Viridis Graduate Institute is a California 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization and as such is governed by a Board of Trustees.

Our Mission: To provide a transdisciplinary education in the sciences and humanities that enables students to develop the competence and responsiveness required to creatively solve problems challenging our ecological and social structures.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees has fiduciary responsibility for the governance of Viridis Graduate Institute, serving to oversee and shape its policies. The President is the chief executive officer of Viridis Graduate Institute and is also a trustee. The President and her senior staff are responsible for the implementation of Institutional policy.

The role of a trustee involves serious work and a significant time commitment. The Board meets three times a year. The trustees are a highly-accomplished, dedicated, and lively group of people who share an uncommon loyalty for, and commitment to, Viridis Graduate Institute and its commitment to becoming one of the best educational institutions of its kind in the country. For these reasons, Viridis Graduate Institute has high expectations for the effectiveness of its Board and for the contribution of its individual members. The Statement of Trustee Roles and Responsibilities is intended to familiarize trustees with the expectations for service on the Board.

Trustees

Patricia Berry, Ph.D.
Co-founder of the field Archetypal Psychology. Dr. Berry is a Zurich-trained Jungian Analyst and author of Echo’s Subtle Body: A Contribution to Archetypal Psychology. She lectures internationally and has served as president of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and of the New England Society of Jungian Analysts. Currently, she has a private practice in California. Dr. Berry is a Founding Board member.

Andrew Beath
Andrew Beath is the founder of EarthWays Foundation in Malibu, California. EarthWays was founded to encourage personal awareness and social responsibility from a global perspective.  Andrew’s work is to initiate small-scale projects that are cutting edge models for environmental preservation, human potential and sustainable development. He is the author of the book Consciousness in Action. Website: www.earthways.org. Andrew is a Founding Board member.

Pam Bjork, Ph.D.
Mythologist, business entrepreneur and award-winning restaurateur, Dr. Bjork serves on numerous boards and is a specialist on the mythological, cultural and anthropological meaning in Balinese textiles. Dr. Bjork is a Founding Board member.

Ann DeRosa, M.S., Ph.D.
Vice President Strategy, Chilton Capital Management. Ann comes from an extensive corporate and business development background with professional and upper-level management expertise. She is a corporate coach with lifelong entrepreneurial experience in fields of academia and research science, commercial real estate, architecture, healthcare, psychology, medical devices, biotechnology and oil & gas. Dr. DeRosa is a Founding Board member.

John Ehrenfeld, Ph.D.
Dr. Ehrenfeld currently serves as Executive Director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology. He is the former Director of the MIT Program on Technology, Business, and Environment, an interdisciplinary educational, research, and policy program. He holds a post as Senior Research Scholar at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is the author of Sustainability by Design and an editor of the Journal of Industrial Ecology. Website: www.johnehrenfeld.com. Dr. Ehrenfeld is a Founding Board member.

Thomas Moore, Ph.D.
Thomas Moore is an American writer of popular spiritual books including the New York Times best-seller, Care of the Soul (1992). He is a psychotherapist influenced by the writings of Carl Jung and James Hillman and lectures internationally.  His books include: The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, , The Education of the Heart, Dark Night of the Soul, The Soul of Sex, A Life at Work: The Joy of Discovering What You were Born to Do, Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels. His latest books, Care of the Soul in Medicine and a collection of short stories about golf, The Guru of Golf was published 2010. Website: www.careofthesoul.net. Dr. Moore is a Founding Board member.

Lori Pye, Ph.D.
Dr. Pye is a Founder and President of Viridis Graduate Institute.
Dr. Pye’s background consists of environmental & marine conservation, undergraduate and graduate academic instruction. As an environmentalist, Dr. Pye worked with international NGOs to co-develop the Eastern Tropical Pacific Biological Seascape Corridor with the Ministers of the Environment from Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador.  She has led international conferences on diverse issues: Nature and Human Nature, The Mythology of Violence, The Aesthetic Nature of Change, and These Women: Honoring Women in Archetypal and Depth Psychology.

Ann Vermeer, M.A.,
Ann Vermeer, M.A., D.A. (c) is the Vice President of Viridis Graduate Institute.
A former telecommunications executive, Ann is committed to facilitating change with those who wish to examine habitual patterns and narratives that keep them stuck. She engages practices and philosophies from yoga, depth psychology, mythology, and 12-step recovery programs to discover new, more creative narratives that foster self-healing and wholeness. She received her M.A. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology. Ann also serves on the Board of Boulder Friends of Jung, is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and owns Chiron Therapeutic Yoga in Longmont, Colorado. Ann is a yoga therapist and certified iRest® Yoga Nidra instructor. Ann is a Founding Board member and currently completing her doctorate degree. As Vice President, Ann supports the President and Board of Trustees in promoting the institute’s mission, educational programs, institutional effectiveness, teaching, managing alumni relations and programs, expanding visibility and reputation of the institute through partnerships and collaborations both nationally and internationally.

Elyn Zimmerman, M.F.A.
Zimmerman received her Master’s degree in Art at UCLA. She taught art from 1972 to 1986 as Assistant Professor at California State University, San Francisco; California Institute of the Arts; and the State University of NY at Purchase, NY. Zimmerman has numerous commissioned pieces and has received a number of awards and grants for her artwork that includes: 2007 Excellence in Design for Capsouto Park, Art Commission of the City of New York 2010, Resident American Academy in Rome (RAAR ’10) Roy Lichtenstein Residency, 2010 Great Places in America Award (Public Spaces). She has served on numerous boards including Board of Directors, Columbia Land Conservancy, Columbia County, NY., Commissioner, Commission of Fine Arts, Washington, DC., Board of Directors, Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company. Website: www.elynzimmerman.com. Elyn is a Founding Board member. Elyn Zimmerman is a 2016 recipient of the third annual Isamu Noguchi Award, given to recognize individuals who share Noguchi’s spirit of innovation, global consciousness, and East-West exchange.

Honorary Trustees

Joan Stroud Blaine
Co-Founder, Stroud Water Research Center. Joan is a Founding Honorary Board member.

Lyn Cowan, Ph.D.
Jungian Analyst and Author

Mary Leibman
Depth Psychotherapist

J. Marc McGinnes, J.D.
Emeritus Senior Lecturer, Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Barbara

Advisory Board

Lita Albuquerque, Artist

Pamela Burton, M.Arch., Leed Green Associate, Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects

John Davis, AIA, LEED AP

Carole Dean, President, From the Heart Productions

Christine Downing, Ph.D.

Jacqueline M. Feather, MFT., Ph.D., Jungian Analyst

Nely Galán, MA

Pippa Grange, Director, Bluestone Edge Pty Ltd.

Richard Hertz, Ph.D.. Former Director Art Center’s graduate programs

Brent Kohler

Ginette Paris, Ph.D.

Will Reed, Landscape Architect, UK

Charlene Spretnak, Author

Organizational Advisors

George Haynes, Ph.D., Academic Consultant
A systems oriented, strengths-based and organizational change leader working in higher education, health care, and corporate environments for more than twenty-five years. Clients include foundations, family-run businesses, and individuals. Academic positions held include: Vice President for academic affairs; Dean for adult and continuing education; Associate Dean for lifelong learning and professional studies; and Chief Operating Officer. George serves on the board for The Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law and is a board member of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

• Harvard Institute for Educational Management
• Disney Institute, Customer Service Program
• Ph.D. Educational Communications & Technology, University of Pittsburgh
• Graduate study in holistic adult development, Yale Divinity School and University of Notre Dame
• M.S. Religion and Religious Education, Fordham University

Cathie Walker, CPA, Financial Advisor
Independent CPA and Financial Advisor
Formerly: Chief Financial Officer, Pacifica Graduate Institute
Chief Financial Officer, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, CPA, Knight Vale and Gregory

Creating a more conscious world through education and action