Stef illustrated this book and is our resident 'jack-of-all-trades' designer and systems-thinker extraordinaire.

She'd describe herself as a holistic problem lover. She has a mind that visualizes information, nerds out on analyzing behavior, and enjoys making sense out of complexity. She also loves to build stuff and evolve her craftswomanship. She has quilted together a career with specialities in biomimicry, sustainable products and social innovation, design for learning, and visual facilitation/storytelling.

She is a designer at her core that approaches her craft like a scientist: testing assumptions, discovering what works, and always asking why.  She is driven to help people (innovators, engineers, and creatives alike) to design more like nature does for solving human challenges -- driving toward better alignment with our shared natural systems.

A product designer by training, Koehler received a master’s degree in sustainable design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2013 where she met Denise DeLuca, her MA thesis mentor. 
Since then, the two tackle projects together for BCI: Biomimicry for Creative Innovation, co-founded by Denise.  They design educational programs, tools, and workshops that help groups learn how to practice biomimicry and drive toward more radically-sustainable ideas and business solutions. Now they’ve teamed up on this book to bring these ethos to a greater audience - hopefully, you.

Stefanie now works as Lead Designer and biomimicry specialist for LikoLab, a small design consultancy founded by Tim McGee that works with innovation teams to improve their designs using biomimicry by viewing their products/services as living organisms within a larger ecosystem.  Stef and Tim are proudly serving as third-party assessors for the Living Product Challenge with the International Living Futures Institute.

In the past year, Stef has also spearheaded a side business experiment that offers visual thinking and graphic facilitation outside the studio walls called Let’s CoCreate.  Through this venture, she flexes her visual storytelling muscles to sketch out complex ideas in real-time for small teams to conference crowds.
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Her clients include Portland State University, Chrysler, Nike Foundation, People’s Food Coop, CareOregon, and various independent ventures in the US and Canada.

Stef is based in Portland, Oregon (USA) where she can be found drumming with a local band, Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers, in her down time.