Founding & Leading Members
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![Person with short curly hair wearing a black shirt with yellow bananas and a yellow top, standing outdoors against a blurred green background, facing the camera confidently.]()
Skye Ruozzi
Skye Ruozzi is a licensed architect and artist working at the intersection of ecological design and spatial justice. Her practice uses local materials and participatory building to cultivate shared knowledge and community engagement. With two decades of experience, she bridges technical rigor with visionary experimentation to create socially rooted and ecologically responsive spaces.
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![Person with dark brown hair in a loose updo, wearing a black blazer over a patterned blouse, smiling at the camera against a gray background.]()
Brice Gutshall
Brice Gutshall is an architect based in Lafayette, Louisiana, whose work blends technical expertise with socially driven design. A 2024 NOMA Future Faces Fellow, she contributed to cultural and institutional projects at Ennead Architects in New York. Her M.Arch thesis explored architecture’s role in advancing generational equity and community resilience.
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![A person with short dark hair smiles at the camera while gently holding the face of a brown and black goat outdoors, with trees and sunlight in the blurred background.]()
Alyssa Portaro
Alyssa Portaro is founder, visionary, and community organizer. She is an environmental advocate passionate about community-focused conservation and regenerative land stewardship. An NWF-certified EcoLeader, she spearheads Habitat Recovery & Kindness Project; leading initiatives in land restoration, wildlife rehabilitation, and environmental justice. Based in Louisiana, she transforms her 24-acre homestead into a thriving center for sustainable agriculture, education, and ecological activism.
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![A person smiling while holding a microphone, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with sunglasses resting on top, and a floral-patterned jacket over a white shirt.]()
Misha Mayeur
Misha Mayeur is a multifaceted artist and community advocate from New Orleans. She co-leads environmental projects as Director of the Habitat Recovery Project and amplifies Gulf Coast stories as host of the Gulf Rising podcast. Her work bridges art and activism, including organizing workshops on sustainable indigenous building practices with Earth Rise Collective.
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![A person squatting and smiling while holding a clump of mud, working on a cordwood wall made of stacked logs and mortar. They are wearing a straw hat, black sleeveless outfit, and black boots, with trees and sunlight visible in the background.]()
Iffy Roma
Iffy Roma is a multidisciplinary performance artist, producer, and embodiment facilitator based in Austin, Texas. She integrates fire, acrobatics, poetry, and dance to create immersive storytelling experiences and works with the Habitat Recovery Project to support community-based ecological restoration. Beyond the stage, Iffy empowers youth through creative expression and environmental engagement.
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![Person wearing a wide-brimmed hat, glasses, and orange work gloves, reaching forward while working on a wooden structure outdoors with sunlight filtering through green leaves.]()
Arica Wyche
Arica Wyche is a Senior Derivatives Analyst at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore, Maryland, specializing in quantitative finance and derivatives trading. She began her career as a Chemical Engineer at DTE Energy and has completed research and internships in energy and environmental consulting. Beyond finance, she is passionate about natural building and sustainable architecture, combining her technical expertise with hands-on ecological design.
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archivists
Special thanks to Chelsea Williams for capturing this project thru video interviews
and Jeremy Boglia for lendinghis excellent photography skills
