The Sibling Leadership Network welcomes Lisa Matthews as the new Vice Chair of SLN’s Board of Directors.
Lisa Matthews is a native Washingtonian. She currently works as a Chief Grants and Compliance Officer for a national non-profit organization where her personal passion is aligned with its mission to strengthen communities. For over 20 years, she has served as a volunteer with dedication to empowering individuals with disabilities, capacity building and economic development. Lisa prides herself on working to help sustain programs and services for individuals with a disability and their families. She is inspired by her experiences of supporting families in the community and has served organizations that strive to add value to their lives. She is passionate about her work with service-based entities to have a deeper understanding of how to navigate within their systems and is a dedicated leader, committed to empowering others to connect within their communities.
She fueled her passion to help others by increasing her participation in volunteer service and leadership development training which has led to various roles in local, state and national organizations. Lisa was recently appointed as Commissioner to the Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism and Partnerships – Serve DC. She is a member of the DC Autism Society, co-founder of DC Sibs group, serves on the board for the Sibling Leadership Network as the DC Chapter representative, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities board member, Human Rights Standing Committee for the Arc of Prince George’s County, and a Partnership Council member for the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities.
She is the past Commissioner Chair to the DC Developmental Disabilities State Planning Council (DDC) and former Chair of the DC State Plan Implementation Committee for the DDC. She also has served on boards that provide support for residential care and services for individuals with a disability, at-risk youth, outreach of food services for the homeless, and partner with other organizations to provide necessities to benefit community residents in various transitional stages of life.
Her community participation includes supporting the Mayor’s Office on African America Affairs as a grant reviewer which created funding opportunities for minority-based organizations to educate and support DC residents on public healthcare emergency issues. She has also led or participated in conducting a national search to recruit an Executive Director for organizations that support families in the disability service system. Lisa has also partnered with organizations to launch a four-part series giving voice to BIPOC siblings of a brother or sister with a disability. Lisa is a community connector who has created space for individuals to educate and inspire others.
She is the co-author of two books and an Honoree Listee in 2018 and 2019 Who’s Who in America. She has authored articles for online publications and enjoys writing poetry. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends.