FullName

Linda Flournoy


Organization

Planning and Engineering for Sustainability


Role
Partner

Description

Linda Flournoy’s experience with the concepts underlying Sustainability began in the early 60’s. She has worked tirelessly for it since then, and a wide variety of experiences have expanded her understanding so that she is among the most comprehensive thinkers on the subject. She views the world and people as one complex dynamic system of inter-related patterns and naturally integrates inter-disciplinary information when developing or analyzing solutions. Well-read and well-spoken, she has keen foresight as one of her more valuable talents.

Her personal background includes a voracious fascination with all hard and soft sciences, including mathematics, philosophy and metaphysics, as well as significant training in music, dance, theatre and art. Her practical background includes, among other things, all construction trades (with a goal to build her own earth-home someday); she is a journeyman in concrete and masonry, and has built, designed and/or managed countless projects from houses to medium facilities (including straw-bale), to mechanical and treatment systems, to roads and bridges and flood control. She is among the pioneers in Low Impact Development, and has even been a motorcycle mechanic. Her technical background is in civil engineering (top of class) with an emphasis on soils (ecology, geology and geotechnical), structures, water and their dynamic interaction. Her first Masters was in earthquake engineering, though she left that to pursue a Masters and PhD at University of Cambridge UK in Sustainability – one of the first. Since moving to San Diego, she has become involved in planning and policy development from an integrated watershed viewpoint. Proposals, presentations and teaching/training are among her skills. Sometimes the only sustainability advocate on a number of important regional committees, her ability to discern root causes, core needs and hidden fears helps her bring integrated win-win solutions to these groups. She thinks Life is for Fun and Learning, and if she’s not having fun, she hopes she’s learning!