Alumna Profile: Amity Lumper

I recently had the privilege to sit down with Amity Lumper, '00, who has accomplished a great deal in the field of sustainability both during her time at Seattle Pacific University and in her career.

Amity came to Seattle Pacific considering a career in naturopathic medicine. Over time, however, she found that she had a strong passion for environmental health. During her undergraduate years she recognized the need for more adequate recycling facilities on campus, specifically in the residence halls. When she approached the University about the problem she was offered a job as recycling program manager and tasked with coming up with the solution. Over the next two years Amity turned SPU's recycling program around, performing waste audits, educating the community, making relationships with vendors, and improving awareness and accessibility to recycling on campus.

Upon graduating from SPU with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, Amity began working for Cascadia Consulting Group, an environmental firm providing consulting services for both public and private sector clients. She began on the ground floor, collecting data for waste audits by tagging along with garbage trucks and sorting through trash. She moved up the ranks to a management position, where she provided consulting services to government agencies from all over the country.

After four years with Cascadia, Amity took a break to attend graduate school in Sweden where she earned her master's degree in sustainability and leadership from Blekinge Technical Institute in Karlskrona. The experience gave Amity a uniquely multicultural look at sustainability and, after graduating in 2005, she came back to Cascadia with a fresh perspective and new vision.

Today, Amity is a Senior Associate and minority owner in Cascadia. She has recently developed a green business team to build a variety of services geared towards private clients and has worked with corporations like Adobe Systems, Home Depot, and Starbucks. She is passionate about helping businesses develop more sustainable practices.

Amity has shown an exemplary commitment to protecting the environment throughout her life. She was a pioneer at SPU and helped set the course the University is on today. Amity continues to show a commitment to her alma mater and is very encouraged with the progress made since she was a student. Her message to current students is that we can all make a difference:

Being a better steward of God's creation can be as simple as holding on to that bottle until you see a recycling bin, eating a little less meat this week, enjoying a walk or bike ride to Fremont instead of jumping in your car. Small steps really do add up to make a big difference.