Update (September 20, 2019): Please be sure to keep checking back as we continue updating the roster of the incredibly talented and exciting Speakers, Panels, and Workshops scheduled for this year’s Tiny LIVING Festival California.
Matt “TK” Devine is an intentional living advocate known for his work as The Office Hobo and for converting a porta-potty into a tiny home. He founded the nonprofit, Our Backyard Homes, to advocate for legislation supporting tiny houses on wheels in cities and establish a housing charity for homeless college students. Matt lives in Los Angeles, having fashioned homes out of his office, truck, and living in unorthodox housing situations since August, 2012. Ypou can follow and learn more about Matt HERE.
June received her Masters degree in Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture and her undergraduate degree from Baruch College, CUNY with a focus on International Economics and Finance and a minor in Studio/Ceramic Art. She is an architect with a long interest in the space of transactions and form. Upon leaving Steinberg Architects and AECOM, where she was a Principal and Associate Principal, respectively, she launched blink!LAB Architecture with 15 years’ experience in design. Her architecture follows a trajectory from Retail to the Science and Technology markets. blink!LAB Architecture is focused on Space as a Project.
Andrew has been EXTREMELY busy in recent months as an invited guest to Washington DC as a speaker during HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase, as well as speaking at HUD’s recent initiative in Atlanta and to the Florida House’s Business & Professional Subcommittee. Andrew is the Owner of Trekker Trailers, Co-Founder Bildsworth International Tiny House Inspection Services, Co-Owner Core Housing Solutions, Tiny House Builder, Tear-Drop Camper Builder, Gypsy Wagon Builder, 25+ Years Experience Building Mobile Living Structures, TEDx Speaker, and a Regular Guest on DIY Channel and HGTV.
Meet Daniel & Rachel Messick! They began their tiny journey because Daniel was already going out of town to do volunteer work, but the more he did it, the more he wanted to do it. They love traveling to help people and to invest in their marriage. At first, by Dan’s and Rachel’s own admission, they struggled to find the right online jobs to allow the flexibility to be able to travel and to be of service to others. They both once had ‘corporate’ careers with fuel cards and vehicle allowance, but it was lacking a deeper meaning for them. They could squeeze in helping and investing in other people, but not to the extent they wanted. So, they left their ‘corporate’ careers to take ‘entry’ jobs because to them people are more important than titles. It was a hard adjustment, but Dan & Rachel share is was so worth it! Now they are able to travel and help amazing people and see some breathtaking sights along the way. They currently live full-time in their 77sqft van conversion, known as Banana Van Adventures. Some days Dan & Rachel reflect to each other they would love a little more space, but they also are quick to realize they would also loose the freedom to park nearly anywhere if they did have a larger home. Dan & Rachel (aka – The Messicks), getting some unique challenges living as a couple in a “micro home” (under 100sqft).
Darles is an avid natural builder and designer who loves to create long-lasting, beautiful, and enriching infrastructure out of readily available materials such as clay, sand, and salvaged materials. She enjoys putting her skill-set towards creating positive social change and has worked on everything from tiny house villages for formerly homeless, straw-bale buildings for Water Protectors at Standing Rock, fairy fort building with kids, small- commercial strawbale offices for worker-co-ops, urban cob structures, storm-water infiltration, native plant rain gardens, and remodeling and rehabilitating houses using natural materials. She also enjoys sharing the viability, accessibility, and joy of natural building with others through workshops, talks, writing, and other educational events. She is currently doing carpentry and natural building in the Bay area, and lives in an off-grid skoolie. She’s excited about building more tiny structures, both for herself and other. Please visit Darles’ web site HERE.
Lindsay and her husband Eric made the move to go Tiny after spending $108k in rent in 6 years and not having anything to show for it. Halfway through the build of their Tiny Home, their builder went bust so they went from BUY to DIY quickly. After 8 months of finishing their home they hit the road for a 5 1/2 month trip of the southwest. Lindsay has made a commitment of helping Tiny Home Dreamers become Tiny Home Dwellers by supporting them as a Tiny Home Coach. As a speaker Lindsay likes to share her “Top Ten things you gotta know before hiring a Tiny Home builder”. She is on the board of the Tiny Home Industry Association working to clarify standards for Tiny Houses. She has spoken at Colorado Tiny House Festival, People’s Tiny House Festival and has been seen in the Ukiah Daily Journey, Press Democrat and San Francisco Chronicle. Check out Lindsay and her tiny house blog HERE.
Joe is the founder and CEO/Executive Director of Tentmakers, Inc., a 501(c)3 community housing development corporation and which was selected to partner with United Tiny House Association (UTHA) to bring the Tiny LIVING Festival California to Richmond, California. Joe is an affordable housing specialist in housing rehabilitation, manufactured homes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Joe has over 30 years of experience in these areas. Joe is also involved in the work of legislative housing policy advocates including ‘The 200’and the ‘Bay Area Council’ who supported the AB1069 bill. This ADU bill allows secondary units to be installed in single family zones which increases housing density on single family zoned lots. At the beginning of 2017 when the bill was launched, Joe hosted a news conference that featured the bills’ sponsor, Senator Bob Wieckowski and Assemblyman David Chiu at a project that Tentmakers, Inc. did to convert a basement into an 900sqft ADU. The news story was featured on Channel 2 News and Telemundo48 as the premier project demonstrating the potential of the bill. Joe was also instrumental in forming the California Minority Builders Coalition (CMBC) along with former California Assemblyman Joe Coto (Chair) to assist with the bridging of the minority wealth gap and serves as the Co-chair. The CMBC provides aid for those less fortunate who are living in poverty by creating wealth building opportunities through home ownership and job training opportunities.
Terraform Tiny Homes began as a passion project of Richard Ward, an artist and designer turned builder. Terraform started as an attempt to live a sustainable life financially, emotionally, and environmentally. Since completing Terraform One, a 250 Sq Ft THoW, in 2015, Richard has built two additional tiny homes for himself: a 32 sq ft car camper and a 54 sq ft off-grid home. Additionally, Richard has spent over 6 months living strictly out of backpacks. His living experiences range from a tent in the woods to a luxurious THoW. Over the years, Richard has worked on everything from car conversions, vans, buses, and earth domes, to full-blown Tiny Houses On Wheels. Terraform Tiny Homes works with people looking to simplify their lives and do more of what they love through smart and sustainable living.
Eric Chiu is a community organizer at Delta Bay, the first legal tiny house community in Northern California, which has been featured in Sacramento Bee and ABC News. He is working with American Tiny House Association, tiny house builders, and local communities to support the tiny house movement and make tiny house communities possible.
George Dy is the owner of Bay Modular, a builder of modular container structures and prefabricated homes and backyard ADUs. His background in technology and construction led him to create a forward-thinking construction company that simplifies the complexity of homebuilding for customers by offering online personalization and educating on the values of prefabrication and manufacturing. His projects span from custom commercial offices and kitchens to customizable prefab homes, which include projects in affordable housing.
California Home Owners Panel
(Saturday, 11:30AM)
Listen and learn for those who actually walk the tiny walk and not just talk. The owners of skoolies, van conversions, tiny houses, and other modalities of micro homes shares their experiences, expertise, adventures, trials, tribulations, and accomplishments in a humorous, personal, and inspirational sharing of themselves followed by a Q&A session. (Photo taken at the Louisiana Tiny House Festival in December 2018.)
Live Your Tiny Dream… LEGALLY!
(Saturday, 12:15PM)
John Kernohan will be sharing on zoning, the legalities of living tiny, and how you too can live, and afford, your tiny dream… whatever your tiny dream might be! Come listen from someone who actually does live his tiny dream, along with his wife Fin, on their own land… and who have done so LEGALLY for the past 7+ years. Learn how you too can become an advocate for legal tiny living, not just for yourself, but for the tiny house community on a whole. “Your tiny dream is in your hand!”
California Off-Grid Workshop
(Sunday, 2:45PM)
John Kernohan, Beloved Cabin and the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, shares the 7 years of trials, tribulations, successes, failures, and the lessons learned, of his and his wife Fin’s off-grid lifestyle with Solar Energy, Rain Water Collection, Compositing Toilets, DIY Septic Systems, Gardening, and more, in the humorous, personal and entertaining way for which John is known.
2019 California Tiny LIVING Festival Organizers & Speakers:
John & Fin Kernohan
Founders of the United Tiny House Association; Organizers of the 14 for-charity Tiny House Festivals; Owners of Tiny House Rescuers; Owners of the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9; Featured on HGTV’s “Tiny House Big Living”, the DIY Network, TODAY, The Rachael Ray Show, AOL’s “Dream Big-Live Small“; Living 7.5+ Years Full-Time in their Off-Grid 304sqft Beloved Cabin; DIY Experts; FREE Off-Grid Consultants; Philanthropists; Full-Time Tiny Lifestyle Advocates; Public Speakers; and the release for their book, “Our Tiny House Love Affair”, is scheduled for 2019.
