About

About TheoEco

TheoEco documents and brings to light ecological and human rights struggles, while researching the economic and theological entanglements that influence them, particularly in the United States, Nepal, and other regions with celebrated environmental importance.

TheoEco Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in the United States in Miami, Florida. Founded by Steve Richards and his daughter Bobbie Richards in 2015, TheoEco has focused on situations as varied as earthquake relief in Nepal and sea level rise in South Florida. Much of its resources are focused on the institute’s documentaries and research initiatives. Each of its projects contributes and helps define the ongoing evolution of its mission:

So FLo FLoods. Few places are more entangled with their environment than South Florida. Sea level rise, the Everglades, hurricane risks – the list is endless. So Flo Floods focuses attention on the role flooding plays both on the ecology and the economics of the area and is a cautionary tale for coastal communities worldwide. It also paints a picture of human justice inequities that are always at the center of such stories. For more about So FLo FLoods click here.

Piles of Bricks. The story of Nepal, and the Kathmandu Valley in particular, in the aftermath of the mega-earthquakes of 2015 is at the core of TheoEco’s DNA. It is the first situation that we focused on. What we found wasn’t just a story of economics impacted by an environmental disaster, but also a human rights struggle with theology at its core: a Christian minority struggling for religious freedoms in the face of a Hindu nationalist majority. For more about Piles of Bricks click here.

Economics in the Gospels. This study and video course is at the heart of TheoEco and demonstrates the intersection of ecology, economics, and theology on the Earth. In this case, we have the theological foundation of the Capitalist world at the center of economic entanglements that are leading to global ecological devastation. Would we expect to see a study of the Gospels have the potential to aid the environment? Probably not. But that is exactly what TheoEco is about. For more about Economics in the Gospels click here.

THEOECO'S MANAGERS

STEVE RICHARDS, MANAGING DIRECTOR

Steve Richards co-founded TheoEco Institute with his daughter Bobbie in the spring of 2015 as a way to further his work at Yale Divinity School, and before. His interest in how Christianity and capitalism were intertwined led to a study beginning before his and his daughter’s arrival in New Haven: Economics in the Gospels.

An environmentalist at heart, Richards is deeply concerned with how theology and economics impact the environment, which led to TheoEco Institute after a stint at Yale (courtesy of the Divinity School) where they allowed him to study economics and theology from 2014 to 2016. Through a study of all kinds of economics including behavioral, theological, environmental, and biological, he was able to trace Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” and see that there was a whole lot going on via Christianity during the Enlightenment – including Smith’s landmark book The Wealth of Nations and the founding of the United States, both in 1776.

If we like, we can think of capitalism as a gift from the Father to his favorite species (humans) to help the poor (it’s not clear what Mother Nature thought of the idea). Unfortunately, like most stories where man is given something big (the Garden of Eden comes to mind), humans tend to screw things up.

The impact of our screwup this time, though, is massive, with the biggest impact on Earth’s environmental history since the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. This time the mass extinctions are caused by us, our economics, and our theologies.

TheoEco was neither Steve nor Bobbie’s idea. That stroke of uncommon believing belongs to the Very Reverend Andrew McGowan, Dean of Berkeley Divinity School, The Episcopal Seminary at Yale.

Richards is a proud Hurricane from the University of Miami, as well as Babson College where he earned his MBA. He is currently a visiting professor at the National Theological College in Kathmandu.

For his filmography and more click here.

BOBBIE RICHARDS

Bobbie Richards is a co-founder and the youngest director of TheoEco Institute. Traveling to Kathmandu with her father Steve Richards in the fall of 2015, she experienced first-hand the aftermath of Nepal’s earthquakes and the rebuilding efforts. A native of Miami Beach who grew up frequently visiting the Everglades, Bobbie is especially concerned with environmental issues in South Florida. With the assistance of her father, she founded and ran a small organization during elementary school called Kids 4 the Everglades (K4TE) which partnered with the Sierra Club to take her classmates on excursions to the Everglades. Though now defunct, K4TE is indicative of Bobbie's early passion for the Everglades and her drive to organize and educate others on its behalf. Bobbie has co-produced all of TheoEco’s documentaries and also acts as cameraperson, writer, and director of many of TheoEco’s productions.

For her filmography and more click here.

AMIT NEPALI

Amit Nepali, our principal associate in Kathmandu, is an indispensable member of TheoEco as one can’t help but notice as the credits roll on any of TheoEco's Nepal Project documentaries. He has served as associate producer, editor, music composer, guide, translator, and more. Steve and Bobbie Richards met Amit, as well as his father Reverend Shyam Nepali and their family, through Reverend Lewis Lew of the Anglican Diocese in Singapore during their first days in Kathmandu in September 2015. Amit provides great insight and perspective as to what is going on in Nepal. He is an active member of the Golgotha Church in Nepal serving the youth and the choir. Amit also works with the Anglican Church in Nepal as office manager and with the Jubal Music Ministry, where his vision is to spread the Gospel throughout the world via audio and video.

For his filmography and more click here.

THEOECO'S DIRECTORS

TERI ABRAHAM

Born in Chicago and relocated at a young age to Miami, Teri hails from a family deeply rooted in moral, religious, and social responsibility. Through the charitable organization ALSAC, the Abrahams were ground-floor participants in the creation and implementation of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1950s. Today, the Abraham Family Foundation supports orphanages in Lebanon and Haiti, Haitian farm-shares, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami, Camillus House, Overtown Youth Center, Zoo Miami, Miami Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, YMCA, the Humane Society of Miami, the American Red Cross, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and too many others to mention. An attorney by education, Teri currently works in Coral Gables as a real estate broker, title agent, investor, and property manager. She is a lifelong children’s and animal rights advocate and promoter of social responsibility. Her dream is to one day become Zen enough to drive through South Florida traffic without cursing. After all, nobody is perfect.

DR. ALOK MEHTA

Alok, hailing from Jaipur, India, brings a unique perspective to TheoEco’s work in the Himalayan region and the United States, having emigrated to the States in the 1980s. He and Steve Richards are former co-workers and collaborators beginning in the mid-80s with a technology company Richards co-founded outside of Boston. Alok earned his PhD in computer science and currently works at a hedge fund in Chicago. He is also a proud father of three and a World Champion Racquetball player, most recently representing team India in the World Championships in July of 2016.