Rita Penrod is a working eco-practitioner, designer, and owner of four five sustainable design in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rita holds a BFA from Indiana University, and a certificate in Sustainable Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s groundbreaking Sustainable Design Post-Baccalaureate Program. She is currently chairperson of AIGA Minnesota’s reDesign sustainable design initiative.

Motivated by personal values and desire for positive change, Rita approaches sustainability through holistic systems thinking – with the understanding that everything is designed, from products and services to businesses and lifestyles, empowering everyone to help create a more sustainable existence. Rita brings to her work over twenty years of experience as a business owner, manager, creative director, educator, and volunteer for non-profit organizations promoting environmental sustainability and social equity.

Raised on a dairy farm in Indiana, Rita was born connected to the earth, spending the first eighteen years of her life observing symbiotic relationships in nature and exploring life with wide-eyed fascination. It was there that she learned the value of integrity and hard work – traits she continues to apply to her personal and professional life.

Rita uses systems thinking methodologies, life cycle assessment, innovation techniques and ethics-based marketing methods to create products, strategies and communications for her clients that positively affect the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. Her broad and thoughtful approach is critical to a company’s survival in this era of consumer awareness, economic challenges, and tightening environmental regulations.

Rita Penrod's Website:
http://www.fourfivethrive.com/