Lisa Bourne

I'm a very good read of people. I understand how relationships work, and how to grow your network, be it mine or someone else's. You have to be able to show the benefit to the other person that you're speaking to, and I'm very good at figuring out what that benefit is, and being able to figure out how to supply that to them. The thing that has really helped me the most is just my ability to learn from every single experience that I've had, and understand how relationships and networking work, and I did that from my very first job outside of school all the way to now.

I received the same type of advice from my past boss and mentor, Ann Lee. She said, you won't know anything if you're not in the room. So, you need to be in the room. She helped me when I was with Barnes & Noble Booksellers for years, and then she went on to Scholastic Book Fairs, and then brought me with her, and had me sitting at tables that I did not have any right to be sitting at. But she placed me there, and it helped me with my career. It helps me still to this day, mentoring younger women and managing a team.

This is what I tell the gals that come into Orange County Public Schools and are looking to move up the ladder there. Make themselves present in any room possible. Even if you're not at the table, but being able to be in the room to hear the conversations, and watch the dynamics, and watch body language, you learn so much. Inquire if you can be in a meeting. Ask. You can't hurt to ask, may I join you in that meeting? And the worst they can say is no, but they might say yes. And then, by you being present and visible, that starts to give you recognition and clout and an understanding of different surroundings.

Public Schools is currently facing the Federal government and the lack of funding for public education. It is disguised as school choice, but that's actually not what it is. It is removing public funds, meaning taxpayer money, to go to special interest schools, parochial schools, private schools, Christian schools that are corporations, not public schools. That's happening at a national level, and that was immediately done when the Department of Education was busted up by Elon Musk. The biggest opportunity in my industry right now is to communicate to all voters what the benefit is of Orange County Public Schools, or any public school. Why it is important for society to have public schools, and what the ripple effect is if you have them, and if you do not have them. The scary part is that people don't think past their own bubble. If you take away public education, you are affecting the workforce of the future. Everyone's gonna need trash collectors, plumbers, car mechanics, mailmen, all of the things, be it Walt Disney World amusement ride operators to food service, and if you have an uneducated workforce, that is never a benefit to a society.

Honesty, integrity, balance, and compassion are the values most important to me. I believe in being an open-handed manager, one that is not intimidated of someone who might be beneath you, but might be smarter or better than you - that's not something to be ashamed of. That's great. That's what you're doing. You want to raise the next generation of leaders, especially if they're women. By having a staff or team that are rock stars, that only makes me look better, too. So it's a win-win.