About Me

Greetings and welcome! I’m Lisa Gilchrist, a strong believer in people working together to create connections. One of my life philosophies is to help people and communities to shine. By strengthening individuals and communities, I truly believe we create a world with a place for everyone, a world with lasting change.

Why am I here? It’s simple: to help the social sector, government, and businesses committed to social enterprise in building strategies for your future, enhancing partnerships, and strengthening your community engagement approaches.

I’ve been working in the field of community development for my entire career – this September marks 21 years. I can’t believe where the time has gone and all the amazing business owners, social profit agencies, volunteers and team members with whom I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate. Your passion, dedication, and positive outlook fuel my creative energy and my commitment to supporting you in community development work.

My career path includes business development within the non-profit sector, leadership with federal and municipal governments, community engagement work with provincial governments, and facilitating events and learning sessions. In 2018, I completed a Masters in Community and Economic Development through Penn State. This was an amazing learning experience which developed my understanding of community consultation techniques, development approaches, leadership, and resiliency. I can’t wait to share these ideas with you and to help you enhance your own community development work.

My husband and I live on an acreage in Alberta Canada which is perfect for hikes in the summer and cross-county skiing in the winter. My two stepsons are in their early twenties and are busy learning and launching their careers. I love food - cooking it and eating it; reading - anything and everything; and I'm a newbie triathlete who needed to learn to swim first. We share our beautiful bit of nature with two horses, three barn cats who are planning to take over the world, and two Labrador Retrievers who genuinely think they are the ones in charge.

Please join me on this journey. Keep shining!

Lisa