Lisa Pike Sheehy '83 to Receive New Canaan Country School's 2022 Alumni Award

“We look forward to welcoming Lisa back to campus to have her share her experience and wisdom with our students,” said Head of School Aaron Cooper. The Alumni Award is presented each year to honor an alumna or alumnus who has made a positive contribution to the world by living with impact and purpose.

In her twentieth year at Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and gear company, Lisa is currently working as a Senior Environmental and Philanthropic Advisor. Previously, she served as vice president of Environmental Activism, in which she built and oversaw the implementation of the company’s international environmental grants program which gave away over 20 million last year to grassroots environmental organizations worldwide. Additionally, she led Patagonia’s multi-year campaigns to publicize environmental issues and mobilize customers. Her work focused on increasing environmental activism for Patagonia employees and customers through close partnership with the film, marketing and media teams. 

Sheehy attended Country School from sixth through ninth grades, and has vivid memories of tapping the maple trees for syrup, hiking the Appalachian Trail on the Outdoor Action Trip, and most importantly, the sense of community.

 

“When I look back I’m really struck by how much the school felt like a community.  The teachers, kids and parents were supportive of us and each other,” she reflected.  

Going forward she sought to replicate that strong sense of community in her other educational and professional experiences, right up to her current tenure at Patagonia.  After Country School, Sheehy attended Miss Porter’s, Colorado College and received her master’s in environmental policy from Tufts, in 1997.

Summers spent in the Jackson Hole valley early in life, ignited a passion for wilderness and wild open spaces.  In her first job after college, Sheehy returned to the region that inspired her, working with the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance on public lands and wildlife protection.  She then worked for the Sierra Club in Washington, DC and with the Environmental Grantmakers Association in New York City for five years before joining Patagonia, located in coastal Ventura, CA.   

 

“Patagonia is in business to save our home planet and I’ve been fortunate to work for a company and with colleagues aligned with my values in a desire to fight for people and the planet,“ said Sheehy.

 

Sheehy lives in Montecito, California with her daughter, Alice, and son, Truett.