College of Business Administration Award Recipients

YOUNG ALUMNA OF THE YEAR AWARD

Lisa Hensch Maier, Bus Ad '06
Brookfield, Wis.

Lisa combines her business experience with her passion for nonprofit work to be an advocate for corporate citizenship.

A high school mentor once explained to her that this combination could be more powerful together. “Once I toured Marquette's business school and learned about the commitment to service on campus, I knew I found where I belonged,” she says. Lisa’s Jesuit education encouraged travel and exploration beyond her comfort zone. People she met in Jamaica, Belize, India, Honduras and Kenya reinforced her passion for corporate citizenship.

After leading a high school service trip, Lisa recalls, “There are no words to describe the changes you see in a student who is experiencing poverty through the eyes of our local brothers and sisters.”

Currently, Lisa is a senior program manager with Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company. She previously worked at the GE Foundation where she oversaw education grant funding and led the Developing Health U.S. initiative, for which she chose nonprofit partners and trained employee leaders on skill-based volunteering.

“Training others to rethink volunteering and connecting them with great nonprofits allowed our employees to multiply their giving,” she says. Long term, Lisa looks forward to working in a foundation setting once again.

During her time as an undergraduate, Lisa was inducted into the Jesuit honor society, Alpha Sigma Nu, and was the 2005 recipient of the Pedro Arrupe Award. She is a past director of the Association of Marquette University Women.

Fun facts:

Definition of success: “Success to me is being able to bring people together by creating an inclusive environment where everyone can bring their talents to the table and tackle a problem.”

Dream dinner guest: Michelle Obama

Favorite Marquette memory: “Traveling on behalf of Marquette for the Opus Prize. Being able to meet two outstanding candidates in Kenya and India was life-changing for me. My work with GE brought me back in contact with Dr. Juliana Akinyi Otieno, and I have stayed in touch with Father Trevor Miranda even after all these years.”