Juan Rovalo

Roseville

A regarded consultant, educator, and scientist with a passion for biomimicry—the practice of measuring and modeling human design solutions based on systems found in nature—Rovalo has over 20 years of experience contributing to hundreds of projects worldwide. His journey began in Mexico, where he was born and raised, studied, and eventually cofounded his ecological design consultancy, Environmental Operations Workshop (TOA in Spanish), and later created InSite and Associates. In 2014, he relocated to the U.S., where he worked on a variety of projects, including nature-based solutions for a global aerospace company, coastal resilience and ecological restoration guidance for a private island in Belize, and food and water protection plans in California. He has collaborated with prominent industry leaders, including McLennan Design, Biohabitats, Jacobs Solutions, the California Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Corps’ Engineering With Nature© program through the Engineer Research and Development Center. Rovalo also taught biomimicry and design at the University of Iberoamericana in Mexico, and lecture in other institutions, nurturing the next generation of cross-disciplinary environmentalists through public outreach and educational programs. Now, in his role as Director of Ecology for Perkins&Will, and in close collaboration with Jason McLennan, Juan works with project teams and clients to promote ecological thinking through the Perkins&Will “Living Design” approach.