About Us
About Heidi “Birdie” Karlsson, M.A.
EcoTheos™ was founded by Heidi Karlsson, an international strategic advisor and social scientist working at the intersection of ecology, theology, ethics, culture, and emerging technology.
Heidi brings more than twenty years of international experience in sustainability, environmental governance, conflict resolution, and cross-cultural dialogue. She spent six years directing a global multi-stakeholder forum, and her work has taken her across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Caribbean, including formative professional experience with UNESCO in Paris.
She holds an M.A. in Dispute Resolution from Southern Methodist University and bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Michigan State University. She has also completed executive education in AI and business strategy at MIT.
In 2026 she completed the Joint Diploma in Integral Ecology, “From Laudato Si’ to Laudate Deum,” offered by the Laudato Si’ Alliance with the Pontifical Gregorian University and other Pontifical Universities of Rome.
Her interests include ecotheology, integral ecology, creation care, environmental ethics, land and animal stewardship, and the ways human values shape our choices about nature and technology.
At the center of her work is a simple question:
How do we care well for the living world entrusted to us, and what values should guide us as our tools grow more powerful?
Why EcoTheos™
Facts matter. Science matters. Policy matters. Yet people ultimately decide through values, relationships, culture, identity, experience, and meaning. EcoTheos™ works in that space.
Lasting stewardship begins not with telling people what to protect, but with helping them rediscover why the living world matters to them in the first place.
The land beneath us is more than property. Animals are more than assets. Nature is more than scenery. Stewardship is more than maintenance. It is a relationship.
The same is true of the technologies we build. They are shaped by human values, so they should be shaped with them in view.
Our goal is not only awareness but formation: helping communities live out care for creation as an expression of their deepest commitments to justice, responsibility, and love of neighbor.
1. Living Systems & Stewardship Creation care, integral ecology, and land, horse, and human stewardship.
- Land, Horse & Human Stewardship. Horse properties are living systems where pastures, soil, water, biodiversity, animals, peple, heritage, and economics all interact. We help farms, estates, and conservation-minded landowners care for these elements together, for healthier landscapes, healthier animals, and the long-term legacy of a place.
- Care for Creation Across Traditions. Workshops and resources for congregations, temples, mosques, synagogues, schools, interfaith groups, and community organizations. Each community explores environmental responsibility through its own texts, practices, and teachings, drawing on traditions of stewardship, integral ecology (including Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum), and contemporary ecotheology.
2. Human Values, Culture & Emerging Technology Pluralistic, human-centered approaches to AI, ethics, and governance.
- Faith, Ethics & AI. Advisory input, facilitated dialogue, and executive briefings that help technology developers and organizations understand diverse faith and moral perspectives, and help faith communities engage AI developers with confidence.
- Cross-Cultural & Interfaith Mediation. Drawing on Heidi’s background in dispute resolution to build understanding where values differ.
EcoTheos™ is not a technical AI lab, legal or regulatory firm, or engineering firm. Where technical testing is needed, we work with partner experts.