Edges are fascinating places. You can imagine places such as a wooded riparian area along a stream, an intertidal zone at the edge of the ocean, the marsh lands where a river meets the sea, or a watering hole where animals come to drink. It is in these spaces where there is loss and letting go, as well as vitality and emergence. These areas are a source of replenishment, restoration, nourishment, incubation, and transformation. It is where many things change and grow and transform into the next phase of their being.
Water is the foundation of all life. It nourishes our bodies, quenches our thirst, renews our spirits, and connects our worlds. The word water in our name is a metaphor for the foundation that we all seek. We each seek the ability to be connected with our true purpose and to feel replenished and quenched by work that is aligned with that purpose. Edgewater’s name is based on the premise that when we connect with our purpose, our foundation, we are better able to lead the type of change we want to create, and in turn quench our own thirst in the process. In essence, Edgewater is a beautiful place of transformation and connection and is where I want to be.
Edges are where water is filtered and cleaned of toxins. It is where the sound of the water soothes the soul and where the cycles of life can be seen right before your eyes.
The Story
of the Mayfly
The mayfly is a magnificent representation of an animal living at the edge of water. During its lifetime, the mayfly lives as a nymph within the waters of a stream, holding onto the underside of rocks within the riffles, eating soft decaying leaves that fell from the riparian forest the previous fall. At the end of its year, it is ready to transform into its adult stage. To do so, it must leave the safety of its rocky riffle, seeking a blade of grass or leaf to climb out and emerge, finally breathing air for the first time. It completes its transformation sitting on that very leaf.
Without that connection between the vegetation and the surface of the water, the mayfly cannot emerge and the cycle is broken. This interruption creates a breakdown of countless other cycles, including that of the wild salmon, which rely on the emergence of the mayfly for food as it swims upstream to spawn. It is in this ability to pause and see the whole system, to understand and reflect on its connections, that we find our place in the greater system.
Edgewater’s work is inspired by the mayfly because of its close connection to its foundation, its courage to emerge into the unknown at the edge of the stream, and its contributions to the vitality of whole systems that extend well beyond its own lifetime. That is true leadership.
Sarah Elaine Lewis, PhD, SEA
FOUNDER & CEO
Founder and CEO of Edgewater Coaching & Consulting, Sarah holds a PhD in Environmental Dynamics. She is a certified sustainability professional and coach with a demonstrated history of successfully working regionally and globally across sectors. She is skilled in executive leadership coaching, systems thinking, program development, nonprofit strategy, corporate relations, watershed management, facilitation, training, and stakeholder engagement. An award-winning educator and activist, Sarah won the University of Arkansas sustainability award, she received the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Eco-Award, the Arkansas Business Journal Fast 15, the Sierra Club Activist of the Year award, and she was named Teacher of the Year for her work as an science educator, also being awarded the NASDAQ educator award for economics and science education. Sarah is a former executive and Director of Innovation with The Sustainability Consortium, a global organization that works to make consumer products sustainable. She is recognized globally as a leader in supply chain sustainability, leading the development of metrics, speaking at events such as Greenbiz and Sustainable Brands, founding the Sustainability Leadership Institute, and leading cross-sector projects with diverse stakeholders. Sarah is a francophile. She serves on several local non-profit boards and served on the Fayetteville, Arkansas City Council where she championed ordinances such as the Streamside Protection Ordinance and the Low Impact Development Ordinance. Sarah strives to build connections and solutions that result in positive impact wherever she goes, and celebrates being the momma of Isaac who inspires her everyday.
