Olivia Zaleski was born and raised in New York City. The quintessential city girl, Olivia spent more time climbing playground jungle gyms than climbing trees. It wasn’t until she was 16 and shipped off to an organic farm in the middle of Nowheresville, Vermont, that she learned—for survival sake--to make friends with the outdoors. After spending 3 days alone in the woods (with nothing more than a tarp, sleeping bag, 4 bagels, and massive hunk of Cabot cheese) Olivia found her inner Thoreau.

Olivia then went on to attend Dartmouth College where she majored in Art History. Always passionate about design, especially after spending two summers at Rhode Island School of Design, she took a job in fashion merchandising for a large retail corporation. While aiding in the production of thousands of cheap t-shirts and sweaters, Olivia was exposed to the to the severe environmental issues inherent in product development, supply chains, and manufacturing. The experience convinced her of the need for responsible design.

Olivia is currently living in New York City, writing about her environmental epiphany for www.eco-chick.com, and taking design classes at Parsons so that she may get more involved in the green design movement.