Originally from Ithaca, N.Y., Lisa received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SUNY Buffalo. Entering as an elementary education major, she found herself insecure about her choice of college, and nervous about her transition into college life. It was halfway through her freshman year that the opportunity to become a resident assistant came up, and she realized her calling was college administration. "I found my niche, I found my friends. I made a difference," Lisa said.

As a graduate student, she researched the first-year experiences of minority students, and then went on to work at SUNY Brockport and SUNY Albany. Her work included residential life, parent programs, and orientation programs, before coming to Rensselaer in 1997 as assistant dean of students.

When asked about her own first-year experience, Lisa remarked, "I remember being unsure ... I felt like a small fish in a big pond. I look back at my [first years] in college and I think that’s some of the reason why I’m here. There’s so much that I could have overcome more quickly, had I the right people to help me." Lisa’s advice to incoming students: Have fun.

"I don’t mean fun in the sense of ‘party’ ... our students thrive on knowledge, and part of that fun is inside the classroom, as well as outside. There will be obstacles, but you take something away from every experience, and you grow. It may hurt now, but it won’t always be that way," she offers.

In closing, Lisa says, "College student personnel administration is what I do. And most of us do it because we care about and enjoy working with students. Rensselaer students are special and are unlike any that I have encountered in the past. Nurturing our students through the student experience is not inconsistent with expecting excellence."

Beyond her work at Rensselaer, Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband, her family, and her puppy, Cody. Her hobbies include skiing, cooking, and working on her new home.