Who We Are

Lanette Sobel, Co-founder, Director of Research, Board Member

Born in Washington, DC and raised in Northern Virginia, Lanette has a BS in Commerce with a double concentration in Finance and MIS from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. She is the Managing Partner of Ecosante Consulting, LLC, an environmental consultancy focused on greening the hospitality and commercial office building industry in South Florida and the Caribbean. Lanette also teaches traditional composting, vermiculture, "how to green your home" as well as "how to green your hotel" at Miami Dade Community College and Fairchild Tropic Botanical Gardens.

Concerned about her planet as well as her fellow humans, she has fundraised for children in Afghanistan, blood cancer research and Tibetan refugees, raising almost $30,000 and helping to finish a school in India for Tibetans. Also an avid traveler, she has visited 40 countries over the course of 2.5 years, from Tibet and Syria to Iceland and her motherland, Peru. In 2008 she co-founded the Fertile Earth Foundation and was it’s Executive Director until May 2013.

Lanette is currently a graduate student in the Doctor of Plant Medicine Program at the University of Florida, runs the Fertile Earth Worm Farm and conducts efficacy trials with worm tea and castings to determine its pest repellant properties at UF’s Tropical Research & Education Center.

Tiana Madera, Co-founder

Tiana Kai Madera was born in Kona, Hawaii and relocated to Key Biscayne, Florida at a young age. She was raised in the Hospitality Industry along with her four brothers, bestowing her the privilege to travel around the world. Always enjoying art and promotions, in 1999 she began showcasing and selling her paintings in South Florida.

She graduated from Loyola University, New Orleans with a BA in Advertising and Marketing in 2003. Within her time in New Orleans she transferred to Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence, Italy to focus on art and International Marketing. Always working in sales and marketing, she decided to pursue a Masters in Business Administration at the top-ranked Chapman Graduate School of Business, Florida International University.

Her dream was to always create a non-profit with personal ties. Fertile Earth Foundation involves the environment and promoting the desperate need for change in the community. Tiana has always been vocal about the environment and helping others, hence her efforts in many other non-profit fundraisers. FEF allows her to focus on her passion for engaging others and showcasing important 'green' options for each individual to embrace in their own lives.

Adrian Felix, Board Member

Adrian Felix is an attorney with Carlton Fields, and a member of the firm's Business Litigation and Trade Regulation Practice Group. Mr. Felix's experience includes work in commercial litigation, construction, employment discrimination, franchise law, identity theft, and criminal defense.

A graduate of Duke University and University of Miami School of Law, he also serves on American Bar Association (2007-present), Young Lawyers Division, Litigation Vice-Chair (2009-2010), The Florida Bar (2006-present), Dade County Bar Association (2006-present) and Miami Chamber Music, Inc. Board of Directors (2006-present).

Michael Reynolds, Chairman of the Board

Miami native, Michael Reynolds has enjoyed many years in the city's beautiful outdoors. With a deep appreciation for how nature has enriched his life, he is focused on helping the planet stay healthy.

Michael recieved a B.A. in architecture from Tulane University and a M.S. in exercise physiology from Florida International University. He started Better Life Fitness, a personal training company, in 2000, with the goal of helping others reach a healthier life."

From Timbuktu to Tahiti, Michael is a passionate traveler. With over 90 countries visited he is most excited about traveling on the local bus in places "off the grid."

Other non-profits Michael has worked with; Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and Project Medishare.

Olga Lucia Gomez, Director of Development

Susan Dean, Assistant Director of Development

Susan Dean Graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Communications; majored in Film and minored in Italian. She grew up in Dallas, Texas and has resided in Miami Beach the last eight years. Susan is a working actress represented by Runways/The Talent Group, who also holds her Florida real estate lisence with Sasco Realty, Inc. Susan is a passionate foodie, art, music and animal lover who cares about the environment.

Eli Stamp, Board of Directors Subcommittee Chair

Eli is also an estimator for the general contracting company Groden/Stamp Construction, Inc.

What We Do:

Fertile Earth Foundation was created to educate,inspire and spark change in the community and initiate a dialogue between the community, businesses and municipalities. FEF orchestrates unique and stimulating events that showcase specific topics relating to how individuals, corporations and communities can lessen their footprint on Earth. FEF also supports environmentally focused research and bringing sustainable ideas to South Florida. We are best known for our composting and waste reduction initiatives as well as South Florida's only earthworm farm in Homestead.

Our Mission:

To bring abundance, health and self-sufficiency to our community by facilitating innovative technologies and ideas which take into account people, planet and prosperity.

Our History:

FEF began when Lanette Sobel & Tiana Madera recognized the deep lack of environmental awareness among staff while working with Miami Beach hotels to achieve green hotel certifications through Ecosante Consulting. Coupled with the realization that the only available option in Miami-Dade County at the time was to landfill an estimated 40 million of pounds of organic material coming from Miami Beach hotels each year, we knew we had to do something to make some changes. Discovering that (according to County Solid Waste Department officials) every single one of our landfills is currently leaking -- posing a major threat to the quality of our water supplies and creating soil and air contamination -- only added fuel to the fire. We immediately embarked on our first project, "Fertile Roots Miami". It took 19 months for us to secure a permit from DERM and the Solid Waste Department for a small pilot project to use in-vessel composting machinery at Virginia Key yard debris composting facility to process just one cubic yard of food scraps. And although the project only lasted three months due to funding shortfalls, the project was a success and we proved that dealing with organics was more of an issue of "desire" and not "feasibility." Since then, we have become known for our efforts to curb waste, promoting the virtues of composting and waste reduction to residents, commercial establishments and local governments. We even are part of South Florida's only composting earthworm farm.

Join our e-newsletter through our facebook page and keep up to date on our monthly sustainability workshops, events such as eco-bikini fashion shows and invasive species dinners, get involved in projects like the Ladies of Manure calendar or participate in our volunteer opportunities. We do things a little differently here at FEF and we invite you to get involved.