Q&A with Dana Filek-Gibson, communications manager

DG+Design is excited to welcome Dana Filek-Gibson to the team as our new communications manager. Dana will be working on media placements and other PR needs for our clients in the cleantech industry. She currently lives in New York City.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I like food, the outdoors, meeting new people, and telling stories. I just moved to New York from Toronto, but I've lived all over. I grew up in Michigan and went to school in Boston, where I studied creative writing. After graduating from university, I went to Vietnam to teach English. My original plan was to stay there for a year, but I fell in love with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and wound up staying for seven. I met a bunch of amazing people and found numerous opportunities to write in English for print magazines and websites. I wrote a travel guide book, which meant that I got to travel the whole country and write about where to go, what to do, and what to see. At that time, other parts of the world were just starting to realize that Vietnam was an incredible place to do business, so I got to witness the city grow and change around me. I loved being there, the culture, the food — everything! Ho Chi Minh City truly has a special place in my heart.

Where did your interest in the environment come from?

I grew up in a very outdoorsy family. We did a lot of camping, visited national parks, went canoeing, swimming, and hiking — so I've always appreciated the great outdoors! But living in Vietnam really drove home for me how serious climate change is and how it affects people's everyday lives. Think about all of the unprecedented disasters that we've experienced recently in North America; they’ve been happening for decades in other parts of the world. For instance, today, it’s flooding in New York City, but that’s become a regular occurrence for people in Saigon, who are already used to being waist deep in storm water when the streets flood during rainy season. Living there was truly a wake-up call. I realized that this is what's going to happen all over if we don't start taking action.

Then, when I moved back to Canada, I worked in news editing. My last role was focused on climate change, energy, and politics. Within just a few months of taking the job, I became a huge energy policy nerd. I fell in love with understanding the problems and all of the solutions that we could leverage to address them. Working in this field makes me hopeful. I feel empowered knowing how much we can change, and what measures can be taken or put into practice right now to mitigate the situation.

Why did you choose to work at DG+?

I’d been working in journalism for more than a decade, and over time, I grew more and more interested in exploring new ways of storytelling. I still love news, but I’m keen to tackle climate issues from a different angle. In journalism, people like to say “if it bleeds, it leads,” which is why the most disastrous, bad-news headlines often get the most attention, sometimes at the expense of good news. I happened to stumble upon DG+ and realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to elevate stories that are more focused on the positives: what’s already being done and what can be done in the future to address the climate crisis.

What do you hope to accomplish or learn?

I can’t wait to learn from my coworkers and all of the amazing people we work with. Everyone here has a very unique background, and getting to know the DG+ team has already been fascinating. I’m thrilled to get into the nuts and bolts of all of these different climate solutions, and start promoting them to push forward the energy transition. All in all, I think working here is going to be really fascinating.

What motivates or inspires you?

I get a special kind of satisfaction from learning really weird, complicated things and then being able to explain them to someone in a way that they’ll understand. Climate change is such a huge issue, and there are tons of weird, complicated things to unpack. There isn’t one single solution, there are thousands upon thousands. I’m motivated by learning about all of the different ways that people are already addressing this problem, discovering how they came to those solutions, and how they've leveraged their unique skills, talents, and abilities to contribute to solving the problem. It all really amazes me.

What is something you’re passionate about outside of work?

Bringing people together! We live in a really isolating world. Especially since Covid, people tend to keep to themselves. I love to build a community around me and connect interesting people with other interesting people. I’m a firm believer that there doesn’t have to be a special occasion to gather all your friends and organize a meal. The time is always right for a quick chat, a hang, or a trip to the gym.

Tell us something “off-brand” or maybe unexpected about yourself.

I've always danced, but people are often surprised to learn that I was an unofficial Zumba teacher at my gym in Toronto. I’ve done some research, and hopefully I’ll get to keep that going in New York, too!

What person (dead or alive) do you most look up to?

Years ago, I read this book called Unbowed. It’s the memoir of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She started this environmental movement in the 1970s called the Green Belt Movement that brought together women in rural communities and basically paid them to plant trees to protect nature. She faced all kinds of opposition throughout her life and overall was a general badass. She's pretty amazing.

Is there anything else we should know about you?

I love cooking. I love eating. And I LOVE going on food adventures. I once took a six-hour bus trip to eat a particularly good sandwich. I will travel for a good meal!