Spring 2024 Sustainability Speaker Series| Event

SUSTAINABILITY SPEAKER SERIES

Join the Lake Erie College Sustainability Committee (LECSC) for the Sustainability Speaker Series for Spring 2022. These events give the LEC campus community a chance to learn more about the natural resources around Northeast Ohio and find ways to get involved.

February 13, 2024

Margaret Sondey| LEC Alumna Class of 1977

Topic: What in the Blue Blazes?  The Buckeye Trail — right on LEC’s doorstep!

Margaret Sondey, is an avid hiker. Her most recent hiking achievement was completing the Buckeye Trail Association's 14th Annual E.G.G.S. 40-mile Hike (“Emma Grandma Gatewood Solstice Hike”) in less than 24 hours in June of 2023. This hiking challenge is an event that includes camping and meals, held in honor of Ohioan Emma (Grandma) Gatewood, the first female to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. To stay in shape Sondey hikes throughout the northeast Ohio Lake Metroparks system. Twice a week she joins her hiking crew to train 10-12 miles each time, supplemented with a quarter-mile hill 10 times a day. Sondey will share from her experiences on and off the trail. Along with the physical workouts, hikers like Sondey gain an appreciation and respect in the preservation of the natural habitat for native animals and plants. A 1977 alumna from LEC, she holds an MA in Organizational Communication and Management from Ohio University.

March 19, 2024

Eddie Lagucki

Topic: Native plants of Ohio 

Eddie Lagucki is a forward-thinking, environmental leader with a passion for flora and environmental education. He has an extensive conservation biology skill set and diversified academic background. Lagucki is currently the Lead Horticulturist at historical Lantern Court Estate in Kirtland, Ohio. His accolades in this field include ISA Certified Arborist, published entomology researcher, and international conservation consultant. He graduated from Colorado State University in 2018 with a Masters degree in Conservation Leadership (M.S.). Eddie has experience in horticulture, entomology, arboriculture, silviculture, landscaping & grounds maintenance, leadership, collaborative conservation, communications, and photography.

April 16, 2024

Heather Vanantino

Topic: Current State of Sustainability in the Private Sector 

Heather Vanantino is a passionate sustainability leader and a proven change agent with significant responsibility and achievement in the technical, operational and strategic aspects of sustainability across the corporate and governmental sectors. Her work includes collaboration through employee and community engagement to cultivate a culture and system within organizations that is responsible, innovative and responsive in the face of global scale and interconnected challenges. Vanantino is Assistant Director - Energy Management & Sustainability at Case Western Reserve University and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin.