Lisa C Roberts

a bit about me…

Mine has been a circuitous path, from chemistry to philosophy of science, cabinets of curiosity to museums, knowledge to narrative. It’s a train of thought driven by an interest in how people make meaning—the stories we tell to explain the world, the taxonomies of knowledge we create to organize its parts, the way we live our lives as a result: our values, our causes, why we do what we do.

My stories, my causes, often seem to involve nature. Making people care. I think that’s because the natural world embodies our ultimate interdependence. If there is one thing in which every person has a shared interest, it is the health of our planet.

So how does this translate into Action and Work? For me, it’s about education. Communication. Interpreting our worlds, finding common ground where it exists and navigating difference where it doesn’t. I’m especially interested in alternative forms of learning and teaching—art, technology, storytelling, indigenous and other unconventional modes of knowledge—that can broaden experience and help us think critically about What Matters. My work has taken me from Chicago’s museums to the parks of Casablanca. In 2006 I founded naturalia, inc., where I’ve managed a whole range of projects that have allowed me to experiment with unorthodox ways of learning.

As for other (pre)occupations……I love to write, and have authored dozens of articles, one book, more labels than I can count, and some odd little poems. I teach and talk, and have served on numerous professional, civic and community organizations over the years. I collect science books, field guides, encyclopedias and museologies; my home is its own wunderkammer of specimens and oddities. I swim, bike, read all sorts of things, and travel far and wide. I’m fairly fluent in Spanish and can fake my way through French. Despite my intense advocacy for all things green, however, I do not garden. Except for basil. And I make a mean pesto.…..

To see my Official curriculum vita, please click here.