Team
VerdEnergia Pacifica is a family-and-friend-owned and operated company and community. We work as equals, celebrate as a team and make fun of each other face to face.
ESTEBAN JIMÉNEZ CONTRERAS
Esteban is the Farm and Operations Coordinator at Blacksheep, where he works as a technician in organic productions on multiple Blacksheep projects in the Puriscal region. He has worked with VerdEnergia since 2017, where he serves as an assistant for Verde’s Permaculture Courses, Internship and Worktrade Apprentice programs.
Esteban grew up in Colon, Costa Rica. After being part of a project in La Cangreja National Park, he was inspired to help change the agricultural practices and economic status of the Puriscal region. After completing a reforestation internship and permaculture course at VerdEnergia, Esteban returned to school and earned his degree as a technician in organic productions at the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje with a specialty in organic agriculture.
JOSHUA HUGHES
Joshua is one of VerdEnergia’s original founders as well as its acting General Manager. Under his leadership, VerdEnergia was developed into a thriving permaculture school and farm. He founded the Shangri-Lanas project in 2014 and Blacksheep in 2015, where he is now the acting CEO. After living at Verde for 13 years, he now splits his time between Verde, Escazu, and the US.
Joshua grew up working in his family’s auto-salvage business in Medford, Oregon. Through working in the auto-salvage industry, he learned the real value of what many consider “waste.” In his early adulthood, he developed a secure recycling business in the Pacific Northwest. Joshua became politically activated after 9/11 and soon left his office job to work as an activist and helped found a biofuels cooperative.
AMANDA WILSON
Amanda has served as co-manager of VerdEnergia since 2014 and has worked to develop its education, hospitality, marketing and outreach programs. She is also a founder of Blacksheep and its acting CMO. After living at Verde for 6 years, she now splits her time between Verde, Escazu, and the US.
Amanda has a passion for art, music, and storytelling. Throughout her early adult life, she has sought ways to integrate her political and environmental concerns into her career and life’s work. After completing a fellowship at a major Performing Arts center in Virginia, she traveled to Costa Rica to enrich her education and relationship with the natural world. Amanda holds degrees in Graphic Design and Religion from James Madison University.
SARA CZARNIECKI
Sara has filled various roles at VerdEnergia, including volunteer coordination, educational program and business development, event planning and operations management. She is a founder of Blacksheep, and now provides strategic oversight of Verde with Blacksheep, where she serves and the President/COO. Since 2008, Sara has worked with disenfranchised groups in both volunteer and professional roles, developing a skill set that allows her to build strong, diverse teams.
Sara grew up amongst the industrial fallout of the Detroit area where she witnessed her family and community suffer from social, environmental and health issues. While pursuing her education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, achieving a B.A. in Anthropology and Urban Studies in 2010, she became acutely aware that vulnerable communities around the world, including her own, were absorbing the negative externalities of an unchecked economic system.
JAMES BARFORD
James is a co-founder of Blacksheep where he serves as Chief of Staff. His current mission is combining blockchain and exponential tech with regenerative agriculture to assist in shifting the planet to a carbon drawdown economy. He founded a digital marketing company in Melbourne, Australia, and helped a San Francisco-based startup establish their software and shipping operations. He has been a versatile project manager for 10+ years, supporting managers and teams to improve internal business operations. He got his start serving in the Australian Military, traveling the world and gathering a range of skills. James holds a BA in Political Science and International Business.
JOHN JUDGE
John and his wife Kylie have been involved with VerdEnergia since 2008 and have built a structure on the property. John is a founding member of the Shangri-Lanas cooperative, and a co-founder of Blacksheep. He currently splits time practicing permaculture on a small acreage, working as an urban firefighter in Calgary and living part-time at VerdEnergia.
John grew up in a small city in southern Alberta, Canada. His experiences in firefighting, construction, university football, tree planting and living in an intentional community have all demonstrated for him what a group of motivated and inspired individuals can accomplish when grouped together for a shared purpose.
KATRINA CANTU
Katrina offers a blend of Vinyasa, Kriya, Kundalini, and Sattva yoga into her classroom at VerdEnergia. Over the last 20 years, Katrina has traveled around the globe, absorbing Yoga practice from many different cultures and ways of life. She caters her classes to each student to help facilitate success and restoration. Her teaching style connects the teachings of permaculture to yoga. She also often supports students in their individual processes, as they discover themselves more deeply through community living and time in nature.
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With the principles of Permaculture as our guiding tool, we seek to transmute the challenges facing our communities into replicable solutions. Our work enables us to find right livelihood through the regeneration and gentle cultivation of the forest we are honored to call home.
