Livability Project
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About Us

We, Dave Feldman and Kelley Rajala are the dynamic bicoastal Livability Project principals working daily for a brighter future.  

With expertise in sustainability, small business and local economies, we help community groups, municipalities and businesses move to the next step in their path.

​We look forward to serving you! 

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Dave Feldman

Kelley Rajala

Dave Feldman is a co-founder of Livability Project.  Dave is currently the CEEO (Chief Everything Else Officer) of Virtues Matter. Dave's wife Dara is the Chief Enthusiast Officer.  Dave was formerly the Director of Green America's Center for Sustainability Solutions and the Executive Director of Bethesda Green, Livability Project’s first east coast project.  He has been named one of “The 25 CEOs You Need to Know” by The Gazette of Politics and Business; as “Innovator of the Year” by The Daily Record; and was named one of the “40 Environmentalists in 40 Years” by the Montgomery County Council.

Dave’s ongoing work at Livability Project has led to the creation of the Livability FrameworkTM, a model, which can be used to help communities achieve their sustainability goals. Dave’s objective is to replicate this model of sustainability to even more communities nationwide and Internationally.

Prior to Livability Project, Dave was Consul, Trade & Investment at the British Embassy. His role was to help U.S. companies set up or expand operations in the United Kingdom and support U.K. companies exporting to the U.S. 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 Marketing. He is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery, and was on the Board of Sustainable Business Network of Washington through 2009.

Dave and Dara live in Kensington, MD with their two children, Dani and Jake.
Kelley Rajala is the co-founder of Livability Project, Share Exchange, Local Works, Made Local Marketplace, North Bay Made and Kelley & Eric's Urban Gardens in Sonoma County, CA.  Kelley loves small business and furthering local economies.  She has started a yoga studio, green retail store, clothing line, biodiesel co-op, a community garden, BALLE network, cowork space in addition to the businesses listed above. Kelley also worked in her family business, Rajala Rehab Products, as a Marketing Director and Sales Manager, and began her work in sustainability for the County of Santa Barbara’s Planning Department, managing large-scale, urban planning projects.

Kelley has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from U.C. Santa Barbara with an emphasis in renewable energy and planning.  She is also Permaculture certified, Transition Town trained, and a self-taught graphic designer.

Her passion is economic localization and she holds the vision that someday in the future, there will be hundreds of local Livability/Local Economy Centers across the country.  She lives in Santa Rosa, CA with her honey and farming partner, Eric Robinson.  ​

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Guiding Principles
  • We respect the interconnectedness of all natural and man-made systems
  • Our intention is to empower individuals, organizations and communities by offering responsible living alternatives
  • We raise awareness and encourage the use of renewable resources
  • We put our relationships with people first
  • We behave with an attitude of service
  • We follow-through on our commitments with each other and our communities

Our Philosophy

Core Values 
  • Respect
  • Integrity
  • Compassion
  • Humor
  • Creativity
  • Interconnection
 General Tenets
  • Check your politics at the door
  • Positive change is experiential
  • Calling all ages and demographics
  • Doing well and doing good
  • Enjoyable, educational and inclusive
  • Seeking people ready to make change
  • Providing choices – a Nexus of ideas
  • Entrepreneurs welcome
  • On the road to the ‘Tipping Point’
  • Align with nature
  • Sex Sells

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Models We Love

Common Future
Michael Shuman's Work

Evergreen Cooperatives
​Zingerman's Community of Businesses
Project for Public Spaces
​Institute for Local Self Reliance
The Virtues Project
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  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Strategic Advising
    • Sustainable Solutions
    • Presentations & Convening
  • Clients
  • Contact