Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
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Lissa Radke
Title: Lake Superior Binational Forum Coordinator
Office Location: SOEI 2nd Floor
Phone: (715) 682-1489
Email: lradke@northland.edu
Education
- B.S. degree in Environmental Education with a minor in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois-Champaign
Profile
For 10 years she served as the Director of Outreach and Education for the largest nonprofit recycling and waste management processing center in Illinois. Her accomplishments were recognized with a statewide award for developing comprehensive waste management education programs and media campaigns, many of which were used in communities and schools throughout Illinois. After moving to northern Wisconsin in 1991, Lissa worked for 9 years as a Waste Management Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and helped local municipalities in 14 northern counties develop recycling and waste reduction education programs. Under a five-year appointment as the staff writer for the WDNR¹s Waste Management Bureau, she wrote newsletters, factsheets, and reports for a team of 28 people across the state. Lissa worked with University of Wisconsin-Extension office in Bayfield County for several years as a Community Economic and Natural Resources Development Educator, a job she dearly loved, working with lake associations, shoreline property owners, zoning administrators, and others to protect riparian areas, lakes, and rivers. She¹s served as the U.S. Secretariat for the Lake Superior Binational Forum for 11 years, a postion that has been administered through continuous financial support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 21 years. A passion for writing and research led her to a position as a staff writer for a county newspaper, and five years as the Managing Editor of a tourism and feature magazine in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
For 11 years, I have been a volunteer reader for the annual Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award for the tradtional book award. I estimate that during that time I've read over 500 nonfiction books nominated for the award!
Favorite thing to do in Ashland
In spare time, Lissa writes children¹s stories about environmental issues, and gets outside to inline skate, cross country ski, bike, canoe, and savor the beaches of Lake Superior.
