Like many of today’s architects and designers, Lona Rerick wasn’t taught material health in school. She had some exposure to sustainable design in college at the University of Oregon, which seeded her interest, but it wasn’t until a lecture she attended as a young practicing architect that she was exposed to the idea of materials as nutrients. The talk was presented by none other than William McDonough, one of the pioneers behind Cradle to Cradle Design, and it set Lona on an exciting new path.

Now, nearly any exploration into material health will eventually lead back to Lona. She helped lead the creation of the AIA Materials Pledge, is the co-chair of the mindful MATERIALS board, a member of the Living Future Material Health technical advisory group, and a founding co-leader of the Portland Materials Transparency Collaborative. She was also part of the group that created the standardized format for the health product declaration (HPD). And today, Lona serves as an architect and the director of regenerative design materials at Perkins&Will, where she leads the firm’s efforts to specify materials that meet the five impact areas: human health, climate health, ecosystem health, social health + equity and circular economy.

In this episode, Lona talks about the early days of material transparency, how it has evolved and what she’s paying attention to know.