Lisa is a native of the state of New York and grew up near Manhattan's Upper East side.

In 2001, she graduated from the University of Chicago.

For nearly two years, Lisa was a reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead in which she worked on breaking news stories. She covered and wrote features on crime, government, religion, and aging. During her time at North Dakota's biggest newspaper, she won third prize in the North Dakota Newspaper Association's 2002 contest for government reporting.

After her time in North Dakota, she return to her native of New York, and began working as a full time reporter.

At the Staten Island Advance, she was the health reporter for the daily newspaper’s news desk. S he was also a part of the Glimmer Train publication in which she won third place for one of her short stories.