Meet Heather Elson

 

We were lucky to catch up with Heather Elson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

My optimism comes from my volunteers and community partners. Their eagerness to notice and decrease their single-use plastic consumption is what this movement is all about. Their excitement and willingness to help fuels every positive thought and feeling I have about No More Liddering’s artivism and eco-education movement. Sometimes, when I am discouraged, or experience self-doubt, I am transparent about it with my friends and family. I share my insecurities openly because I am a firm believer that authenticity brings us all closer together, and it allows others to experience altruism. Sometimes all I need is a hug, and an uplifting word from others to get back to a more believable, happy head space.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

After launching No More Liddering in December 2023 with my daughter and her elementary school friends, my calendar has been full of meetings, phone calls, and collaborative efforts with Metro-Atlanta’s kindest, earth loving people. My eco-artivism is supported and loved by everyone I encounter, and truly I mean everyone; this humbles me daily and lets me know I am on the right track. Perhaps the overwhelming support is present because people love taking care of the earth, they notice they can make a difference every day by refusing plastics. It is my hope that my No More Liddering events also provide a space for people to experience the peace of community.
One unique aspect of my not-for-profit, is while the artwork is extremely complex, it is easily accessible for most every skill level and ability. In the 20+ events I have hosted so far, not a single volunteer has reached for their phones, everyone stays engaged with one another and the art- its beautiful! Volunteers surly experience their share of self-doubt, and yet, they still show up and push through, and hopefully come to find that they too are artists/creators and earth healers.
My current partnerships include Georgia Tech, Tech Square Atlanta, City of Kennesaw’s Smith-Gilbert Gardens, The Captain Planet Foundation, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Janice Overbeck, Cobb County School System, Pure Barre Roswell, and Fernbank Science Tech Center. With the support of these amazing partners, I am able to continue educating the public on the importance of refusing plastics whenever possible. Our collective small changes make a huge positive environmental impact.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Like most budding not-for-profits, courage is an emotion I am forced to experience. Courage is not comfortable; it means encountering the unknown blindly with little to no foresight. However, along with successful courageous moments comes confidence. My confidence blossoms with every meeting and collaborative effort with my amazing Metro-Atlanta partners and volunteers. The last skill I continue to develop is time management. As a single mom, full time therapist, friend and eco-artist, finding a way to add business tasks required to maintain and grow No More Liddering has been very challenging. I find reaching out to others who have been in my position for advice, feedback, and support helps me continue this amazing journey. There is no need to re-create the not-for-profit wheel, and I am always so thankful and humbled by the people who continue to encourage and educate me on how to be the best owner/facilitator I can be.
My best advice for others starting out is to be vulnerable when you are struggling and to act on the trusted advice from those who have been there before.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client is someone who values sustainability, environmental efforts, art, and community. I find eco-education can sometimes fall flat. The science and research is there, we know plastics will never truly go away, but how do we bring this to the attention of the public? One way my not for profit provides an impact is encouraging volunteers to collect and donate single-use plastic lids; this truly forces donors to notice their personal plastic footprints. No More Lidddering hopes the collection process also encourages small intentional changes; mainly refusing single use plastic beverage bottles and shopping bags. These daily little changes make a huge, collaborative impact in the local community. Every one of my clients and partners help their community notice and hopefully change their single-use plastic consumption AND they get a completely unique beautiful huge piece of artivisim to showcase their love for our earth.

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