ISLAND began because of Brad and Amanda Kik‘s strong and shared belief that the arts and sustainable living are intertwined and essential to an enriching community.
Amanda spent both her undergraduate and graduate years at California Institute of the Arts and as an active participant in the art community in Los Angeles before moving to Northern Michigan. She quickly learned that art is a vital part of any community, no matter the size or cultural composition. Amanda’s strong desire to contribute to the cultural community of Northern Michigan, coupled with her commitment to the development of new work, led her to the beginnings of ISLAND.
Brad worked for five years as a community organizer both during and after college at Michigan State University. Through his work organizing communities in four states around environmental and consumer rights policy, he learned two important lessons: first, that there is deep and widespread concern (amongst what many consider an apathetic public) about the state of our communities and our place in the world; and second, that policy shift battles are necessary but cannot effect real change without the cultural shift that creates them.
After leaving that work Brad spent seven months in New Zealand working with a rainforest sanctuary and sustainable living organization, and saw the power of intensive individual experience. Realizing that design is the province of everyone, not just architects and other professionals, and understanding the power of attraction of pastoral, rural living, Brad sought to combine the two.
Brad and Amanda met on the fourth of July, 2004, and realized that each was complementary to the other, not only in their vision for an energetic new non-profit organization, but in life. They began ISLAND in May and were married in August of 2005.
The last 15 of Brad Kik’s 32 years have been a jumbled mess of media arts, graphic design, environmental activism, community organizing, carpentry, study of conservation and homesteading skills, music, ecology, permaculture, architecture and working as a volunteer coordinator/possum killer in New Zealand. The last 3 years have been a slightly more focused mess of falling in love with Amanda and, with her, co-founding and directing ISLAND.
Amanda spent both her undergraduate and graduate years at California Institute of the Arts and as an active participant in the art community in Los Angeles before moving to Northern Michigan. She quickly learned that art is a vital part of any community, no matter the size or cultural composition. Amanda's strong desire to contribute to the cultural community of Northern Michigan, coupled with her commitment to the development of new work, led her to create ISLAND with her husband, Brad.
Misty's life currently is filled with raising a four year
old and juggling two jobs on top of or in conjunction
with trying to save the earth. The first blank that she
filled in for "what I want to be when I grow up" was
artist then doctor then acupuncturist then botanist
then farmer; currently she is a full time cook, mom and yoga instructor. To some degree Misty feels she
has incorporated all of those blanks into what it is she
does with her time. 
Marty has committed the past ten years of his life to building sustainable, local food systems in Michigan. A product of a traditional farming community in southeast Michigan, Marty broke away from his agrarian roots to pursue a BS in chemical engineering from Michigan State and a PhD, also in chemical engineering, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Disillusioned by the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry he was trained to join, he traveled to India in 1998 and used some of that biotechnology training to support campaigns against genetic engineering in agriculture. He has worked as a researcher with the 
Michelle Ferrarese and her partner Marty Heller have just settled on a 20-acre farm in southern Leelanau County, where they plan to start a market garden and 
Susan Fawcett works full-time as an artist and musician. She is a member of
the 
John Lindenmayer is a Lansing-based environmental activist and multi-media artist. After receiving a BFA in photography from the University of Michigan, John moved to Lansing where he spent several years as a community organizer with Clean Water Action (CWA). In addition to fundraising for CWA, John worked to educate and engage citizens on water quality campaigns, organized volunteers and developed campaign materials. John has also spent time as a community organizer with the Michigan Consumer Federation and Texas Campaign for the Environment.
Hilary Wilson is has devoted her life to the support of the arts and cultural entities, issues of global health and human rights, and the welfare of our biosphere. Contributing to her world view was an upbringing that included both extensive international travel and the privilege of a permanent residence within the ecologically diverse Pacific Northwest. An early interest in music and art lead her to studies which culminated in degree from CalArts (BFA 1997). A career in development / philanthropy ensued, and she has served in both paid and volunteer capacities in civic government, a private foundation, and several nongovernmental organizations. She is currently employed by Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, supporting their continuing efforts in conservation and preservation of fragile habitats, and increasing public awareness for wildlife and environmental issues. She lives in a house that resembles a barn with a dog, cat, six chickens and a human named Gerrit.
Stephanie Mills is an author, lecturer and longtime bioregionalist. Her books include Tough Little Beauties, Epicurean Simplicity, and In Service of the Wild.
Caitlin Strokosch has 10 years of arts management experience in marketing,
development, communications, and program management. Most notably, she
served as General Manager of Bella Voce, one of the country’s premiere
professional chamber choirs, and as Executive Director of CUBE, a new
music ensemble based in Chicago. Strokosch has lectured at Columbia
College Chicago, Roosevelt University, Brown University, Roger Williams
University, and the Rhode Island School of Design on a range of topics,
from grantwriting to contemporary music to intersections of art and
architecture. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in music performance from
Columbia College Chicago and a Master’s in musicology from Roosevelt
University, where her research focused on music as a tool for building
communities of resistance and social dissent. She moved to Rhode Island
in 2002 as a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at Brown University. She
continues her creative work as a songwriter, poet and writer, and in
2005 she was an artist-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation.
Holly Wren Spaulding is a writer, educator, community activist and a seasonal farm worker at Meadowlark Farm CSA in Leelanau County. She was a co-founding member of Sweetwater Alliance, a direct action organization formed to challeng the mining of Michigan groundwater by Nestle Corporation. Holly has traveled extensively to learn about and document social movements in Chiapas, Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa. Her writing has appeared in The Ecologist, Clamor, Earth First! Journal, Z Magazine, The New Internationalist, and in the book We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism (Verso Press, 2003). She worked on and also appears in the feature documentary FLOW: For Love of Water (Dir. Irena Salina), which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2008. Her first collection of poems is due out in April from Michigan Cooperative Press. She is currently at work on a book about grassroots movements to defend the global water commons for AK Press. She teaches creative writing at Northwestern Michigan College.
Authenticity: Everything looks like what it is. There is no doublespeak and no euphemisms. Implicit in authenticity is respect for oneself, our fellow beings, and the land.
Local First: Community self-reliance is dependent, interestingly, on individual interdependence. Our organization promotes local first, an idea that supports local business and community. We are proud of where we live, and show this by spending our money (both US dollars and Bay Bucks) locally: to support the economy and community; to encourage variety; to receive personal service; and maintain the unique identity of Northwest Lower Michigan.
Frugality: We do not "consume solutions" when we can do it as well ourselves. Frugality is an essential component of good design.
Approach zero waste: We approach zero waste by not buying products that are over-packaged, reusing materials, and recycling those materials that are past usability.
Compassion: Everything and everyone has a place. Compassion means awareness and empathy without pity. Compassion is the highest value we can strive for. Implicit in compassion is wonder--contagious curiosity about the world and our fellows in it.
Empiricism: While we maintain great respect for those who have gone before us, we will make decisions based on experience, experiments, and our unique situation. We find what works, at this time, in this place, for these people.