Juliana Lisuk’s story is deeply connected with the waters of Leelanau County, as she developed her interest in sailing while growing up in Leland, and now she helps teach environmental stewardship as associate director at Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) in Suttons Bay.
Lisuk was born in Traverse City but was raised in Leland Township. She attended Leland Public School, where her mother taught sixth grade. Her father was also involved in education, as chairman of Traverse City Area Public Schools’s art department, but earlier in his career, he was a sailor. He made sure to share his passion with his daughter.
“I learned how to sail at the Leland Yacht Club and would sail with my dad pretty often. But I think also being surrounded by all the beauty with here, with the trails and the Great Lakes, kind of instilled in me that deep connection to the environment,” Lisuk said. “I think my current job is a really great combination of both of them.”
Lisuk graduated from high school and went to pursue environmental studies at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Lisuk explained that she focused on ways that people affect the environment, for better or worse, and she incorporates this knowledge into her current job by teaching people to be better stewards of the Great Lakes. Around this time, she met her soon-to-be husband.
After earning her bachelor’s undergraduate degree and spending a year growing vegetables in Alaska, Lisuk returned to the Traverse City area. Her husband joined the faculty at Northwestern Michigan College, and she got a job with the nonprofit organization called Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability (SEEDS).
Lisuk successfully applied to grad school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor after working for SEEDS for five or six years, and she earned a Master of Science in Environmental Behavior, Education, and Communication in 2019. Lisuk said that she wanted to return to northern Michigan for work, and ISEA was on the top of her list of organizations to apply for.
Fortunately, a volunteer coordinator position opened at ISEA around the time Lisuk was graduating, and she joined the organization that same year. Although the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020, Lisuk said that she was comfortable in her new position by this point, and ISEA adapted its outdoor programming to facilitate visitors and school field trips to quickly resume business as usual.
In 2021, Lisuk became associate director at ISEA, and she is still working in this capacity today. Lisuk says this role involves personnel management and logistics, plus helping raise funds for the nonprofit organization. However, it’s not all office work, as she said she’s joining their fleet on educational trips across the Great Lakes to Chicago and Houghton this summer.
When asked what keeps her motivated, Lisuk said that she thinks that it’s extremely rewarding to watch people gain new perspectives on their immediate surroundings while participating in ISEA’s many programs.
“Whether it’s out on a ship or through some of our shoreside programs, when we have people come out on programs with us, they’re really getting to see the lakes in a way that they probably haven’t before, because we have special sampling equipment or they’re out on a big sailboat,” she said.
Lisuk is involved in many other community organizations, serving on the board for Leelanau Investing For Teens, which offers programs to sixth through 12th graders at Suttons Bay, Northport, and Glen Lake schools. She is a member of the Leelanau Community Choir, and during the winter, she plays for the Leelanau Curling Club.
Lisuk’s other hobbies and interests include growing fruits and vegetables with her husband in their home garden, hiking and canoeing, and playing several musical instruments, including the piano, tuba, and baritone horn.
