Kat Steele is a permaculture activist, designer, educator and founder of the Urban Permaculture Guild in Oakland, CA. She facilitates workshops on ecological design, sustainability, facilitation, permaculture and holistic healing. Kat speaks publicly about eco-social design, city repair, social permaculture and the power of placemaking. She has played a leadership role in developing women’s permaculture gatherings and support circles.

Trained in Ecovillage Design with the Findhorn Foundation of Scotland, Natural Building with Kleiwerks International, and Permaculture Design with the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, she also holds an MA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. She is the former Sustainable Development Manager for the Esalen Institute in Big Sur California and now resides in Oakland, California where she co-teaches Permaculture Design in the Landscape Horticulture Department of Merritt Community College.  She is recently engaged in counseling and coaching via the Interchange Counseling Institute and continues to be devoted to promoting inclusivity, localization, personal and community resiliency, believing these to be key strategies towards sustainability and “thrive-ability”. Reach her at katsteelenow@gmail.com.

2016 Convergence Panel: Widening the Circle – Eco-Conscious Leadership in Practice