Staff
Milenko Matanovic, Executive Director
Milenko is a community builder and a visual artist with a professional career and international reputation spanning 40 years. As founding director of Pomegranate Center, he has created an arena in which art, public participation and community betterment converge.
Gathering Places
Milenko facilitates the conception and construction of open-air gathering places. He involves community members in all phases of these projects, from generation of initial concept, through construction and stewardship. He has also collaborated with artist James Hubbell in leading architecture students from four countries in creating parks in China, Russia, Mexico and the United States.
Community-Based Planning
Milenko is a skilled facilitator helping people of divergent views solve common problems. He has designed and facilitated strategic planning sessions, leadership summits, and design workshops for dozens of communities regionally, nationally and internationally. His work at Pomegranate Center has brought people and communities together to create and identify cultural, environmental and social priorities in community development. His services have been used by the US Department of Energy, Washington State government agencies, municipal governments in USA and Canada, neighborhood groups and non-profits.
Education
Milenko is a popular public speaker and has made presentations at numerous events and conferences throughout the USA and Canada, including keynotes for Downtown Revitalization Training Institute, Association of Washington Cities Annual Conference, Livable Communities Coalition, Conference on Leadership and Innovation for Urban Sustainability, University of Wisconsin, WI, University of Washington, Urban Land Institute, and the American Institute of Architects. He is an author of three books. The most recent, Multiple Victories: Pomegranate Center’s Art of Creating Community-Built Gathering Places, describes his philosophy and working methods.
Awards
Milenko is an honorary professor of the Vladivostok Polytechnic University. In 2005 he was honored with the national Home Magazine Shelter Award for his caring and imaginative works to bolster the social well-being of neighborhoods nationwide. He received the 1997 Leadership Award from the Evergreen State Society in Washington State and, in 1981, was selected as one of the 50 future leaders of Wisconsin.
Duncan Chalmers, Project Director
As Project Director with Pomegranate Center, Duncan Chalmers contributes to gathering places and public art projects by developing design drawings, budgets, construction details and schedules. He interacts with clients, designers, contractors, city officials, suppliers and community members, serving as point person for questions on construction schedules and other project details.
A 1992 University of Cincinnati graduate with a degree in Architecture, Duncan has worked in various positions in commercial construction including Project Manager, Project Superintendent, Owner’s Representative, Estimator and Cost Engineer. He has worked on a wide range of projects including Seahawks Stadium (Seattle, WA), The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH), and myriad small to mid-size office buildings and renovations.
He has developed an expertise in sustainable design and construction, particularly in the creation of green roofs. He has studied model buildings and communities in Denmark and Sweden, has completed the Sustainable Building Adviser Certificate Program at Seattle Central Community College, and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional.