Jillian Hovey

Jillian is a wholistic permaculturalist, who has been working creatively and collaboratively with others since the early 1990s. She supports people in applying whole systems principles to catalyzing regeneration in the environments they are in – from urban balconies, to entire ecovillages. Over the past 35 years, Jillian has contributed to a wide range of projects in 40 countries across 5 continents.

Jillian holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture (1995), which was enriched by doing a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) in 1996, and has completed all but her final project for a Masters in Environmental Design. Jillian completed training for personal coaching in the mid 2000s, and has recently taken the inaugural Internal Family Systems (IFS) for coaches training. Over her entire career, Jillian has consistently attended conferences relates to the various aspects of her work, and also pursued education in personal growth to support herself and others.

Jillian founded and ran The Sustainable Living Network in Toronto, and helped to found the Ecovillage Network of The Americas. She has been involved with a variety not-for profits like the Society for Ecological Restoration, and a wide range of permaculture organizations. Jillian served on several Committees of Council of the City of Guelph, and bioregional watershed studies, through which was developed an environmental framework for hundreds of millions of dollars of sustainable development.

In Jillian’s consulting practice, she meets people where they are at, and discerns where and how they need support in their regenerative aspirations. She is well-suited to helping people and groups get clear about what they would like to do, which can include: looking for and evaluating land, created ‘Master Plans’ for sites, as well as incremental renovation and expansions plans. Jillian also has a gift for working with groups who aspire to action together, such as eco communities, and other multi-person projects.

Jillian designs and delivers integrative regenerative learning experiences. She has taught a variety of Permaculture and Ecovillage Design Courses in different parts of the globe. Jillian has also taught at institutions such as the School of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley, York University Environmental Studies, and University of Toronto Master’s of Urban Design. She has also led education as at the eco design schools of Ecosa and Yestermorrow. Jillian has also spoken at over 100 events, from small gathering to main stages presentations in front of hundreds of people.

Jillian is known for her wholistic processing abilities and emotional intelligence, which she applies not only to her work facilitating community processes, but also in her coaching, and mentorship. Guiding people and groups in the “inner” aspects of regenerative responses has grown over time, and now is a primary aspect of her practice.

Jillian is committed to supporting the emergence of a more holistic and regenerative way of being the world, so that we can become more effective permaculturalists, and have the skills to bring more of our visions to life!