Meet LYLA HOLLIS
Meet LYLA HOLLIS
Clean Energy Specialist
lyla.hollis@groundworkcenter.org | (231) 941-6584 ext 703
As Groundwork’s Clean Energy Specialist, Lyla works primarily to bring more solar energy to northwest Lower Michigan. “I talk with people in township government and the public to help them understand how solar system implementation works and why it’s so important that we move away from fossil fuels,” she says. That work, those one-to-one conversations and town hall meetings, have Lyla traversing northern Michigan two-lanes day and night. “It’s something I’m really passionate about, so it’s easy for me to put in the hours.”
Lyla also works on the effort to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline. In addition to threatening the waters of the Mackinac Straits (pictured above) and broader Great Lakes, the pipeline also contributes meaningfully to warming the planet by providing oil for combustion and the resulting CO2 generation..
The environmental principles that Lyla witnessed in action during a year studying in Costa Rica changed her career course. “I really admired how they value the land and their sustainable agriculture and farm-to-table approaches. After seeing that, I changed my major to sustainability because I wanted to advocate for the environment and be a good steward.”
The most rewarding part of her Groundwork position so far? “Creating connections in the community. On Mackinac Island I recently took part in a march against Line 5 with 200 people, and it was so rewarding standing with people of like-mind and shared values!”