Interns of 2011
David Kelly - Bangor, ME
Site Intern
I spent much of my childhood on a homestead in the Maine woods, with acres of fields, streams, trees and gardens as my playground. When we relocated to 'the city,' I quickly rediscovered nature through scouting, Search and Rescue, 4-H and XC running. I learned about orienteering, wilderness survival and first aid, and biodiversity. Anything, so long as it was outside! In high school I explored sometimes radically varied curiosities: competitive debating, a class Presidency, 3 cover bands, math team, young democrats, young republicans, the list continues. It wasn't until college, however, that I really began applying serious curiosity to academics. Philosophy quickly became a natural match. I learned to organize and develop my thoughts, to structure and communicate my ideas concisely. I turned this philosophical lens on to other interests, culminating in an ambitious year-long thesis that integrated, music, psychology, cognition and ethics. After graduating, I hitchhiked across the country, backpacking through eight national parks. I produced a short film in NYC, settled down in New Orleans to teach science, but swiftly realized that building and design were my true calling. I returned to Maine as a carpenter for my family's historic restoration business. For the past four months I've been constructing a barn on our homestead, maintaining our alternative energy capacity (solar, wind and hydro!), chopping wood, brewing beer and enjoying the stars on clear nights. Sustainable design marries together my sprawling curiosities, and love for nature and innovation.
Vaughn Johnson - Sacramento, CA
Workshop Intern
I was born in Detroit, MI and raised in Morgan Hill, CA. My families’ idea of a good life, closer to God and closer to Mother Earth, helped me build a strong foundation. Some of my earliest memories on the five acre ranch are tilling the soil, planting our summer crops, caring for chickens, geese, goats, some sheep, and, the money maker; boarding horses, which included morning chores and late night mucking out the barn. I invested a lot of time in my second love gymnastics, where, in my 11 years with a growing company, I served as an Event Coordinator, and traveled coast to coast, putting on competitions on a national level. These memories of communal living, long hours and a lot of hard (yet fun) work, helped define the man I am today. Within the last two years, I’ve focused on hydroponics and my outside gardens. Permaculture is my new thing. I recently attended classes at PG&E and the new SMUD Building, for which I was certified as a Professional Green Builder.
Brandon Baer - Alamo, CA
Site Intern
Born in Houston Texas, my family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was six years of age. After graduating high school in the East Bay, I left home to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. I was first introduced to the ideas and practices of sustainability while enrolled in an Urban Ecology program at the UW. After graduating, I moved back to the Bay Area where I figured out rather quickly that I had a significant interest in sustainable living, organic food, and renewable energy. I am excited to learn new skills, techniques, and methodologies in an atmosphere focused on sustainable living. Beyond my enthusiasm to learn, I am very excited to be able to transfer the knowledge I gain during my time at SLI on to others in the future.
Kathryn Rutti - San Francisco, CA
Communications Intern
I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, born and raised in the South Bay. I studied Psychology and Spanish at the University of Washington in Seattle, and upon graduating, I spent 7 months traveling around the world. I spent the bulk of my time in Australia, but ventured to New Zealand, Asia and Europe. I settled in San Francisco where I spent a number of years working in Search Marketing and Online Advertising. My heart, however, has always been in holistic health and sustainability (after work, I'd cozy up with books about nutrition, yoga, organic food and peak oil!) In order to better align my person interests with my professional pursuits, I left the corporate world last spring to study Herbalism at the California School of Herbal Studies. It was during this time that I reconnected with nature, my love of plants, natural healing and living in harmony with the Earth. I like to spend my free time practicing yoga, traveling, making new herbal concoctions, cooking, gardening, reading, being outside in the sun and laughing.
Cassie Chapple - Monterey Bay, CA
Site Intern
I was born and raised in Carmel Valley, CA. After graduating high school, I attended Monterey Peninsula College to obtain my AA, and left right after to WWOOF in New Zealand. I worked on various farms there for 3 months, then travelled through Europe and returned to the states to attend Sonoma State University. I chose to study at SSU because of their Environmental Studies Program; I wanted a degree in Energy Management. While in school, I worked at Petaluma Bounty Farm and also interned at the Center for Sustainable Communities, a non-profit run though Sonoma State. During my internship, I wrote a paper on EV and solar power which was circulated throughout Sonoma County and used as an educational piece for county employees. Before starting my internship at SLI, I was working as an Analyst at Stellar Energy in Rohnert Park, CA.
Eric Hawkins - Atlanta, GA
SLC Caretaker
I was born in Denton, TX, but I lived the majority of my life in the sprawling city of Atlanta, GA. After graduating from Georgia Tech with a degree in Architecture, I sought out to get more hands-on experience in building and construction. I spent a year as an Americorps member working at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity building homes and helping to establish roots of positive change within the community. During that time, my wife and I began to learn about permaculture, and found out quickly that it marries her passion of being in the nature and interest in symbiotic relationships with my passion for creative design and sustainable, healthy, and empowering spaces and structures. After Americorps, my wife and I fled the city to travel with the desired focus of learning more about permaculture and sustainable lifestyles. Helping to lay the infrastructure for a grassroots organization in Fiji and developing permaculture sites in New Zealand, we were able to strengthen our understanding and passion to actively be creating a healthier, more sustainable world for us all to live. There is no looking back now! Sorry, corporate America.
Brittany Hawkins - Atlanta, GA
Caretaker
I was raised a city girl with a culturally engrained idea that corporate success leads to happiness. I worked hard in school and even harder in college studying Marketing and Business Management at Georgia Tech. It wasn’t until a trip to Costa Rica with my husband, Eric, changed my life forever. For the first time in my life I was exposed to a simpler way of living and began to feel a connection with the earth and all living things. I knew that I could not go back to the way of life I had become accustomed to, so we decided to make a change. I quit my job, sold my car, along with many other possessions, left the condo and big city behind and headed to the South Pacific with Eric. We knew that a move across the hemisphere to learn about Permaculture and Sustainability was not absolutely necessary, but it was the shocking distance that allowed us to renew our minds and our spirits. Now that we are back in the US it feels as though we are living a new life with a greater purpose.
