Environmental Psychology Specialist Joins Light House – January 2016

Environmental Psychology Specialist Joins Light House – January 2016

We are pleased to announce that Kaitlyn Gillis has joined Light House to support our mission-driven work and consulting services related to health and wellbeing.

Kaitlyn brings a personal passion for health and wellness in the built environment, specifically around the intersection of technological, business, and human factors. Through her work and academic pursuits she strives to advance current practices to the next level through the application of sustainable engineering, biophilic design and environmental psychology approaches.

Kaitlyn comes to us from Arup Associates in London, United Kingdom, where she was a Wellbeing and Sustainability Specialist. Her time at Arup involved working with the new WELL Building Standard and other sustainability initiatives throughout the company. Prior to her work at Arup, Kaitlyn worked in Nanaimo as a Real Estate Energy Efficiency Coordinator as part of the Real Estate Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) and as Sustainability Coordinator with exp in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Kaitlyn’s educational background includes a degree in Building Engineering, a Master of Science in Architecture, and most recently a Master of Science in Environmental Psychology, where she focused her research on the restorative potential of environments incorporating biophilic design attributes.

Passionate about giving back to the community and planet, Kaitlyn has been involved with various organizations in a volunteer capacity, including the International Living Future Institute as a Living Building Challenge Volunteer Ambassador, part of the Education Committee of the Canada Green Building Council Atlantic Chapter, and as a Placement Manager for Engineers Without Borders United Kingdom. With a strong love for natural buildings, Kaitlyn has volunteered on two strawbale projects to date, one with amazonails (now Straw Works) in Ireland and the other with Red Feather Development Group in Polacca, Arizona.

Outside of work, Kaitlyn can be found enjoying nature through various activities with her young son, River, and husband, Tom, getting back into Iyengar Yoga, and learning more about plant-based eating.