Announcements

Change is the only constant, but it is hard!

Today we are saying a bittersweet goodbye to Lisa Ries who has served as our Student Success Manager for the past two years. Lisa has been an amazing and joyful addition to our small team. She has accomplished so much in support of students and tutors, and we will miss her greatly. 

When Lisa retired from her first career at Johnson & Johnson, she did not anticipate finding a second career in the nonprofit world. After becoming an LVSC tutor in February 2020, she embraced the virtual nature of pandemic tutoring and even developed a virtual lesson library to share with fellow tutors. She led a popular conversation group and ran an Apple Pie Making Zoom for students prior to the first pandemic Thanksgiving. For her efforts and enthusiasm she was recognized as LVSC's 2021 Tutor of the Year. 

The following year, Lisa joined the LVSC staff as Student Success Manager and, no surprise, she added great value to this new part-time role. She provided the vision for our Student Success Center and created a robust lending library of ESL teaching materials for our tutors. Lisa in the Student Success Center, with a shelf donated in her honor.

Lisa also developed a starter kit for new tutors, and has been a friendly, reassuring voice providing tutors with ongoing support. She created mini-training courses for tutors who need a refresher or want to become conversation group leaders. She played an integral role on our Cultural Connections planning team and she streamlined our entire student assessment process.

Now, Lisa and her husband are moving south to be closer to family. Lisa will be sorely missed, but we wish her all the best in this new chapter of her life and we thank her significant contributions.