Visions for Change

Faculty Focus

Jun 2, 2020

Faculty Focus

Jun 2, 2020

For several years now, I have had the wonderful opportunity to teach a 4-day immersive short-course called BioEmpathy in Kenya (and once in India) for the Amani Institute. As much as I’m there to teach, I always walk away incredibly enriched and inspired by the experience and the Amani team and Fellows. 

With the pandemic, Amani has had to cancel their in-person courses; however, that does not stop them from carrying out their mission to develop professionals who create social impact. So for this summer, they are gifting the world with a program called Visions for Change, a 4-month journey exploring strategic insights and skills to reimagine our world beyond the pandemic.

Visions for Change covers 4 themes: Careers for Change, Nature of Change, Culture of Change, and Future of Change. Each theme lasts one month and includes offerings from Amani alumni in week 1, a roundtable of experts in week 2, and a “Skill Pills” workshop in week 4.  In week 4 of the Nature of Change theme, I will be facilitating the Skill Pills: How biomimicry can help you design better services and products for the ‘new normal’. 

Even if you can’t participate in this wonderful program, consider using the summer months to take your own journey to reimagine our world beyond the pandemic — and your role in it.

If you’re looking for a place to start, you might want to re-visit our 3 days of (free) Earth Week activities, or our Biomimicry, just for you for you activity.

If you’re looking for a bigger and deeper journey, explore our (fully online) MA in Sustainable Design program. We’d love to help you reimagine and redesign our world!

Denise DeLuca / Former Director

Denise DeLuca is the Director of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program. She was co-founder of BCI: Biomimicry Creative for Innovation, a network of creative professional change agents driving ecological thinking for radical transformation. Denise is author of the book Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation, which was illustrated by MASD alum Stephanie Koehler. She also teaches with the Amani Institute.

Denise’s previous roles include Education Director for the International Living Future Institute, Project Manager for Swedish Biomimetics 3000, and Outreach Director for The Biomimicry Institute. Denise is a licensed civil engineer (PE) and holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on modeling landscape-scale surface and groundwater interactions.  In addition, Denise is a Biomimicry Fellow and a member of the Advisory Council of The Biomimicry Institute,  Board Member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), on the editorial board of the Journal of Bionic Engineering, and an Expert with Katerva. Denise is based in Oregon.

contact:  [email protected]