Lisa S. Smith
BA, M. Ed., University of New Orleans;
EdD, Bethel University
The gift of growing up in church primed her for a range of Christian ministry experiences including teaching and leadership in Sunday School and VBS, choir and music ministry, evangelism, and Bible studies. Before joining Moody Bible, she built her career in K-12 education, beginning with teaching in her childhood school for many years. In the rebuilding of New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, she joined a grassroots effort to establish a public charter school of quality education for a student body that mirrored the city’s diverse socioeconomic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. As founding lead teacher and International Baccalaureate Curriculum Coordinator, she led the school to become the first authorized IB Primary Years Programme in the state. She last served as the founding High School Director within that IB charter school. She then earned a Doctorate in Education from Bethel University.
Dr. Smith comes from a line of Baptist, Methodist, and Quaker preachers and teachers on both sides of her family. Hence, she values the purpose and gift of the Christian church, fellowship with believers, and studying God's Word for personal direction. She appreciates being raised in the faith and seeks to continually pay it forward in her personal and professional life.
Smith, L. S. (2019). A Phenomenological Study of an African American Church-Public School Partnership: In Search of Social and Emotional Support [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/591