By Sandi Mulconry

A trail run, while good for your own well-being, rarely has the power to affect others. But when Garnie Nygren ’05 and her father took a run through the woods near their farmhouse residence on the outskirts of Atlanta in 1999 and noticed clear-cutting on a field adjacent to theirs, it set in motion a response that would transform the lives of hundreds, and someday soon maybe thousands, of people. That run was the genesis of Serenbe, a built environment that the Today show describes as “a utopia” and Fast Company calls “a countryside oasis that resembles a fancier, modern-day version of Little House on the Prairie.” But ask Nygren, co-owner, with her father, and director of operations, and she’ll tell you that Serenbe (an amalgam of the words “serene” and “being”) is better than all that—because it’s real.