February 25: Lisa McGee

M. Lisa McGee, M.Ed., Ed.D has been the Director of the State of Tennessee-funded, Legislative Appropriated HBCU Wellness Project at Meharry Medical College since 2006. Under her direction, this project has trained more than 500 students and developed more than 600 community partnerships both state and nationally. “As the work of developing students for health careers continues, students need to know who they are before they can successfully proceed with their passion and purpose. I believe in the pursuit of the answer to the age-old question- “Who Am I” as part of all of our unique development and inevitable success as wholly complete individuals”. Her enthusiasm for this part of her journey is reflected in the belief that she was created for Purpose and continues to work to use her ability to guide others to truth from skills attained through her Master’s degree in Education and Counseling from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

While working for more than 30 years in program management and as the Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Patient Services Core of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, Lisa McGee has always embraced a desire to assist in helping people realize their capacity for “something more” as she established programming designed to stimulate personal power and positive outcomes. Her other management experiences include the Meharry Sickle Cell Center and the NIH/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism funded Meharry Alcohol Research Collaborative (MARC), a collaboration between the MMC Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Social Work. The love and connection through teaching young people led to her affiliation with Meharry’s School of Medicine’s Summer Bachelor of Science/Medical Doctor Program (BS/MD) as an Instructor in the Behavioral Science Component. She is committed to providing strategic support and innovation to undergraduate collegians interested in achieving academic and professional goals.

Mrs. McGee is completing dissertation research work in higher education and organizational systems focused on graduation persistence among African American students at HBCUs from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. All of these experiences have supported her development and stimulated an interest in public health and student development. She is also the founder of Community Leadership in Health Equity (a non-profit focused on capacity building). Her vision for CLIHE continues to grow and as they seek partnerships that align with helping college students gain experience and insights leading to their development as future healthcare professionals across the globe. She has co-authored several publications that include “Health Disparity Intervention through Minority Collegiate Service Learning” (Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved February 2015) and “Emotional Intelligence: A Vital Skill for Faculty at Minority Academic Health Centers” March 2017. Her recognitions include “Above and Beyond” Award for Mentoring and Advising Students and “Excellence in Public Health”. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., former member of the 100 Black Women of Middle Tennessee, Women in Higher Education and serves on The Paraclete Center Board of Gallatin, TN, and has provided service on other nonprofit boards in Middle Tennessee. She is a native of Nashville Tennessee but lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for more than 16 years. She is a wife to Michael and mother to Jianne and Alex McDonald.