Lisa is passionate about communication, learning, and teaching!

She earned my undergraduate degree from St. Mary's College, an honors college in southern Maryland. While there, she competed on the National Speech Team and graduated cum laude with a double major in Mathematics and Political Science. Lisa then went on to earn her law degree from the University of Maryland. While in law school, she was one of two students selected to compete on the National Trial team. In addition, Lisa was selected to participate in a comparative law summer abroad program in Scotland and later was awarded a grant to work for the Legal Aid Society in Hawaii. In her third year of law school, she was the only student selected to work abroad in South Africa, during the country's transitions away from Apartheid to a democracy. After working as a trial attorney for 16 years, Lisa decided to obtain a double Masters degree in Communication Studies and Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University where she graduated magna cum laude.

While working as a trial attorney, Lisa was also teaching public speaking classes and conducting corporate trainings. Ultimately, family lead her to teaching full-time. Currently, Lisa teaches a wide range of communication studies classes, including public speaking, business communication, interpersonal communication, organizational leadership, introduction to communication, and advanced presentation skills. Lisa also teaches speaker development skills and business communication to professionals and business organizations across the state.

Outside of academia, Lisa enjoys travelling the globe. At present, she has traveled to all 50 states, 30 countries, and 5 continents!! As noted above, her travels included working in South Africa, after apartheid was abolished, studying comparative justice in Scotland, and working for Legal Aid in Hawaii. 

Her travels have helped her understand deeply that we are all different people; our life experiences, values, and believes are never exactly the same as anyone else.  Yet, there are ways to build communities in which diverse people can live, learn and grow with one another.  It is Lisa's philosophy that these communities can be created in the classroom - communities built on mutual respect and trust.