable plot in your yard.   We plant the garden with vegetables of your choosing, maintain it throughout the year, and by using succession plantings and intercropping techniques, we can harvest a weekly supply of vegetables for you and your family to eat!

We use only organic methods to manage your garden, so you’ll know your soil will be healthy and productive for years to come, and your vegetables will be free of herbicides, synthetic pesticides, and genetically modified organisms.   By bringing the farmers to your yard, you help us share the risks of growing food.  If the weather is poor, you’ll notice your garden is not as productive as it might otherwise be.  If the weather is good, you’ll be savoring a bumper crop of delectable vegetables!

Ian Moore - Vashon Island, Washington

The journey is the destination. While this is a good mantra for remembering to live your life in the present moment, it could also go a long way toward explaining the career path of Seattle-based troubadour Ian Moore. Moore first made a name for himself in Austin's vibrant roots-rock scene in the early 90's, gaining national attention for his self-titled debut on Capricorn Records. While the album established him as a heavyweight guitar player, Moore eschewed the role of rock guitar hero on his next release, Modernday Folklore, recorded with Mark Howard in Daniel Lanoisí studio. On Modernday Folklore, Moore asserted his growing sensibilites as a singer-songwriter; the album was subsequently chosen as ìone of the best moments in contemporary art in 1996 by Dave Hickey in Art America magazine. But Moore's follow-up album so confused Capricorn that the label dropped him. Refusing to see this as a set back, Moore took advantage of his newfound freedom to redefine just who he is and what it is that he does.

As a performer, Moore consistently manages to reduce packed houses to stunned silence through the sheer power of his voice, his songwriting and the unadulterated emotions he conveys. He's an artist who's built a reputation through his live shows, one convert at a time. It ís doubtful that anyone would have been able to predict so much subtlety and depth from an artist that started his career as a Texas guitar hotshot. That is, except for Moore himself, an artist who's willing to trust where his spirit takes him and to allow us to accompany him on that journey.

















Jon Langford

Originally the drummer for the punk band The Mekons, formed at the University of Leeds in 1977, Langford later took up the guitar as other band members left. Since the mid-1980s he has been one of the leaders in incorporating folk and country music into punk rock. Over the years, he has released a number of solo recordings as well as recordings with other bands outside of The Mekons, most notably the Waco Brothers, which he co-founded after moving to Chicago in the early '90s. He is strongly involved with the Chicago-based independent record label Bloodshot.

Langford is also a prolific and respected visual artist best known for his striking portraits of country music icons like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. His multimedia music/spoken-word/video performance, "The Executioner's Last Songs," premiered at Alverno College in 2005, and has been performed in several other cities. He also illustrated the comic strip Great Pop Things under the pseudonym Chuck Death. Since 2005 he has been one of the hosts of a weekly radio program, "The Eclectic Company," broadcast on WXRT 93.1 FM in Chicago. He's also a regular contributor to This American Life.

 






Jedd Haas - New Orleans, LA

Jedd Haas is an artist and musician living in New Orleans, LA. For unknown reasons, he was arm-twisted into helping to design this site. For the design action, check EPS. For art, visit Gallery Tungsten.

Kate Hyde - Asheville, North Carolina

Kate Hyde grew up in Kingsport, TN. Since attending Harvard University
she has lived in Asheville for 19 years. She has worked as an
entrepreneur for 16 years as both a quilter and a teacher. For the
last nine years, Kate has worked at home while home schooling her
three children. After her third c hild was born, Kate enrolled in the
MMF foundations class. For the last two years she has been very
active in MMF and heads the Asheville Business Alliance. With the
help of the Mountain Microenterprise Fund Kate is realizing her
lifelong dream by opening a private school in Weaverville, The New
Classical Academy. The New Classical Academy will open this fall with
almost 60 enrolled students grades K-8 and will employ six people its
first year. Kate Hyde is also a member of the Asheville Area Chamber
of Commerce where she is involved in their Partners in Education
program, and she has started an Educational Consortium for the
Asheville area.

Laurel Cain

Laurel Cain is one of the Northwest's premier decorative artists,having experimented and pioneered finishes for projects large and small for the last fifteen years. Laurel is also an engineer in enviromental chemistry and works with the EPA on several projects ranging from sustainable building methods, to ridding the world of lead tire weights. You can reach her through her original paint design company: Color Alchemy

Mak Gilchrist - London, UK

Relief worker, educator, London's favorite raconteur: More than just a pretty face.

Mark Nichols - Seattle, Washington

The Really Big Production Company is the archive site of Mark Nichols. All the projects on this site were either written, recorded, arranged, directed or produced by Mark. This website contains over 30 hours of recorded music, writing, and video. Feel free to use it for your own entertainment. Pass it on or play it for friends. Any commercial uses must be cleared with The Really Big Production Company. No request or job is too small or too big, The largest works here came from the smallest beginning.

As a producer, arranger or composer, Mark Nichols' hand has been behind some of the most groundbreaking work in this city's musical atmosphere. Nichols' collaborations have ranged from Sunny Day Real Estate to Sean Nelson, to recording with Beaverchief of the Lummi Indian tribe. His string arrangements have won European Grammy's and his rock operas, which have sprouted and bloomed every few seasons for the last 15 years, are mythological allegories of musical genius. Whether he's working for himself or others, Nichols tunes directly into the cultural zeitgeist and translates music with a poignancy that is both superbly catchy and infectiously addictive.

Melanie Grimes - Seattle, Washington

Melanie began studying homeopathy in 1971 and has been a registered member of the Society of Homeopaths (NASH) since 1992. She is the editor of The American Homeopath, and lectures internationally. Melanie is an award winning screenwriter, founder of MJFeet, the first Birkenstock Store in Seattle, a librettist, and a spinner of yarns and wool. Her pulished works include Dr. John Bastyr: Philosophy and Practice, and Cold Comfort Flu Relief, a book on natural treatments for the cold and flu. She is working on a book entitled, What Needs to Be Healed, as well as a children's story, and numerous other fascinating projects.

Milenko Matanovic

Milenko is a community builder and a visual artist with a professional career and international reputation spanning 40 years. As founding director of Pomegranate Center, he has created an arena in which art, public participation and community betterment converge.

Gathering Places
Milenko facilitates the conception and construction of open-air gathering places. He involves community members in all phases of these projects, from generation of initial concept, through construction and stewardship. He has also collaborated with artist James Hubbell in leading architecture students from four countries in creating parks in China, Russia, Mexico and the United States.

Community-Based Planning
Milenko is a skilled facilitator helping people of divergent views solve common problems. He has designed and facilitated strategic planning sessions, leadership summits, and design workshops for dozens of communities regionally, nationally and internationally. His work at Pomegranate Center has brought people and communities together to create and identify cultural, environmental and social priorities in community development. His services have been used by the US Department of Energy, Washington State government agencies, municipal governments in USA and Canada, neighborhood groups and non-profits.

Here is an excellent interview with Milenko about his mission and the work he's done

Max Mills - Valparaiso, Chile

Writer, Waverider, Weat her Consultant, Photographer, Designer, Films, Winemaker & Philanthropist.

"THERE ARE NO PASSENGERS ON SPACESHIP EARTH....... WE ARE ALL CREW" I live alone in a house on the beach, in Valparaiso, Chile, enjoying and sharing the simple pleasures that life is offering to us everyday: I feel alive and happy around people with CLEAN SOULS, BLESSED HEARTS and IRIE FACES... Human beings not afraid to take a "Lifetime Risky Leap" without a parachute to protect themselves. In one word: PASSIONATE People !!!

I have been a professional photographer since 1989 (at least this is when I sold my first picture). I have been a fulltime freelance photographer & journalist for five years (1990-1994), including an "Easter Island Photographs & Poems" exhibition touring all over Chile. Since then, I am always carrying my cameras and lenses for old/new client assignments, visual pleasure or personal memories. Nevertheless, from where I am now to start calling myself an ARTIST, I still have a very looong way to go. I also paint to feed properly my right side of the brain, but for now, my main love still is.......... THINK = WRITE

Scott Cleverdon - Madrid, Spain

Along with being an international super movie-star, Scott is Co-Founder of FIRST TEAM. First Team's mission is to enable the pursuit of excellence by promoting teamwork, collaboration and the highest artistic, technical and ethical standards across the film profession. Scott gives conferences and workshops for actors, scriptwriters and directors at universities, drama and film schools and international film festivals around Europe.

Parihaka -Taranaki, New Zealand

PARIHAKA IS A SMALL TARANAKI SETTLEMENT and one of New Zealand's most important spiritual, political and cultural sites of significance to Maori
and ‘people of like mind.'

Parihaka is located seven kilometres inland from ‘Te Moana Tepokopoko a Tawhaki’ the Tasman Sea, midway from Mt Taranaki. Sitting quietly in a landscape of volcanic lahar, this unassuming village is a site of immense historical and cultural importance.

The events that took place in and around Parihaka particularly from about 1860 to 1900 have affected the political, cultural and spiritual dynamics of the entire country of New Zealand.

Paula Fletcher - Dumb Clothing - San Francisco, California

Paula Fletcher, the one woman carnival behind Dumb Clothing, is a designer who's ethos is all inclusive. Her clothes are made to fit women and men of all shapes and sizes. Paula has an unerring sense of whimsy, and practicality, (everything is hand-washable and affordable), and she sews and sells every single garment herself by touring the country to visit and draw together her customers and friends into a world-wide community of celebration of the body beautiful.

Gabrielle Bakker - Seattle, Washington

Gabrielle Bakker graduated from Yale University in 1984 with an MFA in Painting. She has lectured at Yale University, The Art Institute of Chicago, Stanford University and The San Francisco School of Arts. Bakker has exhibited in Chicago, San Francisco and at the Earl McGrath Gallery since the late 1980's. She currently lives and works in Seattle, Washington.

Roger Fisher - The Czech Republic

Born in Seattle, Washington on February 14th, 1950, Roger Fisher discovered a love for music at a very early age.

In 1965 he began laying the foundation for his own style of guitar playing. Designing instruments, playing guitar with a violin bow and generally being willing to try anything to produce interesting, unique music was his passion.

As founding guitarist of the rock group Heart, these adventurous energies made themselves globally known through the sales of more than fifteen million albums. Having left that group in 1979, a musical rebirth began that took ten years to reach fruition. The first album to emerge from those years of work in his recording studio was "Standing, Looking Up," an instrumental effort that portrays earthly birth and the subsequent reaching out to other worlds and wonders.

Rosanne Olson - Seattle, WA

Rosanne Olson's passion for fine art photography plays an intergral part in her life as a commercial photographer. After obtaining a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, she worked in editorial and newspaper photography for five years. She made the transition to commercial work after moving to Seattle, where she continues to create both advertising and fine art images for nationwide clientele.

Her latest project is The Body Book:

Why does it take us so long to realize how beautiful we are? Must we wait until we are shocked by illness or loss to finally appreciate our beauty?

We often judge others, as in “how lucky she is to be so slender” or “how unfortunate she is to be overweight.” But what is the true story from the inside?
What is there to love about our each of our bodies?

"I asked this question of fifty women who agreed to participate in this Body Image project. Over a five-year period a diverse group of women from 19-95 agreed to be photographed and interviewed in the hope that sharing their images and experiences will encourage compassion— for ourselves and for each other."

Terry Collins is the Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University where he directs the Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He taught the first university course in green chemistry at Carnegie Mellon, starting in 1992, and writes and lectures widely on how chemists can promote sustainability - he has delivered 400 public lectures. Professor Collins research is focused on greening the historically dirty area of oxidation chemistry by designing nontoxic catalysts for activating the natural oxidants, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. His widely patented TAML activators promise to revolutionize peroxide chemistry, allowing it to substitute more effectively for chlorine- and metal-based processes and to enable much more effective technologies for destroying in water recalcitrant pollutants and hardy pathogens.

Terry Collins is a heart-stoppingly engaging public speaker. He is a man of tremendous talent, knowledge and foresight. For more information on what he is doing with oxidation chemistry, do yourself a favor and read this article.

Theresa Hale - The Hale Clinic - London, UK

Teresa Hale is regarded as one of the Worlds leading "Health visionaries". She has played a major role in growth of Complementary Medicine over the last 15 years.

A philosophy and Economics graduate with a post graduate degree in Education, it was her interest in Yoga which steered Teresa towards Complementary Medicine. As a Yoga instructor she found that students would frequently ask her to refer them to homeopaths, naturopaths, osteopaths etc. Seeing the need for a centre where members of the public could consult a range of Complementary Therapists, she decided to start up the Nine Clinics in Kensington. Th en founded the Hale Clinic, London in 1987. The Prince of Wales opened the Clinic officially in 1988 and Teresa has been at the helm as Managing Director ever since.

Over 40 different treatments are available from the 100 practitioners who are based at the Clinic. Chir opractors, healers, reflexologists, masseurs work side by side treating whole range of conditions. Teresa believes that complementary Medicine should not be seen as an alternative to orthodox medicine - rather neither system has the whole answer to every medical problem.

Zazou - Seattle, Washington

Zazou is a sextet featuring accordion, lead and harmony vocals, string bass, rhythm and lead guitars and percussion. Their repertoire, including original material, is inspired by the sophisticated melodies of French Jazz Manouche, Parisian Musette, Latin American popular songs and American Swing Jazz. Drawing together a multitude of musical influences and incorporating the driving European &qu ot;string swing" rhythm, Zazou pays homage to music of the past while creating an original sound that is contemporary and exciting.