LOST VALLEY STAFF
Khyla Allis — Garden Coordinator
garden@lostvalley.org
Khyla moved from her hometown in Reno, Nevada five days after she graduated high school, to the Big Island of Hawaii, where she learned the words “intentional community” and “permaculture” for the first time. She arrived at Lost Valley in 2016 as a Holistic Sustainability Semester student, going on to receive her Permaculture Design and Ecovillage Design Education certifications. She has since traveled to Australia and New Zealand, researching community and applied permaculture land stewardship on-the-ground, working with many amazing teachers along her journey.
Khyla is inspired to focus her energy as Garden Coordinator to hold workshops and classes on different topics for children and adults alike (tree pruning, worms, soil science, compost, farm to table, preservation, edible mushrooms in your garden, etc.)
Brian Byers — Business Administrator & PDC Lead Instructor
landsteward@lostvalley.org
Brian is a permaculture designer, educator, and activist with over a decade of agricultural experience working in the Willamette Valley. He is passionate about building resilient local communities, reconnecting people to nature, and growing nutritious food. He has a bachelors degree in philosophy and has studied permaculture with Andrew Millison, Heiko Koester, Tom Ward, and Jude Hobbs and is certified in permaculture design, as well as holding advanced certificates in surveying, forestry, and teaching. Brian has been the lead teacher of the Lost Valley PDC since 2016
Nathaniel Nordin-Tuininga — Education Director
programs@lostvalley.org
Nathaniel Nordin-Tuininga is a long-time environmental educator. He spent much of his childhood learning directly from 1200 acres of meadows and forests and from the elders who helped him cultivate a deep reverence for the more-than-human world. His life has been an ongoing exploration of alternative educational models, including indigenous practices still used in many “developing” nations, which rely heavily on the interaction between children and the natural world. He holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon, two degrees in Early Childhood and Grades Education from Waldorf Teacher Education Eugene, and an Ecovillage and Permaculture Certification from Lost Valley Educational Center. He is also certified as a Somatic Movement Educator. Nathaniel brings patience, joy, and an intimate appreciation for the ecological interdependence of life.
Theo Lane — Health & Safety Coordinator
hscoordinator@lostvalley.org
Theo is our Health Safety & Resilience Coordinator They have been at LV since 2023 and bring a decade+ of experience from various technical roles at startups, and enterprise class organizations throughout the SF Bay Area. They have a strong curiosity for systems and love of puzzle solving that they bring to everything that they do. They enjoy videogames, media dissections, growing plants, building things, and helping others.
Kendall Runyan — Internship & Visitor Coordinator
internshipcoordinator@lostvalley.org & visit@lostvalley.org
Kendall earned her degree in Political Science with a minor in film in 2019. She hoped to explore a career as a political documentarian. She had the opportunity to do some election worker training videos for the state of Utah, as well as an internship at C-SPAN. At the time of graduation she was looking to travel for a bit and moved to China in 2020 where she was only planning on staying for a few months. Due to COVID, and some unforeseen circumstances she ended up teaching kindergarten at an English immersion school for 3 years. During that time she gained an interest in permaculture and intentional communities, where she even started a garden for her students. She is very passionate about education for all ages. She is especially interested in exposing those in the mainstream to alternate ways of thinking and relating to the world that emphasizes connection to self, others, and nature. Kendall is very passionate about participating in community level governance, and establishing sustainable models for mutual care/aid.