About Lisa Bardack

After many years of work and study in the environmental field, I have chosen to focus on writing for a better world because it is profoundly evident to me that the human species must develop a mutually-enhancing relationship to the extraordinary planet on which we reside. We need to recognize that the Earth is alive and in need of critical repair. We need to change our ways of living on the Earth, to cultivate and not contaminate, to nurture and not destroy. It is my hope that my words will serve to evoke changes in heart and action in the context of our everyday lives for the sake of a safe and viable future – for the sake of the children, human and other-than-human, present and future, who deserve to inherit and experience an inspiring and promising world.

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The following is my professional background:

Lisa Bardack began her career in video and audio post-production, working for almost a decade in production management and marketing. She later served as a media associate with the Benton Foundation which worked to bring together government, nonprofit and corporate leaders to explore and develop the use of communications technologies in solving social problems. Lisa entered the field of environmental advocacy at The Wilderness Society. After working there in program development and grant-writing, she played a pivotal role organizing a retreat for over 40 national Green Group environmental organization directors and vice presidents to explore organization values and how to implement these values into mission and message.

Lisa also served as U.S. Coordinator for the Earth Charter, an international civil society document that defines the necessary principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society. She served as liaison for the Earth Charter at the first preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held at the United Nations, as well as at additional WSSD preparatory meetings in the national non-profit community.

As a consultant, Lisa worked with the president of the Institute for Ethics and Meaning to crystallize ideas and create an initial proposal for the first national Earth Charter Community Summits. She also helped the Center for Respect of Life and Environment to develop a fundraising strategy for the Earth Charter International Campaign, and also organized a public event in Washington, DC, featuring David Crosby as part of the Earth Charter conference in April 2000.

After moving to Baltimore, Maryland to start a family, Lisa directed the Renaissance Summer Program at the Living Classrooms Foundation, an academic enrichment program for Baltimore County Title I Public School students that provided hands-on, experiential learning activities in science, math, social studies and language arts. As a volunteer, she assisted the Living Classrooms Foundation’s Frederick Douglas After School Program and Parks and People Foundation’s KidsGrow Program to gain experience working with at-risk youth in programs that focus on ecology and the arts. She also assisted Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and the Irvine Nature Center’s Community T.I.E.S. program, which involved students, teachers and members of the community working together to improve the environment on school grounds.