I’m Kol Peterson,  the owner of Accessory Dwelling Strategies LLC; Kol-Peterson-300x300a company dedicated to ADU related education, advocacy and consulting.

I lived for seven years in an ADU that I built in 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

I also built and own Caravan- The Tiny House Hotel with my ex-wife. Beyond its primary function as a hotel, we used Caravan as a platform to do education and policy work around small, alternative, urban infill housing.

Asking questions at Caravan

Professional ADU Experience

I edit and manage another website about ADUs that deals with ADU policy issues and features an array of ADU projects: accessorydwellings.org. I teach ADU classes for realtors through Earth Advantage, instruct Earth Advantage’s ADU Specialist Designation courses for realtors, run Portland’s city-wide ADU tour, and do ADU related teaching, speaking and consulting for a variety of audiences.

EDUCATION

Harvard Graduate School of Design       

Master in Design Studies – Design and the Environment

Watershed planning, urban and regional planning, transportation planning, GIS.

Graduated – June, 2004         

Oberlin College  

B.A in Environmental Studies, Religion

University of Wisconsin’s College Year in Nepal Program (1999-2000)

Graduated- May, 2001    

Jingshan Xuexiao (Jingshan High School)

Mandarin language study exchange program. Beijing, China.

spring 1995

WORK EXPERIENCE

Accessory Dwelling Strategies LLC

Owner

January, 2015 to present


Caravan- The Tiny House Hotel LLC

Owner

Summer, 2013 to present


U.S. Forest Service (2010-2015)

Public Affairs Specialist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office

Web communications, public affairs, new media.    

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency   (2004-2010)

-Pacific Northwest Regional Office

Web collaborations and communications coordinator in EPA’s Oregon Operations Office   

summer, 2010

-Public Affairs Specialist

Web lead for the Office of Air and Radiation. Web 2.0 and social media trainer. Communications lead for Climate Protection Partnership Division (ie. Energy Star) and Stratospheric Protection Division (ie. ozone protection). 

winter, 2009 to winter, 2010

-Detail as New Media Analyst to White House New Media team

summer, 2009 

-Program Analyst

Web Infrastructure and Web Content Coordinator in the Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds. Policy and Communications team member. Managed contracts and NGO grants.

fall, 2006 to winter, 2009

 

-EPA Research Fellow

Smart Growth team coordinator in the Office of Water. Researched and developed policy about national land use planning and water quality. Coordinated interagency smart growth and stormwater management with federal partners and NGOs. Washington, D.C.

fall, 2004- fall, 2006   

Harvard Planning and Allston Initiative     

GIS Technician

Performed land use and spatial, demographic analysis using Harvard University database information. Cambridge, MA.

summer, 2004

Army Corps of Engineers      

Community Planner

Consulted on the integration of community and environmental planning tactics for engineered water resource management projects. Concord, MA.

spring, 2004

Charles River Conservancy      

Project Intern

Authored a transportation master plan for an alternative intersection design along Charles River’s multi-use pathway. Cambridge, MA.        

autumn, 2003

Northwest Regional Outdoor Science School 

Field Instructor, Program Coordinator

Created an instructional curriculum, taught and facilitated educational programs in coastal ecology and marine biology. Portland, OR.

spring, 2002, 2003

Riccharina Foundacion Ecologica         

Water Quality Surveyor

Remote user survey of rural water source quality. GPS. Cuenca, Ecuador.

autumn, 2002

World Wildlife Fund       

Volunteer Researcher

Researched deforestation rates prior to the Kanchenjnga Conservation Area’s parkland designation. Kanchenjnga, Nepal.

spring, 2000