As February approaches, we are soon to say goodbye to Amanda Sturgeon, who is stepping down as CEO after nearly 10 years with ILFI. With 650 Living Building projects in 23 countries, two thriving international affiliates, 27 affordable housing projects, and hundreds of Declare labels, Amanda has guided the Institute to a place where the organization is poised to scale. We’ve put together photos of Amanda through her years at ILFI to remember the great work she has done as our CEO. Thank you for your service and the work you’ve done for a living future, Amanda!

Amanda poses with the team at ILFI (then the Cascadia Green Building Council) at their year-end celebration of green building leadership, achievement and innovation. (December 2014)
Amanda visits the Tūhoe headquarters Te Kura Whare, the first certified Living Building in New Zealand and the 15th worldwide. (March 2015)

Then Executive Director of ILFI, Amanda facilitates a charrette of more than thirty leaders from around Seattle to construct a vision for Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood to achieve the Living Community Challenge. Here she is shown working with two former ILFI employees, Brad Liljequist and Adam Amrhein, creating visions for the neighborhood in five key areas: food, habitat, community, mobility, and energy. (June 2015)

Amanda announces the new Stephen R. Kellert Biophilic Design Awards at Greenbuild 2017 in Boston, MA. (November 2017)

Published author Amanda Sturgeon signs copies of her book, Creating Biophilic Buildings, at the 2018 Living Future unConference in Portland, OR. (April 2018)

Amanda speaks at TEDMED 2018 – the independent health and medicine edition of the world-famous TED conference – on the health effects of biophilic design and how to bring nature back into our lives. (November 2018)

After speaking at Greenbuild Europe about Zero Carbon Buildings with the World GBC, Amanda stops by London to meet with a budding LBC project and have lunch with our London Collaborative. (March 2019)

Amanda happily poses with her [amazingly talented, humble] staff at the 2019 Living Future unConference in Seattle, WA. (May 2019)

Amanda tours Midtown International School, which is planning a campus development under the Living Building Challenge, and talks to students about Biophilic Design and the challenges of being a female leader. (Fall 2019)

Molly Freed, Policy Manager, Amanda, and Ally Stoneham, Associate Director of Operations, attend the annual Power of Women retreat at the Omega Institute in NY. Amanda last visited nine years ago, a month after starting at ILFI, to certify the Omega Institute as the first Living Building. (Fall 2019)

Written By

ILFI Staff

The International Living Future Institute’s mission is to lead the transformation toward a civilization that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative.