Lara Ellis

As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Lara is eager to scale the conservation work of ALUS Canada by finding effective ways to strengthen environmental protection and grow community sustainability and resilience. She is currently focused on the development of new regulated and unregulated ecosystem services markets and growing support for green infrastructure on agricultural lands. Prior to joining ALUS in August 2015, Lara was Program Director at the Ivey Foundation, where she helped develop the Economy and Environment Program, and worked on the Conserving Canada’s Forests Program in her earlier capacity as Program Officer. Prior to this, Lara campaigned for many years to protect wilderness and promote sustainable land use at Nature Canada and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Wildlands League. Lara has two degrees from McGill University, a B.A. in English Literature and a Master’s of Management (McGill-McConnell Program).  In addition to her work with the Natural Capital Lab, she is the Chair of Upstream, an organization that seeks to improve the health of Canadians by addressing the greatest influences on our health, including education, early childhood development, housing, nutrition and the wider environment. Lara is proud to have previously served as a Board Member of the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network. She is based in Toronto, Canada.