This blog belongs to Tracey Oliveto or “Tao”, one member of The Change, a design agency born to help save the planet and all its inhabitants. The Tao of Change blog is something that effortlessly popped up - like most effortless things – after months of effort. Tao means “The Way.” It refers to aligning your personal life with the natural harmony and justice of nature. To follow the Tao is to see not only things but to see the way of things. And, because my initials happen to be TAO and I am part of The Change, a company trying to make the world better…well, you get the picture. The idea of this blog is to share a boots-on-the-ground view of the way things are changing in our communities and in the world. (If you find this blog gets lost, please gently remind it to return to its mission.)

So, I think all of us should keep talking about the Way of Change. Join me and the other “Changers” I work and play with, to be inspired, informed and plain old impressed with the potential we all have to change the world through sharing information and conversation.

Read the Wikipedia entry on Taoism.

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  Tracey “Tao” Oliveto, Director of Blogging

  Seemingly born with an intuitive understanding of service to others and the planet, Tracey is technically the one who started this whole shebang by osmotically nudging Jerry into free market activism. Her previous gig was as the founder and leader of Yoga Bliss, a thriving Raleigh yoga studio for 6 years. Tracey essentially ran her studio as a giant living blog — inviting students to use their yoga awareness in productive ways, sharing a Manifest Wall of world-changing news and hosting events promoting Fair Trade and environmental activism. In addition to running this blog, Tracey does copy editing and consults on Change projects.

  Eco-hero

  Jane Goodall, Bill McKibbens and Paul Hawken

  Great movie

  Movies that show people trying their best to be good like, I Heart Huckabees

  Great book

  Books by great thinkers like Joseph Campbell and Thomas Berry.

  Eco-wish

  That living small will feel big and that sustainability will make us so happy that everyone will do it automatically and we can all become as creative and whole as we were meant to be.

  Definition of Sustainability

  It comes down to the nature-based pagan understanding of balance in all things - how the ecosystem works in cycles of birth, death and rebirth. Humans are meant to live in accordance with these cycles and honoring how the work that goes with it makes us whole and brings communities together. We need to make the most of the 4 R’s - (reduce, restore, reuse, recycle), to move us towards a stabilizing place and a different mindset of awareness. We now need to use technology with nature as a model and move towards a bigger understanding and awareness.

The Changers -

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  Jerry Stifelman, Founder and Creative Director

  Between 1993 and 2004, Jerry worked as a brand strategist, creative director and writer for leading brands including MTV, Banana Republic, DKNY, Mountain Dew, Sprite, Chrysler, Jeep, Sun Microsystems, Puma and Reebok.

  After a decade in this traditional advertising biz, Jerry, convinced that the truth is your best tool, took his talents and skills to the more sustainable and greener side of marketing where he could work with good for the world companies as well as humanitarian, environmental and world-changing organizations. When he’s not writing, he spends his time mingling and speaking at Green festivals and conferences and can often be seen around town in his Utilikilt.

  Jerry is the driving force behind The Change. He directs all creative work, develops strategies, leads our naming assignments, and is the primary writer for most projects. He works on all aspects of marketing, from developing brand identities and strategies to delineating brand architecture to writing ads and commercials.

  Eco-hero

  Martin Luther King, Jr. - everything he said pointed to creating a better world for all people.

  Great book

  Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

  Great movie

  Reds, I Heart Huckabees

  Eco-wish

  For people to regard the world as a gift we have to pass along, instead of disposable.

  Definition of sustainability

  Leaving the world better than when we found it.

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  Chelsea Bay Wills, Design Director

  Chelsea designs or directs the design of Change projects across all media platforms. She also has a lot to say about strategy. Chelsea believes that images have the power to raise consciousness, educate, and make change in our society. She specifically became a designer to do just that.

  Prior to working for The Change, Chelsea created and implemented design for a range of mission-driven companies, including Greenbusiness, Brewing Hope and Food For Thought. She has also worked in publishing as the senior graphic designer at Common Ground Magazine.

  Eco-hero

  Anyone who tries to make a difference in their everyday life.

  Great book

  Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell

  Great movie

  Triplets of Belville

  Eco-wish

  A world where nothing is disposable.

  Definition of sustainability

  To build a house by digging down deep to lay the foundation on rock - not on sand, not on the rock- but within it. Winds will blow and rain will fall- but the house will stand- for it is founded within the rock.

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  Sami Grover, Director of Sustainability

  The whirlwind known as Sami Grover arrived in the United States from the UK on a Thursday, joined The Change by Sunday and got married by Friday. A sustainability journalist and environmental activist, Sami has 11 years of experience with environmental organizations. He has also worked in academic publishing, specializing in issues related to sustainability and is a regular contributor to Treehugger.com, the largest and most frequented green lifestyle website on the internet. He has been published in Permaculture Magazine and is currently learning the cool permacultural art of beekeeping. As our media liaison, Sami works with our clients to develop sustainability programs and interfaces with the media on their behalf.

  Eco-hero

  To name just a few of many - William McDonough, Amory Lovins, Rob Hopkins Pooran Desai and Sue Riddlestone. Or, if I let my inner hippy speak, we are the people we’ve been waiting for.

  Great book

  Bioregional Solutions for Living on One Planet

  Great movie

  The Fisher King

  Eco-wish

  That environmentalists would take themselves a little less seriously, so the rest of the world started taking us more seriously. It’s time to start having some fun.

  Definition of sustainability

  The classic definition of “meeting our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs” works fine up to a point, but it’s not particularly inspiring. We need to design our social and economic structures in such a way that they harmonise with the natural systems of the world so we can live in as vibrant, positive and productive manner as possible without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Now that moves me!

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  Mary Wible-Brennan, Client Services Manager

  Mary supports the creative workflow and client communications. She started working to change the world in 1991 with Greenpeace and hasn’t stopped yet. She has worked in marketing, project management, event planning and fundraising for an array of high-impact organizations including Durham Community Land Trust, Clean Water Action and NC Wildlife Federation. In between, she takes to the stage with children’s theater productions.

  Eco-hero

  Rachel Carson

  Great book

  Anything by Margaret Atwood or Charles Dickens

  Great movie

  Waking Life

  Eco-Wish

  A clean and peaceful planet

  Definition of sustainability

  I like the idea of learning from the past and living for the future,
  but maybe we need a new word for a new world. Sustainability sounds too much like treading water to me when we really need to do more than just stay afloat. We need a new term that encompasses all the exciting, creative and innovative ideas that are surfacing in the wake of this environmental wake up call. So, maybe we should not just sustain, but “environmentalize” our world!

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  Greg Gillette, Blog Contributor

  Being a bit of a gypsy, Greg has lived in six states, traveled across the country eight times and has been to eleven foreign lands and has seen and met all sorts of people and he always has something interesting and meaningful to talk about.From his beginnings with Whole Foods, Greg has studied holistic health and is now a nutrition specialist providing health consultations, group lectures, and has published various nutrition and health articles.Greg is active in politics, hiking, dancing (salsa, swing, waltz, tango and contra), commuter biking (currently car-free), reading, and engaging in soulful conversations.Greg invites you to “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

  Eco-hero

  Mother Nature

  Great book

  The Master and Margarita

  Great movie

  The Milagro Bean Field War

  Eco-Wish

  more bikes, less cars, more public transportation, deeper conversations

  Definition of sustainability

  Living where people and nature are in balance. Living where less is, sometimes, more. Knowing that whatever you buy or say or do will have a ripple effect around the world, positive or negative. It’s your choice.