love your work
We enjoy guiding you down the complicated yet rewarding path to a truly good home.
Austin Trautman
founder & Details geek
Austin founded vali homes, llc development company and sustainability consultancy to provide Phoenix with affordable in-fill housing focused on contemporary design with high energy efficiency. Austin wants to live in a world where people flock to increasingly dynamic, comfortable and fulfilling urban centers. As general instigator, he has been lauded by a wide variety of luminaries including Phoenix NPR affiliate, KJZZ; Inhabitat; Residential Architect; Arizona Horizon; American Institute of Architects; Builder Magazine, and the front page of the Arizona Republic.
Austin believes the best solutions are a mix of relentless scientific discovery and improvement guided by what the natural world has already figured out. He draws on widely varied experiences combined with specific knowledge to ensure his next collaboration is his best yet.
Lucas Johnson
CHIEF BUILDING NERD
Lucas holds degrees in Physicochemical Biology, Environmental Science, and Business Management. He has contributed as a scientist, builder, utility program manager, and materials supplier to deliver over 10,000 high performance building projects ranging from deep energy retrofits of large commercial buildings to Net Zero Passive Houses with natural materials. He began this work to reduce our collective carbon impact, but now focuses equally on resilience to a changing climate while pushing for the right to comfortable, healthy, and affordable homes as a core element of social justice.
The uniting theme of his career is turning BS into Building Science. As a society, we have too long accepted less bad solutions when we can have truly good buildings for the same cost. The ingredients create the results!
As the Chief Building Nerd at Vali Homes, Lucas collaborates with homeowners, developers, designers, and builders to make their projects an enjoyable and smart investment by providing scientific knowledge and specifications during the design phase followed by installation guidance and verification during the construction phase.
Shari Oliver
BRAND MANAGER & MEDIA MAVEN
Shari joined vali homes to extend the reach of vali’s values out further to encourage others to live healthier lives for themselves and the planet. Shari has worked in digital creation for over a decade. Her degrees in English Literature and Communication have supported her personal education in content creation from blogging to marketing strategies. Her enthusiasm and personal drive have assisted many organizations and brands in copywriting, social media management, photography, videography, and market analysis. She thrives in collaborative online communities that create places of safety and learning for all people.
Shari believes wholeheartedly that finding people like you is crucial for continued personal growth and collective wellness. Her passion as a digital mediator is turning a companies ideas and values into engaging content to grow communities and turn energy into action.
Matthew Salenger
architect & sense maker
Matthew is an artist, architect, and construction fanatic. He was raised on the small island of Maui, finished his education in Britain, and has (mostly) lived in Arizona since 1993. Matthew studied figure painting and architecture for 10 years, and graduated with honors from the Architectural Association of London in 1999. Over the past 20 years he has created a number of complex and highly visible projects around the United States acquiring over 25 design awards. Deeply driven to find real-world and repeatable solutions for regenerative construction, Matthew studies Biomimicry, Biophilia, Integral Theory, and Sociology. In addition to pushing the boundaries of progressive construction, his volunteer work is dedicated to improving social and economic conditions, including his co-founding of the Urban Choices Group in 2012 and the Citizens for a Vibrant Apache Corridor group in 2014, both dedicated to improving thriving downtown areas in Arizona. Matthew is a member of the AIA, and member/ambassador of the ILFI. .
Rejoice in good building.
It doesn’t cost more but it is a whole lot better.