Meet Lisa
Lisa F. Lazarus is the Founder and CEO of Lazarus Forward, which helps innovative organizations chart their strategy, develop talent, and partner for community-wide impact.
Lisa is recognized as an embedded consultant, a trusted advisor and strategist, and an executive coach who works with philanthropic, nonprofit, and corporate clients. She applies a racial equity lens to help clients take more antiracist actions that lead to better interpersonal, organizational, and systemic outcomes.
Over the past several years, as an embedded consultant with George Kaiser Family Foundation on its Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa (BEST), Lisa engaged diverse community members and Foundation staff to devise an innovative approach and plan to improve health and education outcomes for children and families who are low-income. Lisa led the team to secure $148M from Blue Meridian Partners to leverage $441M from a local funder for Phases I and II of BEST implementation. Lisa’s approach amplified community members’ voices and set a precedent for cross-sector collaboration that will foster sustainable impact. Lisa is an ongoing strategic advisor and coach to senior leaders at the Foundation.
Prior to consulting, Lisa served as the vice president of regional operations for Reading Partners, a position to which she was promoted after being Reading Partners’ Mid-Atlantic executive director. Lisa also has an exemplary performance history as an inclusive leader who created meaningful results at New Leaders and DC Public Schools, and who has provided executive coaching across the country. Earlier, Lisa taught in a charter school and a bilingual Boston Public School.
Lisa graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, earned her master in elementary education from Lesley University and the Shady Hill School Teacher Training Course, and earned her master in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is an Education Pioneers alumna and has been involved in Princeton AlumniCorps. From Shaker Heights, Ohio, Lisa works both on-site and remotely, supporting her clients wherever they are creating impact.
