Board Members
- Julie Norris, Co-Proprietor of Dandelion Communitea Cafe & host of Front Porch Radio
- Lance Turner, Owner of Aeon Blu
- Amber Melendy, Co-Owner of Shine On Yoga
- Josh Adcock, Local Landscape Architect and Artist
- Emily Ruff, Director of Florida School of Holistic Living, Homegrown Co-op, the Evolve Store & Orenda Herbal
- Katie Reynolds, Owner of Etoile Boutique
Staff
- Emily Rankin, Executive Director and Founder of the Audubon Park Community Market
Supporters
- Laina Shockley, Owner of Expert Business Solutions, LLC & Co-Owner of Ethos Vegan Kitchen
and YOU!
The Origins of “OurLando”
The term “OurLando” was coined by Tanyia Hall who originally used it for a Simple Living Institute event. In her own words:
“I conceived it when I moved to Orlando in 2000 right after seeing a beautiful rainbow. Being a community builder, idealist and visionary, it was difficult justifying the move to Orlando; it didn’t have a reputation for community, or anything truly compelling that I could think of. However I definitely felt called there and as I drove into town, I received a divine feeling that destiny was indeed fulfilling itself. Literally, as I contemplated my move, “OurLando” came to me. Thinking of it as OurLando helped me connect and be at peace with my move. Somehow, even though I was alone at the time, I knew that the tribe was either there already or mobilizing.
“Having planned lots of events, I thought, hmmm, one day I might organize a concert here and name it OurLando. It turned out that Keith [her husband] and I coordinated two of Simple Living Institute’s benefit concerts. For the second one, I asked if we could give it a title and it seemed fitting that OurLando would be a good name.
“I still feel our connection to the place…so many of our dreams were realized there…Keith and I meeting at Stardust, forming our band Omiza River, helping build Simple Living Institute, getting married on a flower farm, giving birth to our first child, Sequoia Mountain, writing our first album… The list goes on…I love the place…the land, the rivers, the people, the spirit…” ~Tanyia “And what is hidden now, will one day be revealed.”
