Serenbe Stories

Jaimee Seabury of GreenRow joins Serenbe Stories to talk design, sustainability, and the transformation of one of Serenbe’s most beloved spaces. In this episode, Jaimee shares her path in the design world, from working with iconic lifestyle brands to helping shape GreenRow, Williams-Sonoma’s sustainable home brand built around the idea that beautiful spaces can also be thoughtfully made.

The conversation also explores Jaimee’s longt...

Tia Morrill and Jose Nava are the creative duo behind Levie, a boutique branding and design agency known for blending storytelling, design, and placemaking for global clients. But their Serenbe story began long before they ever called it home, nearly a decade ago, when they first discovered the community on CBS Sunday Morning and couldn’t quite shake the impression it left.

At the time, they were building a life in Miami, growing th...

Dr. Mary Alice Mina is a dermatologist and entrepreneur whose approach to skin health blends clinical expertise with a broader, lifestyle-driven perspective. After years of building a successful, procedure-focused practice in Midtown Atlanta, her connection to Serenbe, first through weekend visits with her family, gradually inspired a shift toward a more intentional way of living and working.

On this episode of Serenbe Stories, Stev...

From Maryland’s Eastern Shore to Serenbe, Darby Pollock’s story is about finding the balance between wide-open space and true community. After one visit in early 2020, she and her family made the move, drawn to a place where nature, connection, and everyday life come together.

Today, Darby is the force behind Soul Barn at Serenbe, a reimagined equestrian space that goes far beyond riding. What was once a traditional stable is now a ...

From global finance to Serenbe’s creative scene, Gary Cassis is redefining what semi-retirement can look like. A native New Yorker with a lifelong love of jazz, Gary spent years building a career in banking and international finance that took him across the world, all while his passion for music and the arts quietly stayed with him.

Now at Serenbe, that passion has come full circle. In this episode, Garnie and Monica sit down with G...

Long before she ever set foot in Serenbe, Brandi Whitney knew it as a place where farm-to-table wasn’t just a trend, but a way of life. After years spent in culinary school, working in kitchens, and building her own restaurant, her focus began to shift, pulling her beyond the plate and toward the source itself.

That curiosity grew into a deeper calling to work the land, connect with the soil, and play a more hands-on role in feeding...

Christina Trifero didn’t exactly plan her way to Serenbe, she followed a feeling she couldn’t ignore. After years working in the fast-paced startup worlds of San Francisco and New York, something started to shift. So she made a bold decision: she sold everything and went looking for a life that felt more aligned, more grounded, and more connected to herself.

That search led her to Serenbe, and after just one visit, she knew she had ...

In Serenbe, we often joke about raising “free-range kids”, but it speaks to something real: a childhood shaped by time outdoors, independence, and a close-knit community. When The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt was released last year, it prompted a national conversation around screen time and youth mental health. Many parents here in Serenbe started to take a more intentional look at how their children engage with technology.

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In 2002, before Serenbe had a name or a plan, Tim and Lindsey Mosby came down for a weekend at Steve and Marie Nygren’s bed-and-breakfast and never quite left it behind. Living in Candler Park at the time, they were drawn to the slower pace, took a leap on eight acres at a blind auction, and became part of Serenbe in its earliest, most unformed days.

In this episode of Serenbe Stories, we sit down with Tim and Lindsey to reflect on ...

Serenbe is often described as a place that feels different the moment you arrive.

Last spring, the community marked 20 years since its groundbreaking, when that first shovel hit the ground and vision started to become reality. We celebrated with a big resident party – and it felt exactly the way a Serenbe party should: outside in nature on our Grange Green, live music in the air, kids running around, and conversations happening ever...

,Season 13 of Serenbe Stories premieres Monday, March 16th. Over and over again, we hear the same thing: there's just something different about Serenbe. Is it the thoughtfully designed streets, the miles of trails and protected forests, the fact that you can walk to dinner or to yoga or to the weekly farmer's market? Sure, those things are certainly part of the magic. But if we're being honest, what really makes Sere...

In this final episode of the Start In Your Own Backyard mini-series, Steve Nygren reflects on the journey of building Serenbe. What started out as an unlikely idea, sparked in a moment of fear and panic is now a living, breathing community where nature and people are woven back together.

You’ll hear from neighbors like Gil Mathis, who traded a corporate finance career for a more authentic life rooted in connection, and Gigi Wil...

A lot of what we’ve been exploring on this podcast comes back to an idea known as placemaking: the art of designing spaces that feel meaningful, welcoming, and rooted in community. At its core, it’s about creating places where people truly want to gather and belong.

At Serenbe, that spirit comes alive every day. Visitors might arrive for goat yoga or a stroll through the nature trails and end up moving. A coffee-and-ceramics studio,...

Food, shelter, walkable streets, even access to nature are all vital ingredients for a thriving community. But on their own, they aren’t quite enough. To truly flourish, people also need beauty, inspiration, and creativity woven into daily life. That’s where the arts come in.

In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why music, theater, sculpture, literature, and public art are so vitally important. You’ll...

Once upon a time, community wasn’t something you had to schedule, swipe for, or search out in a Facebook group. It was simply part of daily life. In this episode, Steve Nygren explores the loneliness epidemic, how our modern world has stripped away built-in community, and what it will take to bring it back.

He dives into how thoughtful design choices like walkable streets, welcoming front porches, and all-important “third places” ca...

Most of us know that a sedentary, stress-filled lifestyle can take a heavy toll on our wellbeing. Yet when communities are designed for cars instead of people, when fast food is easier to find than fresh produce, and when green space feels totally out of reach, it becomes increasingly apparent that healthy choices are about so much more than willpower.

In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why true wel...

What makes a place feel magnetic? Why do some neighborhoods and buildings leave you feeling inspired, while others feel sterile and disconnected? In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, we explore how the built environment shapes our sense of joy, connection, and belonging.

You’ll hear from neurologist Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, who explains how our brains respond to beauty and why elements like coherence, fascination, and homines...

Access to nature isn’t just a luxury. It's essential for our health, our well-being, and the resilience of our communities. But what happens when the fields, forests, and streams we once knew are paved over by highways, strip malls, and suburban sprawl?

In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores our deep connection to (and disconnection from) the natural world. From the science of nature deficit disord...

Start In Your Own Backyard is a mini-series about how the choices we make, both big and small, can transform the world around us. For host Steve Nygren, this is personal. Two decades ago, while running through the woods on his beloved family farm, he spotted bulldozers toppling trees for what he feared was another soulless suburban development. That sobering moment sparked a question that changed the course of his life: Isn’t there...