Meet Our Team

Patrick Vrana

President & CEO

A native of Atlanta and a marketing/ad guy with close to 15 years brand development experience, Patrick has an entrepreneurial spirit and a true interest in the environment. He also grew up watching his father as an active yet mostly quiet member of the community giving back in his way most recently by flying for Angel Flight. A pilot, cyclist and sailor, Patrick spent most of his youth and university summers on the coast of North Carolina where environmental concern is a way of life, not the exception.

Certified as a LEED AP by the USGBC, he has built homes with super high-efficiency HVAC systems, low VOC paint, dual-flush toilets, tankless water heaters and Energy Star appliances to name a few key environmental criteria. He did all of the space planning and design work, purchasing, financing and management of the builds. He worked on the account side at BBDO managing and developing strategies for various clients, most notably for Cingular Wireless during their brand launch. He was responsible for over $70MM of Cingular's annual advertising budget while at BBDO. Prior to starting Local Planet he has been an independent marketing and web consultant with clients largely in the high-end interiors and architecture realm. When not working, he can be found on the bike trying to maintain balance in his life (and as a Cat 2 cyclist training just enough to try not to get his butt whupped by the pros, usually unsuccessfully) and spending time with his lovely (and patient) fiancée at their home in Virginia-Highland.

Daniel Backhaus

Strategy, Content, Commerce and Partnerships

Dan has close to 15 years of experience in the field of information technology, brand development, and interactive marketing, working with brands that include Bayer AG, BMW, Daimler-Benz, Deutsche Bank, H&R Block and Wachovia. His diverse background includes service in our nation’s military, and stints at Xerox, TSYS, several technology start-ups and leading interactive agencies in Europe and the United States.

Originally from Germany, he has lived and worked in Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece and England before settling in Atlanta in 2005. A PMI-certified Project Management Professional and a Six Sigma greenbelt, his experience includes sales, client services, interactive strategy, project and program management, SEO/SEM and Web Analytics.

Dan holds a BS in Business Management from Arizona State University and an MBA with concentration in international business from the European University in Montreux, Switzerland.

The parent of three young children, Dan’s interest in environmental sustainability issues stems from concerns over their future well-being and his international background have given him an enlightened perspective on the challenges we face and the approaches other countries and societies have taken in addressing them. Dan’s involvement with Local Planet from the site’s inception allows him to combine this concern for the environment with his interests in technology, his love of writing, and expertise in interactive marketing, brand development and strategy. He also decided at the beginning of the year to quit cutting his hair for a while, which explains the impressive mullet he is currently sporting.

Butler Raines

Technical Architect

A chemist, an educator and an entrepreneur, Butler Raines is currently the lead web developer for Local Planet. This undertaking is a culmination of his life experiences, passions and talents. Butler, a chemist by training, received his Master’s in analytical chemistry and nanotechnology from the University of Florida. During this time he discovered his passion to be an educator. Combining both his talents in chemistry and education, Butler launched MyChemistryTutor.com, a community that helps tens of thousands of students each month solve chemistry homework questions for free.

His experiences in the design, programming, optimization and marketing of his own web properties have given him valuable insight into the growth and development of digital and social properties for companies in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas and San Francisco. Still passionate about education, Butler teaches high school chemistry at a premier private school in Atlanta. Currently, he is helping his department implement an environmental sustainability theme throughout the science vertical curriculum. He also participated in the school’s initiative to plant its first organic vegetable garden.

Lewis Perkins

Contributing Expert

A long-time advocate for “doing the right thing,” Lewis Perkins is a champion for sustainability – personally and professionally. Perkins works with companies both big and small on creating a programs and awareness for environmental and social initiatives. Over the past several years, Perkins led the "green" charge as director of sustainable strategies for The Mohawk Group, a leading carpet manufacturer and commercial division of Mohawk Industries, Perkins draws on this passion to help advance the company’s mission of environmental and social responsibility.

Coupling strong leadership skills with his fervent commitment to ensuring a positive future for the world around us, he helps drive awareness for the importance of sustainable design through strategic marketing communications for all of his customers through partnerships with philanthropic organizations such as Global Green USA and the US Green Building Council. Prior to his current consulting projects, he served with The Clean Air Campaign. Perkins holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing and strategy with a focus on social responsibility from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington & Lee University. Perkins has been active with various foundations including GOAL, an organization committed to promoting self-esteem, self-awareness and respect for individual differences in girls and young women, Men Stopping Violence, and The Captain Planet Foundation. He has also been named to the advisory board for Sustainable Life Media where he joins an assembly of thought leaders.

In 2009, Perkins was honored as one of three speakers in Forbes Magazine Green Visionary Series. He was also named as Man of the Year by Chayil Inc., an organization which works with women leaving domestic violence situations. You can follow his corporate sustainability insight on his Fastcompany.com blog "Semantics of Sustainability." And his Mother always reminds him to mention that he is an Eagle Scout!

Angela Braden

Contributing Editor

Angela Braden has researched and reported lifestyle subjects for a decade. Her passion for all things wellness-related and Green has fueled hundreds of publications, locally, national and international, like Women’s Health and Fitness, Harper’s Bazaar, and Town and Country. She has studied Ayurvedic medicine and yoga under Deepak Chopra, earning continuing education credits in the medical field, accredited by the state of California.

Angela founded and edits the health e-zine, Angelic Indulgence, a portal for discovering unlimited ways to create a wellness and sustainability lifestyle that feels indulgent. Her zero-deprivation, healthy-lifestyle model has also garnered her a position as a Lifestyle Expert on TBS Movie and a Makeover (clips and columns can be viewed on the e-zine), and on the Turner Broadcasting website.

Julia LeRoy

Contributing Expert

Julia LeRoy is a nationally renowned chef and rising star in the Atlanta food scene. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Julia most recently was the Chef at the Bookhouse Pub, where she instituted Locavore Mondays, a weekly menu using exclusively locally sourced, seasonal ingredients to showcase how delicious simple, sustainably cuisine can be. She left in May of 2010 to pursue her goal of opening a restaurant.

Prior to the Bookhouse, Julia worked with Atlanta celebrity chef Günter Seeger at his namesake restaurant Seeger’s. During her time with Günter she developed her dedication to working with local farmers and artisan food producers and built many of the relationships that she maintains diligently to this day.

Besides writing for Local Planet and serving as our in-house expert for locally sourced, sustainable food, Julia also consults with other chefs on how to institute sustainable practices. In addition she is currently collaborating on a line of frozen yogurt products and preparing to open her own restaurant. Yeah, she’s got a lot on her plate.

Buddy

Chief Cliche

Buddy is a well-known expert on canine issues and a respected authority on all things bacon. His primary role at Local Planet is to help us test locally-sourced, natural foods, keep the FedEx guy from entering the door (he has a thing about people in uniforms), and barking at squirrels.

From the Alabama boxer rescue, he is not a native of Atlanta but loves the city. In his mid-thirties (remember to divide by 7), he has become somewhat more sedate and less impulsive. Buddy has only limited formal education (his disdain for what he calls fancy book-learnin’ is readily apparent) but his time on the streets – and a short stint in the slammer (hey, we don’t judge) – has taught him a lot about life and people. An Internet company without a dog just wouldn't make sense so although the truth is that we share an office with his owner, we still like to think of him as part of the team.