We strive to
BRING TOGETHER COMMUNITIES throughout the Chicago metropolitan and surrounding areas with like-minded concepts and
FRESH IDEAS. We explore
GREEN CULTURE, ART AND DESIGN. We investigate sustainable ways to live in an urban community. We bring conscious living concepts from the kitchen table to the boardroom table and all places in between. We
PROMOTE businesses, non-profits, local organizations and educational institutions which
INSPIRE individuals and communities to
ACT RESPONSIBLY personally, for their inner circles and for their outer spheres. We think outside the box, yet are practical in our approach to what is maintainable. We attract readers who are
ACTIVELY ENGAGED and who are committed to continually growing and educating themselves. We are low impact and high concept. We never forget that
KINDNESS IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL MISSION. We are eco-active, enviro-sensitive and socially involved. We are connecting Chicago’s conscious community.
WE ARE MINDFUL METROPOLIS.
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Richard McGinnis
Publisher & CEO
Richard lives by four basic principles: Nothing is impossible; abnormal is the new normal; do your best every waking moment; inspire and support others. He combines these principles with three simple ...
Richard lives by four basic principles: Nothing is impossible; abnormal is the new normal; do your best every waking moment; inspire and support others. He combines these principles with three simple career concepts: If it is rewarding, keep doing it; if it is not rewarding, stop doing it; if it is not rewarding and you have to keep doing it, make it rewarding.
A born entrepreneur, he owned his first business at 16 (a commercial interior painting and cleaning service). A Business Management graduate from LSU, he has since owned and operated a vegan restaurant, a mail consolidation business, and a commercial incentive/premium packaging, marketing and consulting company. Not rewarding, not rewarding, and not rewarding. It turns out he had to wait a few decades for the rewarding stuff to happen.
After 10 years in sales management in commercial printing, four years in corporate healthcare marketing (totally not rewarding on any level), and seven years of LOHAS media publishing, he is very happy to have settled in with his Chicago community and "family" to facilitate publication of Mindful Metropolis, where he can apply all the tools experience has laid at his feet. Now THAT is rewarding!
When not working within the various realms of print media in his role as CEO & Publisher, he is busy playing with his dogs, tending his bees and digging in the dirt on his rural farmstead in northwestern Illinois.
Contact Info
richard@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199
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James Faber
Editorial & Production Director
James Faber graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago in 1998. He started at Conscious Choice magazine as an intern in 1997, then came aboard full time in October 1998 as the m...
James Faber graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago in 1998. He started at Conscious Choice magazine as an intern in 1997, then came aboard full time in October 1998 as the magazine was transitioning from a bi-monthly to a monthly publication. After working as associate editor, senior editor and managing editor, he took on the role of production manager in early 2001 and was responsible for producing nearly 100 issues of the magazine before it's demise in April 2009.
While not working on the magazine, James enjoys writing fiction, watching Chicago sports (especially the Bears and White Sox) and is a total music fanatic — both playing and checking out live shows. He currently lives on the northwest side of Chicago, and manages a family business on weekends during the summer.
Contact Info
james@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199 ext 7012 or 773.583.7368
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Sondra Brigandi
Consultative Sales & Marketing
Sondra Brigandi came to Mindful Metropolis' predecessor Conscious Choice over 20 years ago, after learning that she couldn't save the environment single-handedly.
Whi...
Sondra Brigandi came to Mindful Metropolis' predecessor Conscious Choice over 20 years ago, after learning that she couldn't save the environment single-handedly.
While working briefly with a commercial and industrial recycling company, she discovered a little magazine called Conscious Choice sitting in her naprapath's Chicago office. Sondra was so impressed with the writing, the content and what she could sense was a big vision and an even bigger trend on the horizon. She called to talk about selling advertising for the fledgling publication. Way back then, the subjects covered in that magazine and the magazine itself were considered on the "lunatic fringe." Sondra watched as the vast American market moved to "green," in no small part do to that publication. And the trend continues today to be the largest motivator in products' R&D, sales and marketing.
On March 24, 2009 the possibility of working on a totally locally owned and locally focused magazine, Mindful Metropolis delighted Sondra. The opportunity to grow a voice of Chicago's holistic, environmental, and personal growth community was more than exciting.
If you can't tell by now, Sondra takes life lightly. When she's not chasing advertising prospects to listen to what their passions are and to consult on growing their businesses, she travels, swims, does Gyrotonic and cozies up with her three cats and dog, a good book or someone who's read one.
Contact Info
sondra@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199 ext 7011 or 773.856.5863
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Tim Winkler
Consultative Sales, Marketing & Partnerships
Tim joined the Mindful Metropolis after a career devoted to international educational exchange and international development studies.
His 13 years of work, study and ...
Tim joined the Mindful Metropolis after a career devoted to international educational exchange and international development studies.
His 13 years of work, study and travel in the so called "developing" world were a natural foundation on the road to obtaining a deep appreciation for the sustainability challenges facing our planet as well the desperate need for our communities to be more inter-connected. Tim’s work with Mindful Metropolis has provided an exciting new platform from which to contribute to the betterment of our world, and a kind and enriching vehicle through which he embraces the community he loves – Chicago and the Midwest-- which he proudly calls home. Because of Tim's deep commitment to service both past and present, he can act as the kind and efficient consultative sales professional desired by today's conscious businesses, organizations and community groups.
When not at work Tim is deeply involved in men's work as an Assistant Leader in Victories of the Heart (victoriesoftheheart.net), a nonprofit that organizes retreat weekends for men searching to better their lives and their human relationships. Tim is also active member and volunteer in Chicago’s recovery community.
Contact Info
tim@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199 ext 7013 or 773.944.1505
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Maureen Ewing
Consultative Sales & Directory Specialist
Maureen Ewing comes to Mindful Metropolis as a long-time reader and recent contributor.
As a vegan for over 14 years, Maureen has enjoyed watching Chicago grow even mo...
Maureen Ewing comes to Mindful Metropolis as a long-time reader and recent contributor.
As a vegan for over 14 years, Maureen has enjoyed watching Chicago grow even more vegan-friendly. Coming from a meat-loving family, she loves to find new restaurants where the whole family can leave full and happy. An avid traveler and photographer, Maureen sees the entire world as her home, and she firmly believes that all countries are connected. She advocates for open conversation and awareness of how our actions here affect people in all corners of the world. She secretly wishes that recycling was a federal law.
Maureen earned her BS in Education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to South Africa in 1998 where she completed her Honors degree and later her MA in English from Rhodes University. After teaching high school English for four years, she decided to go back to school again. In May 2009, she received her MFA in Poetry from Columbia College Chicago. She thinks she’s done now.
Maureen also teaches First Year Writing at Columbia College Chicago and hopes her poetry and nonfiction will soon be out in the world.
Contact Info
maureen@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199 ext 7010
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Jodi Kuiper
Consultative Sales & Marketing
I came to Mindful Metropolis by way of certain degrees of separation. Having grown up in Michigan I saw Chicago as my backyard. I made the move to the city because of the energy that it prov...
I came to Mindful Metropolis by way of certain degrees of separation. Having grown up in Michigan I saw Chicago as my backyard. I made the move to the city because of the energy that it provides me, and surrounds me with. The energy is composed of many things, too many to name but it ranges from the awe of the skyline to the beat of someone’s shoes on the sidewalk. But it’s that same energy that I see in Mindful Metropolis, however, a purer energy. Working with Mindful reminds me everyday where the source of this energy comes from and how lucky we all are to be its beneficiary.
I will be honest with you, I am the farthest thing from a vegan, or last person who would willingly sign up for a cleanse. It is not my second nature to recycle EVERYTHING I touch but I am learning….some may think too slowly, however I’m getting there. This is why I find it so exciting to have the opportunity to be working with Mindful Metropolis because no matter how “green” a reader is, they too, are still learning new ways to care for our earth and benefactor.
Contact Info
jodi@mindfulmetropolis.com
312.281.5199 ext 7014