About Us

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OUR TEAM

Founder

Karen Kalmek
Founder

As an artist and entrepreneur in Chicago, Karen has studied in South Africa and Israel, worked in Fortune 500 environments, and started several businesses before building Green Home Chicago. Here, she works to bring together social impact and sustainability in ways that can do the most good at the local level. She’s a strong believer in community and education, especially when it comes to personal impact. And she’s got a knack for discovering the vision that lies dormant within all her new clients.

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Bill Homer
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Originally an engineer at a Fortune 50 technology company, Bill is the driving force behind Green Home Chicago’s ability to execute with consistent standards of quality and reliability. His love of interior design started early, with a childhood in the home furnishings business and a brief divergence into architecture and design in college. He’s a rare combination of artistic vision and scientific pragmatism.

Designer

Kaitlin Hiestand
Designer

Kaitlin, our lead designer, joined Green Home Chicago in 2015 with a BS in Interior and Environmental Design from Illinois State University. She’s spent her life witnessing the value of sustainable business practices first-hand through education and world travel. Kaitlin’s specialty is finding unique opportunities to improve functional design through sustainability. She loves creating layouts that reflect the adventurous nature of our clients.