The following blog post was written by Spark-Y Executive Director, Zach Robinson:
Dear Spark-Y Fam,
Join me in celebrating and wishing congratulations to our former Development Director, Elizabeth Logas-Lindstrom as she takes the Spark-Y spirit to her new role as the University of Minnesota's Recycling Coordinator where she will be on a mission to move the needle for the campus to zero waste!
Almost exactly three years ago, as a young woman recently out of undergraduate school, Lizzy started as our Executive Assistant. Through her passion, dedication, and eagerness to learn what it means to an entrepreneurial employee, I watched her grow into not only a leader for the organization, but a leader in our community at large.
Lizzy engaging with youth at Crossroads Elementary fish fry and end-of-year Spark-Y celebration.
A staff position at Spark-Y has been compared to a street level graduate degree. I am quite prepared to posit that it is actually more effective. Our organization is an autonomous millennial-heavy environment, with work culture that is based on character and results. Lizzy, like other team members, balance social/emotional skills of developing relationships with youth and school personnel, show excellence in the technical ability and acumen in STEM and sustainability, and finally conduct their contract relationships with the highest honor and professional standards. All of this is done so that the youth in our programs can have authentic and real, life-changing experiences - and they do, in ever growing numbers.
As our organization continues to evolve, we have found that students become interns, interns become staff members, and our staff move on from Spark-Y to become high-impact community and business leaders and employees of their own. This is a natural extension, and a central theme of our charitable work - one that often goes less mentioned than our work with schools and interns and at risk youth.
What could be more needed in the world now than an empowered young woman that will pioneer our continued transformation into an equitable, just, and sustainable society?
Lizzy receiving a check from Mississippi Market as a Positive Change recipient.
She will of course be missed on the daily, but she leaves behind an incredible opportunity for the next young leader at Spark-Y to emerge and continue to help us help youth transform themselves, their future, and our community for generations to come.
Congratulations Lizzy, we could not be more excited to see what you do next!
Zach Robinson
Executive Director
Spark-Y