About
Team
- Dave Feldman, CEO and Co-founder
- Kelley Rajala, Co-founder
- Lynn Anne Miller, Marketing and Strategic Advisor
Dave Feldman
CEO and Co-Founder
- Dave Feldman
Dave has been CEO of Livability Project LLC since it was incorporated as a Maryland company in 2007. Late that same year, Livability Project won a contract to make Bethesda, Maryland a model sustainable community promoting energy efficiency, recycling and a community-wide environmental ethic. By 2008, the initiative had grown and Dave became the Executive Director of Bethesda Green. In 2009, Dave was named one of “The 25 CEOs You Need to Know” [link] by The Gazette of Politics and Business.
In addition to his full-time role at Bethesda Green, Dave’s ongoing work at The Livability Project has led to the creation of The Livability Framework [link], a model which can be used as tool to help all communities achieve their sustainability goals. Dave’s goal is to replicate this model of sustainability in other communities nationwide.
Prior to Livability Project, Dave was Consul, Trade & Investment at the British Embassy. His role was to help US companies set up or expand operations in the United Kingdom and support UK companies exporting to the US. He managed a team of eight covering multiple sectors and was directly responsible for a portfolio that included renewable energy and clean tech.
Earlier in his career, Dave served as VP of Sales and Marketing for a wireless software company and Principal of Global Growth Strategies, a team of international consultants providing strategic and market planning to the global IT industry.
Dave holds an M.B.A. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland in International Management and Finance. He is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery (‘06) and is currently on the Board of Sustainable Business Network of Washington (www.sbnow.org).
Dave is married to Dara Feldman, CEO of Gifts of Character. They live in North Bethesda, Maryland with their two wonderful children, Dani and Jake.
Dave is a sought-after speaker on issues regarding community sustainability. To book Dave for your next event, click here. [link to email to Dave].
Kelley has a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in renewable energy and planning, holds a permaculture certificate, has Transition Town training and is a self-taught graphic designer.
Kelley worked for the County of Santa Barbara’s Planning Department managing complex urban planning projects. In 1995, Kelley joined her family business, Rajala Rehab Products as the Marketing Director and a Territory Sales Manager.
She is a master project incubator and has started a yoga studio, green retail store, clothing line, biodiesel co-op, community food security garden and a BALLE (www.livingeconomies.org) network. She was part of the initiating committee for Transition Sebastopol (www.transitionsebastopol.org), the 9th official “Transition Town”.
She is the founder of the Livability Project (non-profit) in 2003 and currently the Executive Director of the Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative (www.golocal.coop). Kelley is a big proponent (and facilitator) of community mapping events. Her passion is economic localization and connecting local dots. She predicts the future to be filled with hundreds of local livability centers (sustainability hubs) across the country.
Kelley received a BA in Environmental Studies from U.C. Santa Barbara with an emphasis in renewable energy.
Lynn Anne Miller
Marketing and Strategy Advisor
Lynn Miller serves as marketing and strategy advisor to Livability Project. As founder of Miller Strategic Marketing LLC, she works closely with a number of environmentally conscious companies, including national brands and start-ups.
Lynn’s background includes 20 years working in high tech marketing and sales, most recently with Texas Instruments. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University, an MA from the University of Paris I and a BA from Lehigh University. Lynn also blogs about green living at OrganicMania.com™; runs the Green Moms Carnival, an action group comprised of the top green women’s bloggers; and is an active volunteer with Bethesda Green.