Winnipeg’s “Elevator Queen”

“It was really, really bizarre, because it just comes out of nowhere. It’s just my job, right? This is just what I do,” Cheryl Lashek told Global News earlier this month. Lashek, a mechanical engineer, is referring to the unexpected celebrity she gained in 2017 for her role as director of Technical Services for the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

It turns out that many residents had noticed her stylish signature on inspection permits in elevators across the province. One woman who found Lashek’s signature reassuring when riding her building’s “spooky elevator” started a fan account on Instagram. She was curious if others thought about the civil servant who “keeps us safe,” and she got her answer when the page quickly gained a couple thousand followers. Even before the social media buzz, a local artist handstitched Lashek’s signature onto an old elevator blanket, creating an art piece that hung for a time at a Winnipeg restaurant.

Surprised to discover that her name resonated with so many people, Lashek was initially hesitant to comment publicly out of respect for her career and role within the government. Eventually she did join in, admitting that she didn’t personally inspect each elevator and, instead, managed the team of assessors and signed off on the permits.

As Lashek’s popularity grew, Winnipeg radio host Ace Burpee interviewed her, wrote a song about her and even dressed up as an elevator permit for Halloween. One woman, interested in the “cult following” surrounding Lashek, decided to get a leg tattoo of her “iconic” signature.

Lashek discovered her love of science as a seventh grader when a female engineer spoke to her class, and she has used her visibility to promote STEM careers to women and girls. She also has an Instagram page (@elevate.her.life) where she shares “uplifting” content to help followers “design, build and live” the lives of their dreams.

Lashek no longer oversees Manitoba’s elevators — and hasn’t for several years. In a 2019 interview, Lashek explained that management of the province’s elevators had been moved to another supervisory role’s purview. According to her LinkedIn page, Lashek began a new position as executive director of Capital Planning and Delivery at the Government of Manitoba in January 2023. Despite the shift in her job responsibilities, Lashek is still celebrated in the area’s pop culture and remains the “elevator queen” of many Manitobans’ hearts.