Q & A with Healthy Climate Wisconsin’s Lisa Cottrell, Ph.D., CBSM, DBSM

Vipassana: Where did you grow up and where do you live right now?

Lisa: I grew up in Wisconsin, mostly in the Milwaukee area. Although I lived in different states around the country during my childhood, we were in Milwaukee by the time I was 5 years old. I live on the east side of Milwaukee now. 

Vipassana: Could you tell me a little bit about the kind of work that you do?

Lisa: My professional title is clinical health psychologist. I've been a clinical psychologist for over 20 years and a sleep specialist for about the last 16. I currently work for Aurora Health Care, and I really do enjoy the clinical work that I do. I did my first PhD program at Northern Illinois University, my second PhD program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and my postdoctoral training in sleep medicine at Stanford University Medical School. 

Vipassana: What would you do on your perfect weekend in Wisconsin?

Lisa: Going for a hike somewhere like Lake Michigan or northern Wisconsin on a perfect autumn day with my husband, when it’s not too cold or too warm, leaves pretty on the trees but away from other people. It would be even better if I had the pleasure of having both of my kids around, which unfortunately I don't because my daughter is in her PhD program and my son just graduated from college. 

Vipassana: What brought you to Healthy Climate Wisconsin?

Lisa: I attended the first conference, which was held at Aurora in 2019. I'd been concerned for a long time about climate change, so it seemed to be a perfect match for what I wanted to become more involved in. What I like the most is the opportunity to do lectures and presentations, particularly, to young people, and college students. I like the opportunity to talk about the issue and about actions that people can take.

Vipassana: If you could broadcast something to every Wisconsinite about health and climate what would you say? 

Lisa: There are obvious talking points related to how heat affects health, disease vectors, diseases related to insects, and that kind of thing. However, I'm a psychologist, not a physician, so I’m interested in helping people make sense of the anxiety that they feel about the climate crisis and understanding that it is, really, a very normal reaction to the situation. It's not pathological. 

I’d use the broadcast to educate people about how they can create change because when people have a plan it helps to reduce anxiety. We can all identify actions that we are comfortable taking. That looks different for different people, but finding an organization that is a good fit for them is a great start. 

The climate crisis is a systemic problem and it's important that people don't feel the weight of the entire crisis on their individual shoulders. That's been a big problem because over the decades you can trace U.S. commercial campaigns funded by the fossil fuel industry telling people that if only they reduce, reuse, and recycle. And by the way, it's on you to reduce, reuse, and recycle. And if you do that, we won't have any problems. And of course, that's not true. So, helping people to understand that this is a crisis that requires government and political action to meaningfully address is critical.

Vipassana: What brings you hope? 

Lisa: What brings me hope is talking to people who feel that this current political situation that we're in is unacceptable. I get tired, frankly, of people avoiding talking about politics when we now have a president who has denied the climate crisis, has uplifted fossil fuel companies, and is in the process of eliminating renewable energy projects and increasing drilling. 

Now, to the extent to which that will be achieved, who knows? I don't believe that it's 100% certain that he will be able to accomplish those goals. But, it is a mistake in my view to underestimate the importance of our political system and our government in the climate crisis. Our scientific communities and the evidence we have, including the 2024 UN climate report or the 2024 NOAA report from early 2024, say there has to be governmental action to address this. We can't ignore that. We have to come together. 

So what gives me hope is talking to people who are ready to resist. But it’s also okay to not feel hopeful. I think it's more useful to say we need to have courage. We can move forward. But we have to have the courage to do it. And understanding this moment as a time for action, as a time for resistance is, I think, the most important way to manage. I don't think it's useful to create conditions in which people are told, don't worry and everything will be fine, when I don't think that's true. What people need to know is that we can resist, and we will do it together because that's the only option. 

Vipassana: What is a topic that you really geek out about?

Lisa: In this moment particularly, building a community. I'm in the process of putting together a community-based group to build support and connections across age groups. For now, we have people of college-age through retirees, and everything in between. People from different parts of Wisconsin, primarily in Milwaukee, are coming together to provide opportunities to educate others about current events and to fight against disinformation. At this moment, we've focused on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race because that will allow us to have a healthier environment and better voting rights in our state.