Lisa Payne Jones

Lisa Payne Jones is a dedicated In Kind Coordinator at Step Forward and a seasoned marketing, communications, project management, and community engagement professional with a distinguished career in public service and organizational leadership. She spent ten years with Step Forward, the largest Head Start provider in Cuyahoga County, where she was responsible for securing volunteers, donations, and community support to help meet program requirements. Earlier in her career, Lisa served as Registrar for the Shaker Heights Schools, managing student enrollment, ensuring compliance with residency requirements, supervising staff, and developing an outreach initiative to identify and register incoming kindergarten students early.

In addition to her work at Step Forward, Lisa has extensive experience in marketing, communications, events, and community outreach. As a Marketing, Communications and Events Consultant, she has supported organizations and campaigns through strategic communications, promotional initiatives, database management, volunteer coordination, fundraising events, and community engagement. Her experience with the U.S. Census Bureau included developing partnerships with government officials, faith-based organizations, and community leaders to increase participation in traditionally hard-to-count communities. She was recognized as one of the most productive Partnership Assistants in Northeast Ohio and contributed to a team that ranked among the top 1% nationally in partnerships developed.

Lisa earned a BBA in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Eastern Michigan University and completed graduate coursework in Business Administration at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. She attributes her success to strong family role models, personal drive, perseverance, and a commitment to excellence. She remains actively engaged in civic and community leadership, serving as Democratic City Leader of Shaker Heights and as a board member of the Greater Cleveland Delta Foundation Life Development Center. She is also an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, where she contributes through its Social Action and Evaluation and Assessment Committees.