About
ReLI is an educational, research, and consulting 501(c)(3) non-profit that catalyzes shifts towards thrivability in human + more-than-human communities from the scale of individuals to neighborhoods to regions globally. We co-create interconnected living + learning educational, research, and catalyzation centers for community-based, regionally-scalable regenerative development, design, and living. Regenerative entails developing capacities in whole living systems so that all life continually increases in health, well-being, and vitality.
vision
Humans are a catalyst for all life to thrive.
Mission
Catalyze shifts towards thrivability in communities from the scale of individuals to neighborhoods to regions, globally.
Co-create a global network of living + learning communities, centers, and projects that research, support, implement, and teach locally-specific and locally-adapted regenerative living practices as well as support the shift in consciousness necessary to support regenerative transformations.
Integrate different ways of knowing—such as science, practice, indigenous knowledge, spiritual knowledge—learning, and being in the world through education, engaged research, designed experiments, networked regenerative communities and projects, and consulting.
Establish regional Regenerative Living Centers that network activities within and between their bioregions to support shifts towards bioregional and global community-based regenerative living.
Leah V, Gibbons
PhD, CHHC
Sara El-Sayed
PhD
Tyler Wilfley
BA, MA
Brandon Yarborough
CGC
Cultural Creatives
Leah is a cultural creative and regenerative catalyst supporting shifts to thrivability in individuals, communities, and beyond.
Leah contributes to ReLI expertise in regenerative development and design, community development, ecological design, sustainability, planning, integrated design, holistic health, coaching, consulting, education, spiritual practices, research, and science-practice and science-spirituality integration.
Leah holds a PhD in Sustainability from Arizona State University; MS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee; BS in Biology and Anthropology from Vanderbilt University; and Certifications in Regenerative Development and Design, Ecological Design, Sustainable Community Design, Permaculture Design, Holistic Health, Integrative Nutrition, Coaching, Wetland Delineation, and Prescribed Burn. She is also trained in energy medicine, functional medicine, herbology, and consciousness medicine.
In addition to her role of Director and Founder at ReLI, Leah is the Director and Founder of Koru Collaborative (www.korucollaborative.com), a regenerative development, design, and consulting firm. She is also a spiritual facilitator and guide at Shamanic Church, a spiritual organization devoted to helping people connect deeply to their true nature as spiritual beings.
Brandon is committed to helping the fullest potential of any person or project emerge with his unique skills, abilities, and love for life.
Brandon brings to ReLI expertise in natural building, general contracting, design-build, integrated design, planning, coaching, consulting, business development, agriculture, teaching, mentoring, and creative out-of-the-box thinking. He holds a State Certified General Contractor license form the most rigorous licensing body in the nation. Brandon has over 30 years of experience in all phases of construction and development.
In addition to his role at ReLI, Brandon is Chief Operations Officer of Koru Collaborative and President of Southeast Construction Specialists. He is also a facilitator and guide at Shamanic Church, a spiritual organization devoted to helping people connect deeply to their true nature as spiritual beings.
I see myself as mycelia, the vegetative part of fungi, diffusing, and absorbing knowledge with the people surrounding me - like fungi in a forest I hope to create a mesh of connections. I have a PhD in food system sustainability from Arizona State University, focusing on regenerative food practices in arid regions. I weave together different disciplines, --biomimicry, traditional ecological knowledge, biopolitics, and regenerative development. I am co-founder of Nawaya, a social enterprise working as a catalyst to transition small-scale farmer communities in Egypt into more sustainable ones through education and research. I am also co-founder of Dayma an LLC responsible for outdoor Environmental Education, teaching young adults about biomimicry and local Egyptian communities. I love traveling and connecting to nature as well as interacting with people through food experiences. I sit on the board of Slow Food Phoenix, heading the policy and advocacy committee, and previously was an international councilor for Slow Food International, a movement whose aim is to safeguard local food cultures and traditions, by promoting good, clean, and fair food for all.
Tyler is passionate about cultivating the power of nature’s intelligence to design and develop living systems that shift consciousness from one of managing scarcity, to one of enabling abundance and thrivability for all sentient beings. Tyler joins ReLI as an experienced field coordinator who has spent the last decade working in sustainable development with a specialization in Permaculture design and regenerative agriculture. His past experience includes both domestic and international project initiatives related to regenerative landscape design, agriculture education, eco-friendly infrastructure, wildlife conservation, and sustainable community development. His areas of study and expertise include agroforestry, holistic farm planning, sustainability metrics & reporting, mushroom cultivation, Korean natural farming, market gardening, and sustainable business management. Tyler holds a BA in Philosophy and MA in Sustainable Business. He holds certifications in Permaculture Design and currently leads Regenerative, Organic Agriculture Programs.
