Dr. Lisa Richardson is the Chief Impact Officer at the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies. Prior to this, she served as the National Director of Southern Access Project for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a consultant, program director, and evaluator for a variety of organizations including Emory University, the Carter Presidential Center, and the New Orleans-based education program, Students at the Center.
Lisa was a Visiting Professor at Florida State University in the Urban and Regional Planning department, and an Assistant Professor at California State University Northridge in the Urban Studies and Pan-African Studies Departments. She received her Ph.D. in 2002 at the University of New Orleans as a Board of Regents Fellow, and her Master of Science in 1996 from Georgia State University. Her interests include community development, analyzing social determinants of health, sexual health education, and advocacy (particularly for women of color and youth), and participatory action research. After leaving New Orleans for academia, Lisa returned to her adopted home in 2005 to serve as the Interim Executive Director of IWES in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Richardson is a Fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Leaders program.