Meet The Team: Lisa Amerongen – Managing Director

Meet some of the wonderful individuals behind We Animals in our ‘Meet the Team’ Q&A series. This month we spoke with our new Managing Director, Lisa Amerongen.

Lisa joined the We Animals team in late 2023 and has worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade, holding leadership roles in communications, marketing, and organizational strategy and operations at for-purpose organizations. We’re delighted to have Lisa’s expertise, wit, and humour on the team. Read on to learn more about Lisa!

Hometown and where I live now

I grew up in Fort McMurray, Alberta. In Canada, that fact usually gets a few eyebrow raises from non-Fort Mac-ers. Now I live in Toronto, which usually gets a few eye-rolls from non-Torontonians!

Favourite movie/book (or both)

Answering this question is impossible, so I’ll share two book recommendations.

 

I recently read The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler and really enjoyed it. If you love animals, speculative fiction, discussions on sentience, and pondering the future of AI, then you’ll love this!

 

The second is The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, a must-read for anyone who lives on this planet. It’s fiction, but barely.

What I love about working at We Animals

The people. I know, what a trite answer (and an ironic one, considering our clients are animals. I love the animals, too)!

 

Despite the difficult subject matter we work with, the We Animals team is made up of optimistic people who bring kindness, curiosity, and humour to the workplace. Team members always seem to find the silver lining, know when to share a well-timed joke, or send just the right .gif. After years in the nonprofit workforce, I’ve learned to seek out and cherish people who bring authenticity and levity to the workplace. The We Animals team does both!

Favourite snack

I’m always scrounging for a sweet treat, but I never have anything in the house. This is not because I don’t buy treats—I do. I buy them, and then I eat them. So when I’m craving sugar, I have to make do with what’s available in the baking cupboard.

I’ve taken to assembling small jars of (vegan) chocolate chips, raisins, and almonds or pecans. Mix them up, grab a handful, and voilà! A deconstructed chocolate bar for the discerning palette. It’s very sophisticated; there’s nothing desperate or sad about it at all.

A little about my rescue animal(s)

Oh, any excuse to talk about the love of my life! Bandit is a rescue dog from Texas. We picked him up in Buffalo the weekend before the borders shut down and the pandemic hit Ontario. Of course, we had no idea it would happen, but the timing couldn’t have been better. My partner and I were so lucky to have him in our lives throughout the lockdown (and now).

As much as I respected animals before, having him in my life has given me much more empathy and understanding for non-human animals. He helped spark my pursuit to find work in animal advocacy.

Like all of us, Bandit has his quirks and the name he came with fits. He brings an outsized attitude to most interactions. He loves to explore the city and go for long walks in our local parks. Bandit has a super gentle side to him and is the best morning cuddler you could ever imagine!

Bandit, if you’re reading this, I love you; you’re perfect; never change. 

If I were an animal (other than a human), I would be… because…

A crow! For many reasons, but for the purpose of this Q&A:

They are amazing. First, did you know that crows can count out loud? They are also treasure hunters and gift-givers. It’s something we have in common! I love the thrill of minor treasure hunting. Whether at a thrift store or on a beach, I always look for unique or out-of-place objects.

As a child, I would go metal detecting in Edmonton with my grandfather, and in the summers, I would spend hours beachcombing with my mom at the lake where we would go camping. I’ve been absentmindedly “looking for treasure” (as my partner refers to the habit) for years, but it took me years to realize how much joy it brings me.

I’ve got a small collection of found items, including marbles, broken pottery, fossils, cicada exoskeletons, feathers, shells, sea glass, and jewellery pieces. It’s not about their monetary value; it’s the searching and discovery I enjoy. Drowning out the bustle of every day to focus on the sand, river bed, grass, or forest floor is a peaceful way to spend time.

I’ve been reading about mudlarking on the Thames and have become obsessed with it, as the We Animals team can attest. I’ve gone out to search the shores of Lake Ontario, but it just isn’t the same!

Guilty pleasure

Clothing. Since adolescence, I’ve loved dressing up for any occasion and was always partial to vintage and thrift finds (see: treasure-hunting). Despite this, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I turned my attention to the negative impacts of the fashion industry and began my conscious consumption journey.

Now, I advocate for sustainable, ethical, and compassionate consumption. I either swap, borrow, reuse, thrift, mend, or make do without when I can. If I have to buy something first-hand, I look for ethically manufactured items. (This is a great time to plug my colleague Eva’s fantastic vegan store, The Vegan Shoppe!) I also run a monthly clothing swap in Toronto, which gives me access to clothing while participating in the sharing economy.

P.S. If you’re interested in sustainable fashion advocacy, may I suggest Remake’s 90-Day #NoNewClothes challenge?

If I had a superpower, it would be…

To allow people (myself included) to understand where others are coming from. I imagine some psychic power that could provide a glimpse into another’s lived experience and current context to learn what informs their ideologies, assumptions, biases, and values. Then, I would channel that knowledge into empathy.

It might not result in the peace-for-all-beings utopia that I’m dreaming of (these sorts of best-intention wishes rarely do), and some significant privacy concerns are involved. But, given the state of the world, I think it’s worth a shot.

Alt answer: the power to regenerate any chocolate bar after I’ve eaten it.

Something quirky about me that people might not know

I was a professional improviser for many years! Beginning in high school, I performed and taught improv across Canada. I even ran a comedy theatre in Toronto for a while. Fun!

One We Animals image that has really stuck with me and why

This image is just so incongruous that, for a moment, it seems funny. A real “How did the chickens cross the road?” moment. But when you ask, “How did all those chickens get into that car?” You find that these hens were minutes away from being gassed. Rescuers came to their aid, filled two cars with 140 hens, and safely transported them to sanctuaries.

These particular hens were bred in Australia for unnaturally high egg production, a common industry practice that leads to many health issues. At 12 to 18 months old, farms typically deem layer hens “spent” and send them to slaughter to become low-grade meat. The average lifespan of a healthy hen is between eight and ten years.

 

This photo reminds me of the selfless work done to document and protect the lives of non-human individuals. It’s one of the amazing parts of working at We Animals; amongst the many images of abuse, negligence, and apathy, we also see stories of courage, hope, and progress.

Connect with me if…

You want to talk about nonprofit management. I managed to avoid focusing too much on work in this Q&A, but I love what I do and love to talk to others about the ins and outs of running a for-purpose organization!