THE GREEN THUMB PROJECT - Key Persons
Dan Eberle is what one would call might call a "Solar Energy Missionary". He has certainly taken his expertise of solar energy around the world and has been involved in organizing, administrating, and at times participating in some very large national and international competitions that display solar energy as well as other sustainable energy sources at the highest level. One of these projects is involving him as now the Technical Manager for the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge in the United Arab Emirates.
Dan also currently serves as the Director of the Innovators Education Foundation, an organization that supports activities like the American Solar Challenge, The USA Solar Bike Races, The International Solar Car Races, and the Formula Sun Grand Prix. In addition, Dan has served for a number of years as the organizer of the US Solar Decathlon where a number of top universities from around the US have brought in partially prefabricated solar homes to a common site in order to compete for the best all around energy efficient home design.
Dan also has a passion for teaching others about solar energy in a more formal setting. Prior to the Abu Dhabi Project Dan was the professor of Solar Technology at the Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS for almost 4 years. A school that consistently rates in the top ten community colleges in the nation and last year boasted more students than Kansas University and Kansas State University together. He also served as the Director of the Crowder College MARET Center which was appointed as Missouri's Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology Center by the state legislature prior to doing the same activity at Johnson County Community College. Dan also owns and operates the New Resources Group, which is a privately held energy and design consulting company in Kansas City.
Dr. Morris holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Licensed Addictions Counselor in both Kansas and Missouri. The doctor's training and his 24 years of experience also allow him to offer particular types of therapies that set his treatment and his level of success apart from others. Besides his very successful naturopathic or orthomolecular treatments, Dr. Morris specializes in treating Mood Disorders, Substance Abuse Disorders, Trauma, and Relationships.
Dr. Morris is a therapist with a rich background of wide-ranging life experiences. These experiences allow him to bring a wealth of practical life wisdom into your counseling experience. His past experiences in the both the business world, the ministry, and a number of varied therapeutic milieus also allow Dr. Morris to relate to his patients in a very down-to-earth manner. Yet, at the same time, these experiences also help him to assist patients in finding spiritual meaning, purpose, and hope in life.
One of Dr. Morris's great interests and areas of expertise is the management of neurochemistry using a naturopathic or holistic approach. This allows him, when it is prudent, to help his clients change their diets in such a way as to allow them to take full benefit of previously prescribed psychotropic medications or to gain enough benefit that medications may not be necessary. With this piece in place, Dr. Morris promotes a holistic approach to treatment that combines both the physiological, the psychological, and the spiritual elements of treatment that we believe will set the Green Thumb Project apart in that it will truly treat the "whole-man". Without this foundation, we believe an individual may still improve in a focused treatment milieu; however they may never find or be treated for the primary or causal source of their symptoms. Therefore, treatment may only provide temporary improvement or abatement of an individual's symptoms.
Grace Sylke is one of the Co-Founders of Aquaponics USA and Aquaponics World, LLC. She has been working with her partner, Oliver Duffy, at Aquaponics USA since 2009 maintaining, planting and harvesting the Aquaponics USA Greenhouse and Growroom (pictured in the background). She also serves as the Marketing Director for both of her companies and has designed, built and maintained the Aquaponics USA and Aquaponics World websites, newsletters, community supported agriculture program, facebook pages and twitter pages. She is the face of the Aquaponics USA and Aquaponics World YouTube TV Channel and has appeared on all the company videos with her natural, educational, unscripted speaking style.
Grace has had previous teaching experience and holds a Lifetime High School Teaching Credential in the State of California. While working as Director of Vocational Services for the Betty Clooney Foundation for persons with traumatic brain injury, in Long Beach, California, Grace designed and administered the Pre-Vocational Class, oversaw the Job Coaching Team and worked directly with employers like the Home Depot to get her clients trained and hired. There she developed considerable training, managerial and public relations skills and abilities. Ms. Sylke has been working closely with indigenous people for the past four years as a part-time Trainer for the Aboriginal Scholarship Brainwave Neurofeedback Program at the Biocybernaut Institute and was adopted by the Sampson Cree Band in Alberta, Canada in 2012.
Grace has excellent people and training skills. She is writing the lesson plans and preparing the training materials for the Training Module of the Aquaponics World Food Forever™ Farms Food Independence Project; and she is eager to adapt it to train The Green Thumb Residents how to run and maintain their Aquaponics Farm.
Job Titles:
- Director of Greenhouse Operations
Nathan is a prolific produce producer and because of his construction background is a good fit for managing both the growth of our plants and the plant management of our greenhouses. Nathan also is very excited for what the Green Thumb Project means for mental health, horticulture, and the world's future food supply. For Nathan growing plants is his religion. It quite literally gives him life. He believes first hand in growing what you eat.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of Aquaponics USA
- Retired
Oliver Duffy, is a retired NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineer who continues to innovate. He has created our vertical growing beds that will literally multiply normal crop outputs by 6-10X. Oliver and Grace also own the Trademark for Aquaganically Certified Produce, a better than organic certification that will soon be coming to our stores as producers like Green Thumb Project utilize this advanced status certification. Oliver and Grace will also be ongoing consultants to the Green Thumb Project and are very excited about its future.
Oliver and Grace will be spending a large part of their time assisting Dr. Morris locally in the first few months of start up. We are very thankful for their zeal and expertise in assisting us with this project.
Oliver Duffy, the other Co-Founder of Aquaponics USA and Aquaponics World, LLC is a retired Aerospace Engineer who has been designing, building and delivering aquaponics systems for over five years. His Aquaponics USA Food Forever™ Growing Systems are in numerous schools and homes around the U.S. Aquaponics USA has become the "Go To" website for teachers and administrators to learn about and purchase Oliver's state of the art Aquaponics School Systems. He has engineered many improvements on his Aquaponics Deep Media Grow Bed designs; and he recently completed his re-design of standard Deep Water Culture Troughs. He also recently engineered a very efficient Vertical Nutrient Film Technique Growing System that's capable of doubling the output in any horizontal space. His Solid Separation/Biofiltration System delivers water so clean it looks like Windexed glass. He has single handedly advanced the state of the art of aquaponics system design far into the future; and is highly regarded in the field.
His experience with electronic systems, fluid dynamics, heating, cooling and solar power is what makes him the perfect person to be the system designer of Aquaponics World Food Forever™ Farms, Aquaponics USA Food Forever™ Growing Systems and The Green Thumb Project's Aquaponics Division. His experience in managing projects and people make him a valuable asset to The Green Thumb Team; and he's excited to be a part of what may very well be the most innovative approach to mental health on the planet today.
Richard is a retired Air Force Officer that currently serves as a Senior Level US Government Contract Administrator. Richard has negotiated and managed national and multi-country international contracts for US military bases and operations. Richard will be coming on board to manage the financial side of our business.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Director
- Licensed Professional Counselor
Stephanie will serve as our clinical director under Dr. Morris. Stephanie is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has been an entrepreneur in the counseling field in private practice. She also has a background as a Emergency Medical Technician.