Meet our Design Director

Mick Hilleary graduated from the University of Kansas in 1986 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design. He began his career as an Exhibit Designer at Design South creating tradeshow displays, most notably a traveling theatre exhibit for IBM. Next, he served as Design Director at Design Centre where he created exhibits for Viacom, Cessna, Learjet and MTV, among others. In 1993, Mick became the Curator of Exhibits at the Sedgwick County Zoo in charge of all animal habitats and visitor experiences. In 1999, Mick founded Total Habitat, primarily as a zoo exhibit design and construction company, but soon branched out to include Natural Swimming Pools and Ponds, with the first built in 2000. Since then, Total Habitat Natural Pools have gained international attention and have been featured in The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Better Homes and Gardens, and The Wall Street Journal, just to name a few. In 2002, Mick wrote the how-to eBook, Natural Swimming Pools & Ponds: THE TOTAL GUIDE, which has since sold thousands of copies and is now in its third edition. For over 20 years, Mick has been a Design Consultant, lending his expertise to many projects, companies and individuals, including Al Gore, Tom Ford, Disney Animal Kingdom and Bass Pro Shops. Mick has lectured at a number of conferences and events over the years and served as an Adjunct Professor in the design department at Friends University from 1997 - 1999. Outside of work, Mick enjoys poetry and water sports, is a proud grandfather, singer-songwriter and musician. 

Meet our DESIGN TEAM

Sophia Elniff graduated from the University of Kansas in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design. Her senior thesis project about Unstructured Nature Play was awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant and received the 2013 KUCTC Innovation Award.

After graduation, Sophia joined Total Habitat as a designer and project manager, cross-training in all aspects of the design and construction process. At Total Habitat her work was split between exhibit design and natural swimming pool design. In 2018 and 2019, Sophia guest lectured on interactive exhibit design for the Olathe North 21st Century Academy and served as a professional mentor for the Battle of the Brains STEM exhibit design competition. Interviews with Sophia about natural pools have been featured on the Paloola Podcast as well as in an article in Better Homes and Gardens. In 2021, she co-wrote the newest edition of the how-to ebook on natural pools, Natural Swimming Pools & Ponds: THE TOTAL GUIDE and in 2023, created The Natural Pool Academy including Natural Pools: The Essential Online Course. 

Sophia is currently a Senior Designer at Habitat Discovery, specializing in the design and construction of animal exhibits, water features and visitor experiences.  Outside of work, Sophia is a singer-songwriter in a band, plays roller derby (was named "Rookie of the Year" in 2019 by the Kansas City Roller Warriors), and is the proud mom to sons, Rasmus and Obi. ​
A specialist in quality naturalistic living displays, Allan Sutherland has held career staff positions within Exhibits Departments at the National Aquarium In Baltimore (14 years: 1996-2010) as well as the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (12 years: 1984-1996). These endeavors included all aspects of the visualization and building of highly sophisticated and very functional aquatic, botanical, and live animal displays, representing a diverse and comprehensive range of terrestrial and aquatic species.

Three major projects for which he provided start-to-finish habitat design; artistic direction and personal hands-on fabrication; were selected for AZA’s Top Honor Exhibit Awards in 1992 and in 2002, and AZA's Significant Achievement Award in 2014: the recipients were JUNGLE TRAILS at Cincinnati Zoo, AUSTRALIA-WILD EXTREMES , and BLACKTIP REEF at National Aquarium respectively.

Allan's goal with every exhibit design challenge is to "creatively strike the balance of optimally meeting the needs for the triad of principle clients: the ANIMALS, the VISITORS, and the KEEPERS who all must successfully engage with the space in their various and specific ways". Like Mick, Allan uses his experiences as a former zoo staff member to create designs that are as functional and practical as they are beautiful!

Outside of work, Allan is a father of two boys and a prolific artist, focusing primarily on wildlife subjects.