It is with warm remembrances that we announce the departure of our Director, Carolyn Whittaker from Firelight. Carolyn has decided to step down at this moment to focus on her family. We want to take this opportunity to reflect on the impact she has had on Firelight, our staff, and the many communities she has worked with over the past 10 years. 

Carolyn is one of the founding members of Firelight and served as our Ecology Team Lead. Carolyn chose her field of work as an ecologist because she has a deep love of science and the natural world; she feels strongly that her path is through environmental work. When asked about her favourite part of working for Firelight Carolyn expressed:

“It’s a place that’s deep in my heart. Especially working out in the environment with community knowledge holders. In Western science you often don’t get that really deep, long understanding and knowledge of the natural environment. There’s a great depth of understanding that community experts bring forward that gives a whole new understanding to the land. That’s probably the part of my job that I enjoy the most.”

Perhaps the achievement Carolyn feels most proud of during her time at Firelight, has been celebrating the successes in communities. Since 2016, Carolyn has been the Chair of Firelight’s Social Return program.

Carolyn is looking forward to a new chapter in her life, new adventures, and exploring new opportunities wherever the road may lead. As she reflected on her time at Firelight she said, “I think of myself as a very collaborative person and having the opportunity to collaborate with a team of people that are so skilled and that have such strong capacity has been a real privilege for me.” 

Thank you for all of your hard work and contribution to Firelight over the past 10 years Carolyn, you will be greatly missed!