Environmental Communications Officer

Saralyn Hodgkin

"I know that I’m really passionate about these things, but I don’t know how they fit together.” This is what Saralyn Hodgkin wrote in her unconventional letter to the University of Calgary when applying for entry into the master’s program in Environmental Design. In Saralyn’s letter, these ‘things’ are sustainable community development, socially responsible business, and social entrepreneurship. Saralyn wanted to pursue a master’s degree where she could study these three concepts and their inter-relationship. "A lot of people told me those concepts don’t mesh…but I ignored them. I was passionate about what I was doing.”

Eight months later, she had completed and defended her master’s by illustrating how all three concepts were already successfully working together in the business world. Today Saralyn’s passion has translated into a job with an international non-profit organization that incorporates all three concepts. The Natural Step’s mission is to encourage change by making the concept of sustainability easier to understand and therefore easier to implement for everybody, from municipalities to private companies. As the program and communications manager, Saralyn spends much of her time communicating her organization’s goals, which is exactly what she loves to do. "I wake up every morning and I want to go to work. I want to go to work because the people are great, because my mandate is great, because what I do is great.” Currently, she’s driving the development of the organization’s new e-learning module.

This web-based communication tool encourages people to practise sustainability and shows them how to go about doing it. Saralyn’s other responsibilities include attending conferences, crafting fundraising proposals, and responding to requests for information. She never tires of getting the word out: "I like bringing the energy up in the room, and I like talking about what we do, who we are, or about the e-learning module.” But the number of opportunities to talk about sustainability can sometimes be overwhelming. "There are so many opportunities, you can’t possibly do it all. Sometimes you have to say no.” And because it’s a non-profit organization, there are financial and time limitations on how many people Saralyn can reach with her message. But these limitations have only made her a more effective communicator. "We are all leaders in sustainability. It takes the individual to recycle a bottle at home. It takes the individual getting involved with a local organization. It takes the individual to understand what the message means… It takes the individual, whoever they are!”