Staff
The Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture (formerly Dancing Rabbit, Inc.) at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that manages our outreach, research and educational initiatives. Get to know a little about our key staff members, below!
Danielle Williams
Executive Director, Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture
Danielle Williams moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in 2012 after living and tasting the flavors at multiple other intentional communities in different countries. In 2016 she became the Executive Director for the nonprofit here, which shares Dancing Rabbit’s unique flavor of hope and sustainable living inspiration with the world. She delights in living in a 213 sq-ft naturally built round house called the Hermitage. Danielle originally hails from the state of Colorado, and her skills are as diverse and varied as the places she’s lived since then (hypnotherapy, breathwork, facilitation, marketing, financial coaching, spreadsheets…). Her degree in Peace & Global Studies informs her vision of how ecovillages are part of a global movement towards curing the social pandemic of loneliness and meaninglessness, and creating a better world for everyone. She passionately cultivates the world she wants to pass on to future generations, and living in community (amidst all the highs & lows) is an integral part of that cultivation. Fun Fact: Danielle has over 50 varieties of tea in her office cubby alone, and she enjoys keeping herself warm in the office in winter by sipping a hot beverage. Current favorite: Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong.
Apple Wood
Bookkeeper
Cob Carleton
Programs Director/Outreach Shepherd/Research Coordinator
After decades of professional management of volunteer organizations and their myriad committees, David (Cob) Carleton sought a simpler life for himself and his family. Since moving our ecovillage in 2007 he has gone on to participate in Dancing Rabbit’s myriad committees and to help manage our collective organizations. It turns out that accounting and coordinating volunteers is easier than becoming a gentleman farmer. Cob joined the CSCC Staff to help with program logistics and to shepherd DR’s interactions with professional researchers and the media. Cob can often be found in his kitchen singing along with Metropolitan Opera broadcasts or listening to ClassicFM while restocking dry goods in his DR Grocery Store. Eric Mease
Administrative Assistant / Development Lead
After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Eric spent many years traveling the Americas. Staying on small-scale sustainable farms and eco-communities, he witnessed firsthand the ways in which people are re-imagining their relationship with the earth, society, and each other. In the Spring of 2020 he arrived at Dancing Rabbit as an intern for the Dairy Co-op and quickly became enamored with the rolling savannah land of Northeast Missouri and began dreaming of the possibilities for using regenerative grazing practices to restore the native ecology. He’s also very inspired by Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and the potential it has to become even more vibrant, sustainable, and self-sufficient. He is committed to bringing that vision to life through his work with the CSCC and his own personal and cooperative projects. Within the non-profit he fills the roles of Board Support and Office Steward, and is making videos to help paint portraits of what life is like at Dancing Rabbit and promote sustainable lifeways. In his free time he enjoys playing music, going on nature walks, working on land based projects, and playing board games. Eric’s favorite quote is by anthropologist David Graeber: “The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.”
Liz Hackney
Writer / Editor
Liz Hackney is the CSCC editor of the Dancing Rabbit Update. She moved from California to Dancing Rabbit in 2016 and worked as a licensed acupuncturist before the pandemic. Liz and her grown son are currently building a straw bale building called “Sub-Hub” as a center for natural building, social justice and permaculture classes at Dancing Rabbit.
Prairie Johnson
Correspondent
Mae
Correspondent
I’m Mae, I’ve lived at Dancing Rabbit since 2012 but only began working for the nonprofit in August of 2023. I love animals and the daily care of farm animals is a big part of my life. I also have 2 human children who have lived all or most of their lives here, and I’ve built and continue to build a number of buildings big and small. I enjoy reading, listening to podcasts and working with my hands.
Jen
Webmaster
Jen moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in the late summer of 2021 after living in Montana at a permaculture project and was left wanting more natural building, animal systems, food systems, and a healthier and happier learning environment. Having followed Dancing Rabbit’s journey since 2012, she decided it was time to make the leap and joined as a wexer for the Critter Co-op. She spent the summer and fall here doing so many things she loves – gardening, working on a strawbale/cob home addition for a family, milking the cows, tending the goats, swimming in the pond, and taking long walks across the land. In the winter, Jen joined the CSCC team as the Webmaster and Mailing list whiz. She is soon passing on these roles to our new Webmaster, Zach!
Not finding what she was looking for, a year later Jen moved to a place where there are forests as far as the eye can see, ponds and lakes around every bend, rivers along the roads, a cooler climate, and a quieter, smaller community. Preferring solace to the company of others, Jen can usually be found gardening, swimming, mushroom hunting, or taking long walks with her dog, Mossy, and her Partner. She continues to create a quiet, regenerative landscape around herself in which she can live, work, and play while living within her values.
Zach
Webmaster / Mailing List Whiz
