Network Miami recognizes Kellogg entrepreneur

By Romi Herron

Lisa Wilson '02 was recently recognized by Network Miami magazine as one of south Florida's 25 most prominent and successful black businesswomen. The quarterly publication, now titled Success South Florida, serves the greater south Florida black professional community with insights on careers, politics, culture and social issues.

Wilson is president of Lisa Wilson & Associates Inc., a business development and marketing consultancy, as well as co-founder and COO of The Mentoring Center Inc., a West Palm Beach-based nonprofit organization that strives to improve workforce readiness, encourage entrepreneurship, provide access to post-secondary education and create economic self-sufficiency for residents of economically challenged and geographically remote communities in south Florida.

The center, which she co-founded in 2002 with her husband, Donald F. Wilson, is a result of Wilson's desire to give back to the community. With experience managing global marketing teams and corporate communications for government, education and health markets, Wilson opted to leave behind a senior management title at a multibillion-dollar for-profit organization and seek a different reward. That decision, according to William Diggs, CEO of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, has been south Florida's gain, as the center has already served more than 200 children in three counties.

Diggs nominated Wilson for the honor.

"Lisa and her organization have proven to be revolutionary. Often, people seem to mentor based on social issues instead of academic ones, but The Mentoring Center combines the two for a very empowering affect," Diggs said. "While many mentoring programs are dying on the vine because they are more focused on delivery of service than what holds students' receptiveness, Lisa has been able to bridge that divide with her effective methods."

The U.S. Department of Education approved The Mentoring Center as a Supplemental Educational Services Provider, and Wilson was recently asked to join Leadership Palm Beach County.

"As with many start-up companies, Don and I served in multifaceted roles initially," said Wilson. The couple handled every functional area, from accounting to IT. "Today we have 10 staff instructors and this fall I will be able to concentrate on strategic alliances, fundraising, extending our reach and new program offerings."

Wilson said the Kellogg EMBA program motivated her and bolstered her skills, providing the expertise she needed to develop a comprehensive strategy to succeed. In addition to her work at The Mentoring Center, she currently interviews prospective Kellogg School students and is a volunteer for the Kellogg Nonprofit Mentor Program.