A native of Wisconsin, Lisa is a 1991 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Administration. Following an internship in environmental education with the National Wildlife Federation, Lisa served with the Girl Scouts of DuPage, first as the development assistant and then as a field director.
In 1997, Lisa was offered a position with the USO of Illinois as the Great Lakes Director and was named President & COO in April of 2000. Following the devastation of September 11th there was increased need for relevant and impactful programs for our active duty, guard, reserve military personnel and their families. As a result, the organization expanded from serving 150,000 annually to then close to 260,000 through the creation of over 12 new core programs. Additionally, the redevelopment of service centers at O’Hare and Midway airports and Naval Training Center Great Lakes, were achieved as well as the design, capital campaign and opening of the flagship USO center at Navy Pier.
A 2007 recipient of the City of Chicago’s General Logan Award for Patriotism, presented by Mayor Richard M. Daley, and a Crain’s 40 under 40 honoree, Lisa continues to support our men and women in uniform and their families in her personal and professional roles. Lisa was peer elected to serve two terms as Vice Chair for the national USO Affiliates Council, which focused on addressing organization wide mission needs and strategic plans. In 2009, with Ed Tracy, Lisa was honored to serve as the Co-Chair for the Chicago Commit to Courage Medal of Honor Convention. Over 50 Medal of Honor Recipients and their families were welcomed to the City to share their message of inspiring service with the youth and citizens of our community. She has also served as a conservation and preservation volunteer for five years with the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, six years as the newsletter editor for the Northern Illinois Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association and currently serves as a volunteer with Ride2Recovery and the Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands.
Since April 2009, Lisa has been honored to serve as Executive Director of Tawani Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to increase awareness and understanding of the important role of the Citizen Soldier; preservation of unique sites of significance to American history; improving health and wellness; and honoring the service of military personnel past, present and future through recognition of outstanding achievement
