Hugh Kelly - Founder and Project Director

Hugh is a facilitator, project manager and Chartered IT Professional (UK), who has delivered projects in the for-profit, non-profit and public sectors. Having designed, developed and managed systems for retail, wholesale and commodity trading businesses, he moved on to run a non-profit supporting people at the end of life, worked as a project manager and researcher at Friends of the Earth, and delivered an experimental service for the UK government to improve workplace health. He studied International Development Management at the Open University in the UK, before moving to California where he trained in permaculture, and now volunteers as President of Mesa Harmony Garden, a volunteer-run community food forest supplying the local Food Bank, as a Master Gardener, and on the leadership team of the Santa Barbara Food Alliance.

Elin Lindhagen Duby - Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

A development consultant, who previously served as Director of the Permaculture Research Institute, Kenya, Elin studied at the University of Sussex and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), trained in Permaculture in the UK and did her teacher training with Rosemary Morrow in Malawi. Her skill-set includes project management and facilitation for development projects, and research on natural resource management, resilient food systems, food sovereignty, gender and women’s empowerment. Elin advises on the practicalities of implementing the pilot program, and facilitates the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Team in documenting the impact of the program, and building its knowledge base.

Sabre Mrkva – Design & Communications

Director of Product Development at Alex Brands Toys, where she co-manages a talented design team creating quality creative toys, games and kits for kids ages 0-13. She has a Bachelors of Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute in NY, and studied Permaculture Design with Larry Santoyo in California.  Sabre has also studied at the Danish Design School, and before moving into toy design, worked as a set-builder, rug designer and woodworker. As owner/operator of The Annex Workshop Space in Santa Ana, CA, she managed workshops and events on topics that included solar cooking, composting, seed savings, succulent plants, and canning.

Joel Simpson – Mobile Technology

Joel is a freelance IT consultant with over twenty years’ experience designing and implementing software in several industries. He previously worked as Information Systems Manager at Friends of the Earth in the UK, where he developed and supported systems for membership administration, fundraising, collaboration, and community engagement. After moving back to his native Canada, Joel settled on a small woodlot in southern Ontario, where he is an active member of the local woodlot association and keen student of conservation and permaculture.
Joel joined the permEzone team to help develop the mobile phone platform to support operations, knowledge sharing and community building among farmers.

Sheena Shah – Curriculum & Network development

Born and raised in Nairobi, Sheena taught in schools before joining PRI Kenya in 2012 to manage their Executive Education Programme, with more than 6,500 people trained in Permaculture Design and three International Training of Trainers certified courses. She was Executive Director from 2016 to 2018, responsible for overall management, field operations, programme delivery, partnerships and communications.
Sheena is now an independent consultant, and continues her focus on regenerative business, using solutions and principles to level up and ensure long-term sustainable development to shift the paradigm in small-scale projects and markets. She is also coordinating a team of consultants to develop the African Permaculture Association.