As of September 2023, The Topa Institute officially became our fiscal sponsor and we are beyond excited about expanding the Tierra Sol vision and co-curating cultural and ecological programming with our 36 acres of land sanctuary we can’t wait to share with you all.
ADVISORY BOARD
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Prior to founding the Tierra Sol Institute in 2018, Kristoph has been in the environmental and renewable energy space for over 15 years, working across the private, government and nonprofit sectors to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, including community development positions at Tesla Energy, Good Energy Renewables, California Solar Electric, and the Department of Energy. Wallin also produced Award winning documentaries while at PBS in Los Angeles.
Locally, Wallin currently divides his time by leading the Business Development efforts for a local renewable energy firm, while also consulting with Schneider Electric and OUSD on their city wide Solar + Resiliency Initiative as part of Measure K. Relatedly, Wallin serves as the Development Director for the Land Art Generator Initiative’s Ojai partnership.
Past experiences include serving on Solarize committees for both Los Angeles and the City of Ojai, engaging with field experts, creatives, and local regenerative stakeholders to build a "sustainable community" model for Ojai.
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Prior to being a founding member of the Tierra Sol Institute, Orpheo could be found digging into desert grooves with Touaregs on the rooftops of Timbuktu to all-night trance sessions with Sufi masters in the mountains of Morocco, percussionist and composer Orpheo McCord has traversed a wide musical landscape over the past 20 years. While attending Berklee College of Music, McCord discovered a profound love for the sacred rhythms of Africa and an interest in their ceremonial roles inducing trance states. This drove him to deepen his studies in Ghana, Mali, Morocco and Cuba.
McCord has had the pleasure to collaborate with many luminaries along his musical path — The Fall, Cass McCombs, Flaming Lips, Ima Robot. He has been an active member of the Grammy award winning group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros since 2009. Their exuberant performances and platinum selling debut release Up From Below brought the ensemble international success. Through McCord’s continuous exploration in using sound as a modality for holistic wellbeing, he developed a unique sonic palette used to calm the nervous system, allowing the listener space to go into a meditative state.
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Peter is an award-winning writer based in Ojai, California, whose work focuses on the polycrisis facing humanity and planet Earth.. One of his earliest jobs was working for The C.R.E.W. and he would later become the first communications design mentor for the Green Valley Project.
Today, Peter is the chief executive and conservation director of non-profit Keep the Sespe Wild. He is also an award-winning journalist, teacher, and is head coach of the Nordhoff girls varsity soccer team. Peter is a veteran of the US armed forces, where over a 12-year career as an officer he specialized in maritinme law enforcement operations ranging from piracy to drug interdiction.
He holds a BS in international relations from the US Coast Guard Academy and an MA in Climate + Society from Columbia University. He is also a certified meditation instructor for veterans and holds a certificate in permaculture design.
In his free time you can find him running ultramarathons in the mountains or tending the land.
Strategic Advisors
Michelle Pineiro
Corrina Wright
Josh Tickell
Rebecca Tickell
Ross Anderson
Jim Selman