Tisha Doucette

Tisha grew up in awe of nature on a farm in Norfolk County, where she was free to roam and explore. Curious from the start, her childhood was filled with daily discoveries in the natural environment that surrounded her: tent caterpillars in the trees, a giant puffball in the woods, critters in a nearby irrigation pond that she would collect and observe in a kiddy pool.

As Tisha grew older, her eyes were opened to the complex interconnectivity between all living things. Greenpeace initiatives, the threat of acid rain, and deforestation were some early childhood memories that led to her interest in the psychology of sustainability, and its influence on how people inhabit our planet. When considering her future career path, she committed to an excellent piece of advice that was given to her: to live by example, and to be the change.

After graduating from Western University with a Bachelor of Science in ecology and evolution, Tisha started her career with a consulting engineering firm, where she led the development of a full-service ecological discipline, that continues to thrive today. She later joined RVA in 2019 as the first member of our ecological services group. Since then, she has been instrumental in expanding the firm’s sustainability division to include new in-house disciplines, such as aquatic and terrestrial impact assessments, climate change mitigation, and arboriculture. Now, as a certified Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) and Environmental Professional (EP) with over 20 years of experience, Tisha is the leader of our ecological services practice, where she and her team focus on developing holistic, nature-based solutions that allow sustainability to be embedded in all aspects of a project.

Connecting with nature, thoughtful discourse, and designing for biodiversity continue to inspire her, as does her view of sustainability as a reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world – one that is to be cherished, preserved, and renewed. She remains a steadfast environmental activist, and currently heads RVA’s Climate Change Working Group to spread awareness, both inside and outside the firm, on how individual choices can act as catalysts for widespread social and environmental action. Her goal is to help others look beyond our temporal horizons to consider the legacy we leave behind – not just for one, but for a multitude of generations in the future.

To this day, Tisha still feels the same childlike giddiness when out in nature. In her off-time, she enjoys sharing her love of ecology with her children, Ella and Leon, as they discover the wonders of the world on family trips. She loves working with the multidisciplinary teams at RVA to brainstorm, develop, and implement nature-based solutions, and remains hopeful that a continued shift to a sustainable mindset will lead to significant positive change on a global scale.