Lisa Swanson joined the faculty at Morristown Beard School in 2007 after spending 15 years teaching at other independent schools, including a Pennsylvania boarding school and at Newark Academy.

Lisa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wheaton College and a Master’s degree in History at Clark University, with a concentration in Women’s and African-American History. While hiking the Appalachian Trail over a five-month period, she made an important life decision to leave a position in college admissions to pursue a new career in teaching.

Working with young people to inspire and shape their future success is what drew Lisa to the teaching profession. As a 6th grade Geography teacher, she actively engages her students to better understand themselves and the world in which they live. In her view, understanding and solving challenges facing countries around the globe gives students a taste of tangible, real time problems that their generation will have to solve.

Lisa can often be found teaching lessons with the exciting, new Science On a Sphere in Wilkie Hall, or working with her students to plant lettuce in the aquaponic table when they are studying global food security and its impact on economic development. She also serves as the Middle School Dean of Students, coaches cross country and basketball, and coordinates the Middle School Leadership Program.

Serving others is one of Lisa’s life passions. Outside of school, she is an Elder in the East Stroudsburg Presbyterian Church, a volunteer for Family Promise, and the camping coordinator for Boy Scout Troop 84. She also enjoys gardening, reading, and hiking with her husband and teenage son.