Lisa Vanlint

Hi everyone,

I’d like to introduce myself in person to all 14,000 of you, but without a teleporter, I’ll stick to the blog. I’m Lisa Vanlint, the new Energy Steward for UHN. After just a few weeks here I’ve learned so much about this amazing place and the decade of greening that has already happened, it’s dizzying. Actually, the size is too. When I think I’ve seen it all, another wing magically appears.

Here’s a few things about me in no particular order: I have a red belt in Tae-Kwan-Do, make the best sage stuffing ever (verified by completely unbiased friends and family), bike to work (no hurricanes), ran 4 half marathons and one full marathon, am a scrabble shark, dragonboat competitively, garden incessantly, can figure out the restaurant bill without a calculator, do yoga despite a comedic lack of flexibility, and my top motivator to walk the talk is our young son.

I was bitten by the green bug in high school a few years (OK, decades) ago. David Suzuki spoke at the Environmental Youth Alliance Conference about big worldwide stuff and small daily life stuff and brought the two together. Though there was some doom & gloom, he gave us so many practical ideas, I left inspired and empowered. I immediately set up a composter in my parents’ backyard. They were less thrilled at the time, but they humoured me. When I left home for University of Toronto, they faithfully tended that composter and made me proud!

Later, as the Project Coordinator for the Greening Initiative at St. Michael’s Hospital, I loved working with staff on waste reduction, energy conservation, sustainable transportation and environmental awareness. I found so many people wanted to do the right thing but sometimes weren’t sure how. Flash-forward through countless info sessions with staff, new and old, and the message gets through. I’m raring to do that with Ed and Kady here at UHN, and can’t wait to hear from YOU!

All the best,

Lisa