Leadership

Lisa Johnson Nutter
President

Lisa Johnson Nutter is President of Philadelphia Academies, Inc., a non-profit youth development organization that works in Philadelphia’s public high schools to provide career-based learning experiences that motivate young people to stay engaged in school and that create supportive networks for them in the real world. The overarching goal is to expand life and economic options for these students and set them on a positive path. Ms. Nutter previously served as Senior Director of Research and Planning at Philadelphia Academies, during which time which she oversaw and conducted research and planning activities for the organization as well as led the development of the organization’s research and advocacy capacity.

Ms. Nutter’s diverse professional background includes work in the fields of education, community organizing, human services, community development, and arts and culture. Prior to joining Philadelphia Academies, Inc., she was a senior project director at OMG Center for Collaborative Learning with an extensive background consulting with community-based and non-profit organizations. While at OMG Center, she led several long-term research and evaluation projects including the evaluation of three multi-year community revitalization initiatives – the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Rebuilding Communities Initiative, the Comprehensive Community Revitalization Project in the South Bronx and the Fannie Mae Sustained Excellence Awards Program. Ms. Nutter also conducted numerous public policy research and applied research studies in urban open space and open space maintenance, education and education reform, and employment and workforce development. These experiences with practitioners and organizations in a number of community change initiatives influenced her practice significantly, leading to her to develop practical organizational strengthening tools that are used to support organizational learning and reinforce reflection, self-assessment and planning practices among non-profit organizations working toward social change.

Ms. Nutter has a B.S. in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2005, she completed a year-long fellowship in the Emerging Leaders Programme which is administered by the Centre for Leadership and Public Values at the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and Duke University.

She is actively engaged locally and nationally in issues related to social change and youth development and presently serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project, Big Picture Philadelphia and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.