E-Space® Systems
Advisory Board
Ellen Strickland
If you were to ask Ellen Strickland to describe the last seven
years of her life, an exciting roller coaster would come to mind.
Ellen has been on the leading edge of Green Retailing since
2000, when she opened her first store and gallery in Santa
Barbara, California. Her mission then, as it is today, is to offer
her clients healthy and sustainable choices in building
materials and interior furnishings.
Ellen began her professional career in interpretive planning and design,
specializing in educational programming and exhibition design that encouraged
learning through interactive fun. Her projects during the last 28 years include
interior spaces and exhibits for museums, zoos, aquariums and other
educational facilities around the country. Her knowledge of building and finishing
materials used during construction served as a good basis for what was soon to
develop into a life-changing mission.
It was while building an exhibit to house a walrus that prompted her to
investigate healthier, alternative materials for the animal’s health. This set off a
chain of discoveries that haven’t stopped. Ellen soon realized that “traditional”
building materials and methods were often unhealthy for animals, humans and
other species, not to mention the damage it did to the environment as a whole
that we all share. This catalyst initiated an investigation to offer alternative
building materials and furnishings to a broader audience looking for more
conscious choices then what was currently available. Livingreen was the result
of that idea. Ellen now has two stores, as well as a website and online that
launched in the fall of 2006. Ellen is very visible in both locations when she’s not
writing articles, speaking on panels, attending industry events or hosting
educational workshops for various communities.
Livingreen is more than a couple of retail stores and a website and Ellen is more
than an exhibit planner that “got a conscience,” she is a pioneer within the
growing green retail community. Her stores and website are often the first link
interested consumers find to learn about healthier material choices for remodel
projects as well as creating healthier home environments.
Ellen is a member of ASID in Los Angeles, the Sustainable Business Council, the
LA chapter of AIA and continues to maintain membership in many local and
national educational and environmental organizations.
Dennis Flanzer
Dennis Flanzer has over forty-five years of architectural,
graphics, tenant improvement and product design
experience. Dennis and his wife, Fay, co-founded Dennis
Flanzer Associates, Inc. (DFA) in March 1978. He directs
and participates in the total range of the firm’s consulting
services. Each client personally receives the creative
and cost-saving benefits of his extensive in-depth know-
ledge and expertise in every aspect of the processes involved in programming,
planning, budgeting, designing, constructing and managing development of
office, medical, industrial and other commercial facilities. Projects since 1990
have totaled in excess of 4,000,000 square feet.
Prior to starting DFA, Mr. Flanzer was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for
Group Artec (since purchased by Kimball International), a manufacturer of
internationally distributed office systems furniture and architectural products,
where he substantially increased annual sales in his first year, participated in
the design and development of new products, and designed a show room in the
Los Angeles Pacific Design. For over seven years prior to that, he held the
position of Vice President / Chief Designer with Michael Sanchez Associates
(now SK Partners), a Los Angeles area planning and design firm, where projects
included planning and management of interior development for Kaiser-
Permanente medical centers in Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as
numerous institutional headquarters and branch office facilities for banks and
saving and loan associations throughout California.
Dennis holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree with a minor in Architecture
from the University of Illinois.
Carol Ruiz
Vice President of Public Relations
Carol Ruiz is vice president of public relations for Culver
City, California-based 5th Gear, a full service advertising
and public relations agency specializing in residential and
commercial real estate marketing. She is responsible for
management of the public relations team, media and
client relations and new business development. Ruiz has
more than 15 years experience in real estate focused PR and marketing. Her
byline has appeared in numerous industry publications, including Urban Land,
Units, Sales and Marketing Ideas, Multifamily Trends, Multifamily Executive,
Options and Builder and Developer. She is an active member of the Building
Industry Association (BIA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB),
National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC) and the Urban Land Institute
(ULI). She sits on the Residential Neighborhood Design Gold Council for ULI.
She is the past chair of Sales & Marketing Ideas magazine’s editorial advisory
group and is on the Building Industry Show (BIS) Conference Committee. She
belongs to the editorial advisory boards for Options and Builder and Developer
magazines. Ruiz is also a frequent speaker at real estate industry events,
including the International Builders’ Show, HomEX and the Building Industry
Show.
During her years as a PR professional, Ruiz has worked with a wide ranging list
of real estate focused companies, including development, land planning, home
building, real estate financing and service companies. Some of her clients have
included KB Homes; The Planning Center; MBK Real Estate, whose parent
company, Mitsui & Company, is one of the world’s largest companies; AMCAL
Multihousing; Gateway Capital, developer of the W Hotel and Condos on
Hollywood and Vine; John Andrews Group Architects; and Fifield Companies, a
Chicago-based residential and office high-rise developer.
Ruiz bases her PR practice on relationships, both with her clients and the
press. She believes that the three keys to a successful PR campaign are
developing strong relationships, good planning and the ability to tell a good
story. She has found significant success in garnering press coverage, both on
a regional and national basis, for her clients based on these three guiding
principles.
Ruiz is also an award winning documentary filmmaker and was an instructor in
the School of Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University in Los
Angeles for five years.
David Gill is a major project manager for a Fortune 500
mechanical engineering company; with vast experience in
design build delivery methods and a passion for sustainable
and green building. When articulating his thoughts
regarding sustainable and green building design, his mantra
would most accurately be described as good stewardship.
David has a strong commitment to the safeguarding the
earth’s resources, seeing construction as among the most important vehicles with which to affect change. He believes, as Winston Churchill once said, “first we shape our dwellings, then our dwellings shape us.”
David has had extensive LEED training, and has served as project manager on several LEED Certified buildings in the Northern California area, to include Cal PERS Expansion Project (Certified) and Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis (Silver). His passion for green building principles and sustainable products has extended beyond his career choice well into his personal life,
where he has implemented several innovative and conscientious products and designs into his own home. From solar panels and ground source heat pumps, to structural insulated panels, David is not only well-informed, but lives his beliefs. David is an active member of the US Green Building Council, and has participated in green construction events throughout the Western United States.
Education: California State University – Bachelor of Science Construction Management, Minor in Business Administration
Associations: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Design Build Institute of America, United States Green Building Council, Sacramento Builders Exchange, Veterans of Foreign Wars Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design
John Louis Chan has over 15 years of experience in the field of Architecture.
In 1989 he received a Bachelor of Architecture with honors from the University of Houston and was awarded the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for service to the College.
After his undergraduate studies Mr. Chan worked as a designer with the architectural firm of Baxter, Hodell, Donnelly and Preston in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a young designer at BHDP he worked directly for the design partners on retail, academic and laboratory buildings.
In 1993 Mr. Chan was accepted to the Master of Architecture program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Mr. Chan’s graduate thesis work was exhibited at the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York.
In 1995, Mr. Chan accepted a position as a designer at the architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Los Angeles. The following year he relocated to the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill where he was promoted to the position of Associate. At SOM he worked on large scale projects such as the 54 story Philippine Bank of Communications Tower and Dole World Headquarters in Westlake Village, CA.
In 2000 Mr. Chan returned to Los Angeles and established a private design practice. His current work as the Principal of The Studio of John Louis Chan involves both residential and commercial design in the Los Angeles area. Some of his recent projects include a master plan for offices and printing facilities for C.O.P. Communications in Glendale, California, office space for the Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills and residences in Studio City, La Canada, Mar Vista and Silver Lake.
Mr. Chan resides in Pasadena with his wife Iris, a screenwriter. He enjoys
the outdoors of southern California as an avid sailboat racer and hiker.
Carl Welty photo and Bio
