Welcome to my website and blog! This initial blog will tell you a bit about myself, my history and what work I love to engage with.
I’ve forever been enthralled by sustainability. Roll the reel back about 20 years and you’ll find me, covered in mud, in my parents’ backyard, searching for fossils of plants and insects. 5 years later, I’m voluntarily giving presentations to my elementary-school peers about the importance of recycling and the plight of endangered species while planting trees on the weekend (I promise that I’m fun at parties). Growing up on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, filled me with a perspective on human effects on the environment that few get to experience daily, on a visceral level. I can recall the most bizarre objects beaching themselves on the pebbly waterfront- everything from tampon applicators to a Fischer-Price kitchen set for children. Of course, I knew this wasn’t natural and that management systems must be failing if items were regularly washing up on my small-town’s shores from one of the biggest lakes in the world.
I think both my natural affinity for problem-solving coupled with my fascination with economic development, equity and environmental integrity have largely informed my professional career. I’ve been able to explore regional economic impacts of urban agriculture, design financial models for food hubs, and execute communication strategies for academic research networks in order to reach practitioners in a meaningful way. I’ve had opportunities to understand Canadian and provincial legislation and policy that affects local, regional and international economic development, fisheries, forestry, Indigenous peoples’ rights and food system equity. Working with communities to compile environmental history, using two-eyed seeing approaches to understand climate change, bares striking similarities to using the study of Gothic cathedrals and pilgrimages to understand spread of technology throughout Europe. I have also been able to work on projects to reveal the economic and social inefficiencies of Canada’s addiction treatment system and the effects of capacity development programs on self-determination in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The common thread between the various and seemingly diverse projects and positions I’ve held is that they encompass a systems view- one that takes in account the interconnectedness of the components of human life and the natural world that we are a part of.
I have a passion for research, policy, communications and using holistic approaches to understand the world around us and subsequently design solutions. I currently hold an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics and am set to defend my Master of Environmental Studies thesis in April 2021. If you are looking for help with a progressive management, research or policy project, you’ve found your girl.
Maggie Mills 