Employee Spotlight – Lisa Noriega

 

Sustainability Data Analyst for the Yale Office of Sustainability

 

 

I manage Yale’s sustainability data and report progress on the goals we set out to achieve in the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 through written reports (such as the annual Sustainability Progress Report) and data visualizations (which can be found on the Yale Sustainability Data Hub). Additionally, I manage Yale’s biennial Sustainability Survey and Transportation Survey, data from which help us shape

sustainability programming at Yale and complete our annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions inventory, respectively. Finally, I oversee Yale’s biennial AASHE STARS report, which allows us to benchmark our sustainability progress publicly and compare Yale to peer institutions.

 

 

I like that parts of my work are analytically challenging and require great attention to accuracy—I feel that my capacity for not only understanding complex information but synthesizing it into something that everyone can grasp has exponentially increased. Additionally, working with the Office of Sustainability team has been an absolute delight—their passion for sustainability motivates and heartens me daily, and their understanding of the need to build relationships to do this work is inspirational. I am extremely lucky to be part of this team and, as the youngest of the office, learn from some of the best.

 

 

I would say my job affects my lifestyle significantly, but not negatively. I am originally from California, so I moved to the East Coast for this job without knowing anyone here. It was a culture shock going from the slow, free-flowing pace of California-based sustainability work to an environment that’s more fast-paced and has higher stakes. My lifestyle used to revolve around being outside, even when working—now, I spend most of my time outside of work staying warm inside at home with my cat Oliver, cooking, and dancing to Selena.

 

 

Fun question! When I entered college at 17, I was a Studio Art major hoping to become the female Salvador Dali with my off-beat surrealist paintings that converge social and political commentary, the human body, and nature. As a general education requirement for my Bachelor’s, I had to take an introductory Environmental Science course, through which I learned what climate change is and how it’s affecting people, especially underserved communities. At first in denial, I soon learned the damage humans have done to this planet is irreversible, making it clear that we are going to need to come up with some creative solutions to continue surviving on Earth, and I had an ethical obligation to be part of that.

 

 

To me, it isn’t about taking steps or obtaining certain degrees or skills. It’s about compassion. When you learn of what’s happening across the world environmentally—people losing their lives and homes to natural disasters, farmers losing their livelihoods to agricultural degradation and climate shifts, etc.—and it doesn’t sit well, you’ve done the hardest part. When that compassion drives you to be part of the solution, the only other thing you need to do is commit to learning.

 

 

Compassion and commitment to learning.

 

 

If I could go back to the very beginning of my career, I wouldn’t change a thing—my path was chosen for me, really, by decades of decisions that have harmed the planet. Once I learned about the state of our climate, I knew it was my responsibility as a polluter on this earth to join this field.

 

 

YLNG has given me a chance to reconnect with my Hispanic heritage and remediate the culture erasure my family experienced when moving from Mexico to the United States. My contributions as a member, so far, have all been in the name of bringing awareness to the sustainability contributions of Hispanic and Latino environmentalists, as well as the injustices they face. As a co-chair, I hope to continue contributing to YLNG in this way, as well as represent second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans who want to connect with their roots.