SPEAKER profiles
Melanie Atkinson
Moderator, Event Architect
Robin Butler
NOAH RDI, Founder
Brenda Mason-Parmelee
Best Selling Author, 'Smaller Life Huge Living'
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Kari Cooper
Yurt Grrl
Jill Kanto
Founder, SearchTinyVillages.com
Michael Zatorski
CEO/Founder of UBuild Tiny Homes
Dan Fitzpatrick
Dan Fitzpatrick is the President of the Tiny House Industry Association (THIA) and the Director of Government Relations for the American Tiny House Association (ATHA)
Melanie Atkinson recovering {Lettuce Pusher} for 80 Acres Urban Agriculture, also known as 80 Acres Farms, with world headquarters based Hamilton, Ohio. 80 Acres Urban Ag is the internationally recognized leader and innovator in the development of vertical farms.
She has been a culinary journeyman for the past 30 years beginning with the raising of 5 children having a keen eye for their nutritional needs.
Then later emerging as an entrepreneur and publisher of a local food magazine and even a consultant for Food Network events.
Melanie has been involved on many projects locally and nationally promoting the positive impact for the consumer from healthy food to affordable housing.
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Publisher of Cooking byDesign
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Event Architect, producing over 300 events since 1996, including Food Network
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Urban Farmer-focused on sustainable agriculture interrupting the supply chain with clean food, solving world hunger
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Promoting positive impacts for consumers from healthy food to affordable housing
Re-investor, Builder/Developer, CEO of NOAH Certified, Inc.
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40+ years as General Contractor, Builder/Developer: designed and built 20 Custom Octagon homes and continues to create a tiny house village with six 200 sq. ft. “Tinys” around a center core, permitted and built as a single-family dwelling.
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Tiny House Builder: Designed and built several tiny houses on wheels (THOWs). One was included and televised as a donation to a single mom.
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Tiny House Dweller: legally lived in a tiny house “RV” for 6 months, while building his 3-bedroom residence.
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Founder of NOAH Certified: In 2015, while seeing the need for oversight of the construction of tiny houses on wheels, he developed a unique proprietary process that is now the #1 inspection and certification company for Tiny Houses on Wheels.
Kari Cooper/YurtGrrl - Kari is a yurt fanatic and natural builder. Active in the tiny house industry since 2011, she is an avid upcycler and tiny living expert. She serves on the board of the American Tiny House Association as well as being a divorced Mom and a musician. YurtGrrl’s fun and often irreverent attitude will have you feeling inspired in no time!
Jill Kanto, founder of SearchTinyHouseVillages.com, lives in her DIY tiny house with her family since 2016. She spent many years studying, visiting and workshopping communities. SearchTinyHouseVillages.com is a free online directory of Tiny House communities, including informal backyard parking, tiny-friendly RV parks, tiny-only villages & mixed-housing.
Working with these organizations the past six (6) years, Dan has made numerous presentations to state and local governments throughout the United States -- working with them in amending their building and land use laws, ordinances and codes in support of tiny houses. Dan is the individual responsible for legalizing movable tiny homes in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, etc., and encouraging government nationally to embrace Appendix Q (Tiny Homes).
Mr. Fitzpatrick has over 49 years of broad executive level management and administrative leadership experience in both the public and private sector.
Dan’s government experience spans duties as Assistant City Manager for the City of Las Vegas, and in California, as Fresno County’s Chief Administrative Officer.
As a private real estate developer, Mr. Fitzpatrick has completed projects ranging from infill small lot residential subdivisions to a 26,000-acre master planned community.
Hi, I'm Brenda Mason Parmelee, Tiny House speaker, best-selling author, and downsizing consultant. I'm thrilled to help you take your next steps to make your oasis life dream come true!
Welcome to my site and my tiny home life!
My tiny living transformation started in 2015. I'd raised two successful daughters and was heading into the “empty~nest” phase of life when I realized that my ‘nest' was stuffed to overflowing with 50+ years of accumulated stuff. What was I going to do about it all? In a nutshell, I did what many only dream of doing. I decided to let go of so much stuff, and I do mean stuff!
I downsized!
I downsized from a stuffed 3100 s.f. home with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car garage home to a 310 s.f. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom tiny home (converted motor coach) in 31 days! Let me tell you from that intense experience that it is a physical, spiritual, emotional, telling, hard journey. Yet it does indeed take you to a blessed and happy lifestyle! Definitely a lighter one and “spoiler alert” a lot of freedom to do, impact and experience the life you've only dreamed of to this point!