Intro Spotlight: Lindsey Jacques
In keeping with our tradition of interviewing new team members, we asked our new Intern, Lindsey, a few questions so that you all can get to know her!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am originally from Appleton, Wisconsin, and I attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison for my undergraduate degree where I majored in both Economics and Environmental Studies. During my time at Madison, I interned for State Senator Jennifer Shilling for a year, and I learned to really love policy and the legislative process. I also was part of a small team that planned the 2018 Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference and was able to grow my interest in sustainability. I moved to San Diego for law school after graduating, and I will be a 2L at the University of San Diego School of Law in the fall. My legal interests include land use, real estate, and environmental law, and I’m involved in the Women’s Law Caucus and the Real Estate and Land Use Society at USD. In my free time I love baking, hiking, playing cards, and exploring different parts of San Diego.
How did you become interested in Circulate San Diego?
I learned about Circulate San Diego through my advisor at USD who recommended I look into the organization when discussing my interests and future goals. I discovered that Circulate blends many of my interests including sustainable development along with environmental and social issues. As a fan of walking and public transport as a means of transit, the mobility focus of Circulate was a new, relatable, and interesting way of looking at these issues. I am very excited to be working for a group so committed to creating a positive impact on the community and the lives of San Diegans through smart, sustainable solutions and policy.
What’s your most memorable face palm moment? Or what is your biggest achievement to date? Choose one.
My biggest achievement at the moment was planning the 2018 Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference. I was part of a group of five students and one professor that planned all details of the conference in less than four months. During the planning I was able to learn not only about planning low waste and carbon neutral events, but also about different strategies businesses take in implementing sustainability measures. We ran a successful carbon netural conference that was attended by over 200 business professionals. During the conference I led two breakout sessions, including one involving women in sustainability. The experience was very rewarding as I was able to see the hard work we put in and what I had learned come to fruition. Knowing I enabled many business professionals to learn about implementing sustainability into a business model and potentially made Wisconsin a more environmentally conscious and sustainability orientated state is one of my greatest acheivements so far.
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
If I could choose anyone as a mentor, I would definitely choose Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is a strong female who is not afraid to speak her truth and stand up for what is right and fair. As a woman in a male dominated field, I think it’s extremely important to have strong willed female mentors to offer guidance and help navigate gender discrimination and inequality. The importance of seeing a woman in positions of power cannot be overstated. As a mentor I think RBG would give great advice about confidence and how to overcome any obstacles that might stand in the way of goals. I would love to learn from her experiences and hear her stories, and I think she would be a lot of fun to spend time with.
