Chilchinbeto Community School | Arizona

As a first-generation college student and the daughter of Italian immigrants, Lisa experienced firsthand how the lack of education negatively impacted many important women in her life. This realization was instrumental in her decision to become a teacher early in her career. But as she grew in her professional life, she recognized that educational access was not the only barrier for marginalized students, especially girls. Confidence, not competence, kept girls from reaching their academic potential. The opportunity to address this concern came after 15 years in the field when she founded an inner-city girls' high school in 2017. Lisa spent a year researching best practices at the nation's leading girls' schools across the U.S. But she discovered that although many schools had leadership in their mission, they could not show with any certainty that their programs were improving outcomes for girls.

With this knowledge, Lisa began creating her own Leadership School Framework for her new school, a powerful new approach integrating leadership, social justice, and core values at the center of school life. To launch the school, Lisa helped raise millions of dollars to develop the curriculum, build a new seven-million-dollar school building, hire over thirty teachers, and recruit girls with the greatest needs. She opened her girls school a year later, in 2018, with a full enrollment. The school currently has over 400 young women enrolled.

Lisa earned her Master's from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2021, where she is now pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership. She is the recipient of Harvard's prestigious Phyllis Strimling Award for the Advancement of Women. In addition, Lisa's research and school programming designs earned her entry into Harvard's Venture Program, a selective group of "visionaries whose bold thinking shifts the paradigm and ideas that are not just new, but revelatory." She was also nominated for Harvard's Intellectual Contribution Award in 2021 and presented with the Women Making a Difference Award by Zonta International Women's Organization.

Lisa founded three educational ventures in her scaling design to bring leadership learning and empowerment to more young women worldwide: 1)The Leadership Program for Girls teaches young women leadership during the academic school day. 2) JUST Girls World is a summer camp where leadership meets social justice. 3) Education Express Consulting is an organization that supports students, families, and school leaders to better navigate the educational landscape with an equity lens.