Stefanie (Stef) Koehler

Stefanie (Stef) Koehler is the founder of Green Crane Innovation, a Portland-based eco-design firm, and a partnering consultant with Werk Strategy.

An interdisciplinary practitioner, she has worked as a strategist, design scientist, and visual facilitator. She views social problems as design challenges, using the art of design thinking to discover business and community opportunities.

Stef thrives when she’s solving messy, complex problems, such as climate action and systems change. You’ll often find Stef at the front of the room, drawing whole systems maps; or riding public transit, listening to people’s stories to test a design concept; or in her studio, illustrating nature-inspired strategies for engineers and educators.

Stef’s areas of expertise are sustainable design, biomimicry, human-centered design, and facilitating multi-stakeholder engagements. Stef received a master’s degree in sustainable design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2013. In addition to her work as a consultant and designer, she teaches Design Futures and Ecologies in the Collaborative Design Program and oversees the PNCA/OMSI fellowship program.