Employee Spotlight: Lisa Norton

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Name: Lisa Norton, Public Relations and Development IT Coordinator

How long have you worked here?
15 years.

What made you decide to work here?
I was taking a journalism class at Madonna University, and our guest speaker from one of the Detroit newspapers ended up not being able to make it. But the public relations coordinator from Angela Hospice happened to be walking by, and the professor called her in to talk to the class. She mentioned they were looking for a public relations intern. I applied for it, and came on as an intern for the summer. I was hired on part-time while I was in college, then full-time after I graduated. The way it happened so unexpectedly, almost randomly – I had never considered a career in public relations (although a career aptitude test I took in the seventh grade suggested it!) – it really felt serendipitous to me, like I was meant to be here. I know there are a few people on staff here that have stories like that.

How had you heard of Angela Hospice?
I grew up in Livonia, and as a student at Churchill High School, I had friends in the Spanish Club that did fundraisers for Angela Hospice. That was the first I had heard of Angela Hospice.

Lisa (center) with her mom and dad at last years's
Light Up a Life Gala.
What’s a typical day like for you?
My job is really a unique combination of duties. When I first came to Angela hospice, I was working just on public relations, but then I began to do more graphic design and photography. Then I became involved in fund-raising, event support, and assisting with marketing. The last piece of the puzzle was when I took over managing the fundraising database. I have so many different aspects to my job, and I work with all different departments within the agency, so my job is pretty different from day to day. I know a lot of times I come in thinking my main priority is to work on a certain project. Next thing you know it's five o’clock and I haven't even touched it. But I'm always very busy with a variety of projects. I like that there's so much variety to my job, and I enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues. I feel like we have a really great team and it's an honor to be part of it.

What is your favorite part about working at Angela Hospice?
I love being part of an organization that I really believe in. I could never do what our nurses and aides do, but I have so much respect for them. I’m grateful that I can help out in my own way to contribute to something really positive in the community.

What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Angela Hospice?
One time for our women's event I got to purchase 70 purses online that we used as centerpieces and sold as a fundraiser. I felt like that was pretty much every woman's dream, getting to pick out all those purses.

But seriously, I’ve interviewed some really interesting patients and families for articles I’ve written over the years, and some of those memories have really stayed with me. Especially when I interviewed the mother of a pediatric patient, and she let me hold him. That definitely had an impact on me.

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