John D. Ivanko is an author, entrepreneur, and writer. He is the co-owner and innkeeper of the award-winning Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, a small business completely powered by wind and solar energy generated on site. He co-authored Farmstead Chef, the award-winning ECOpreneuring and Rural Renaissance with his wife, Lisa Kivirist, all published by New Society Publishers. He is also the co-author, with Maya Ajmera, of six award-winning children's books from Charlesbridge Publishers, including To Be a Kid, To Be An Artist and Be My Neighbor. A portion of the proceeds for the children's books benefit the Global Fund for Children.
Ivanko started out working at Leo Burnet Advertising, USA, in Chicago for just under three years before he departed on April 1, 1992, to travel around the world for a year, taking photographs and keeping notes on the places he visited and people he met. In 1997, Ivanko started Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, a two-bedroom inn created on a 5.5-acre farm in Browntown, Wisconsin, that he and his wife farm organically and is focused on sustainability. The Inn received the 2004 Energy Star Small Business Network Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Vegetarian breakfasts are vegetarian and prepared mostly with ingredients sourced on site.
Life
John D. Ivanko is married to Lisa C. Kivirist. Together they operate Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast. With Lisa Kivirst, John Ivanko co-authored Farmstead Chef, ECOpreneuring and Rural Renaissance. He's also the co-author with Maya Ajmera, of six multicultural children's books, most award-winning and all featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Published works
The Least Imperfect Path: A Global Journal for the Future By John D. Ivanko. Paradigm Press 1996.
Come Out and Play By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
To be a Kid By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
Back to School By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2001.
Animal Friends By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2002.
Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life By John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. New Society 2004.
To be an Artist By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2004.
Be My Neighbor By Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko. Charlesbridge 2004.
Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity By John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. Paradigm Press 2008.
ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet before Profits By John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. New Society 2008.
Farmstead Chef By John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. New Society 2011.
Interviews and speeches
John Ivanko Interview with Larry Meiller on , 4/2/2009
