As a child, I watched my mother rearrange furniture from room to room creating new and exciting looks for our home, which inspired my creativity. She encouraged us to practice yoga, help can vegetables, make homemade bread and she even taught us to sew clothes. It was a very earthy lifestyle and we didn’t know anything different. Hand-me-down bags of clothes from my cousin were a real treat. I remember staying with my grandparents, who lived just an hour away, “swimming” in the wash bucket, sitting on the front porch drawing on a long hot summer afternoon, picking vegetables from their massive garden, hanging from apple trees snacking on the fruits of the vine and laying on their rug made of braided bread bags dreaming away my days. Don’t even get me started on the lack of McDonald’s in my family.  That was an incredible treat! Because of this upbringing, I am a creative, free-thinking, environmentally conscious person.

Don’t get me wrong, just because I’ve come full circle, doesn’t mean I have always embraced this lifestyle.  I used my share of Aquanet in high school trying to achieve aerodynamics with my bangs.  In my late teens-early twenties, I was immersed in the fast-paced, disposable world of modeling.  As a fine arts major in college, I tossed so many paintings and paints for not being “just right” for my artistic creations.  Plus, I’ve definitely purchased my share of toxic cleaning products and thrown away more light bulbs than you can possibly imagine. 

But a few years ago I turned a corner in my life.  I embarked on this journey as part of a New Year’s Resolution.  I resolved to expand my knowledge about different areas that interested me.  I decided to finally use my education to the fullest and open my own interior design company.  I also knew at that moment that it was time for me to get serious about my health.  I never thought this one resolution would transform my life, but it did.  I stopped eating pork, beef and poultry and began eating only organic vegetables and fruit from local farms and fish. I finally gave up the deadly habit of smoking and began a serious workout regime.  I read everything I could get my hands on with regards to all things healthy.  It became important to find out what I was putting into and on my body, where it was coming from and I educated myself about toxins and their effects on me as well as on the world around me.    

This sparked even further growth in my career.  I completed a seven month long leadership series that helped me to realize that my passion for environmental issues was still alive and well.  I transformed my company into a completely sustainable design company, focusing exclusively on eco-friendly, green and non-toxic interior projects.

These days, I’m involved in local grassroots movements, including the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Indiana Chapter. I consult on sustainable interior design projects with local architects/builders/developers and I am the president of Smart Growth Indiana, which designs local policy for environmentally conscious community development. Through Smart Growth, I’ve been working hand in hand with the EPA and local green organizations, municipality and communities to form policy and guidelines for environmentally sustainable community development. 

Working through several different careers as a salesperson, an international event producer, an event designer, an interior designer, and teacher has allowed me to have many different global experiences that, when combined with my passion for the environment, contribute to my current outlook on design and the environment. 

I’ve educated myself on many different aspects of the environment and our effect on the environment around us.  I know that healthy living and sustainable design is not only a movement but is an absolute way of life that can be easy and inexpensive to obtain.  With all of the knowledge and experiences I have been fortunate to have, this simple proclamation has encouraged me to dig even deeper into the environmental movement. 

I’ve looked at my life and the people around me to see what is needed and wanted with regards to green living.  I realized that there really wasn’t a place to go that incorporated style, trends, green and healthy living in a way that is easy and affordable.  There are several companies that specialize in one but not the other.  This prompted me to create TheEcoDivas.com as a place of fabulously green possibilities. 

The only thing holding anyone back from being green and fabulous is knowledge.  I have developed TheEcoDivas.com to promote eco-living by educating on trends with emphasis on the environment, sustainable and healthy interior products and cutting-edge, ecologically-friendly designs.  The mission is simple and I am armed with experience and knowledge that will allow me to meet your green needs.