Lisa Antonelli, Electrical/Mechanical/Woodworking
Repair Cafes: Rivertowns
Lisa Antonelli first learned tinkering and basic repair skills at a young age from her dad. One of the most important lessons she learned from him? “How to take things apart in an organized manner so I don’t lose pieces!”
Lisa considers herself a beginner mechanical/electrical fixer at her local Rivertowns Repair Cafes. She was first introduced to the program by fellow Irvingtonian and RCHV Coordinator Suzie Fromer. “My friend Suzie encouraged me to give it a try! I started out sort of triaging…taking things apart, trying to fix them and then asking for help from the more experienced fixers.” Lisa says she doesn’t have a specialty—yet—but she can fix almost any lamp and, thanks to her work partnering with more experienced fixers, has also fixed clocks, a CD player, hot water makers, and much more.
In addition to being a mom, Lisa worked as a bookkeeper and business operations manager at Beta Climbing + Fitness. Before that she was trading international bonds at a mutual fund and served as a corporate paralegal.
Now, Lisa is focused on giving back to her community. In addition to volunteering at her local repair cafes, she is on the steering committee for Irvington’s Green Policy Task Force for which she also oversees the Waste Nothing subcommittee. She also volunteers as a ‘Waste Warrior’ for Hudson Compost Services, a local, residential food scrap collection service. Lisa is also a real animal lover and is a rescue mom to one dog and two cats. She and her husband regularly walk dogs at Paws Crossed Animal Rescue in Elmsford.
Like many other repair coaches, Lisa finds the collaborative learning environment of repair cafes inspiring. “My favorite experiences are when I’m working with the other fixers. Everyone comes at a broken item with different perspectives, and it’s very rewarding when ideas are shared and thoughtfully considered. But also, fixing woodworking pieces where a fixer just needs an extra set of hands to hold two pieces of wood together while the other drills/screws/glues. There’s something special about the tactile experience of two sets of hands working together on the same item.”
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