Lisa Morris was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1963 to a North Carolinian young mother and a Brooklyn-born father whose parents hailed from Barbados.   Lisa and her younger brother grew up and attended schools in Brooklyn. Raised by her single mother, Lisa witnessed firsthand the value of the phrase “it takes a village”.  Her maternal grandparents and other family members supported the family and helped raise Lisa and her brother.  In addition to family, neighbors also provided support.  This village not only contained blood relatives, it was also comprised of men and women in the community who understood the importance of leaning on each other.  In the 60’s and 70’s, it was very common for neighbors to be after-school caregivers as well as authoritative figures for the children in the neighborhood.  This is one of the reasons it was natural for Lisa to be a community-oriented individual.  

After high school, Lisa landed a full-time job at Brooklyn Public Library where she is currently still employed as the Assistant VP of Human Resources.  Her desire to complete college came much later in life.  Lisa gave birth to a son in 1990.  When her son was in grade school, she attended college full time in the evenings and earned a BA degree.   By the time she graduated in 2001, Lisa’s free time gave her the opportunity to participate in her son’s middle school PTA.  Lisa was voted in as President and held that position for 3 years until her son graduated.  During these same years, Lisa also was an active board member for the pre-school her son attended when he was four years old.  When the Board President chose to step down for personal reasons, Lisa was asked to take on the President’s role which she accepted and held for a few years until the preschool was eliminated by the NYC Dept. Of Education - DOE made major changes to private programs and took over the preschools.  

As a young teenager, Lisa discovered that dance was her passion.  At the age of 12, she took ballet and later discovered African dance in her early 20’s.  After college, in 2003, Lisa joined Harambee Dance Company, a New York based company.  Lisa was appointed lead dancer for the Harambee Dance Company in the winter of 2005 and remained in that role until she parted with the Company in 2007.  In 2007, she was hired as the first African dance instructor for Aspire 2 Dance School (a Brooklyn based community dance school).  For the next 4 years, she would instruct children and adults and choreograph the African dance for their annual recital.  After experiencing knee injuries in 2009 and 2011, Lisa no longer taught.  Instead she took on the role of administrator for the school and remains on staff today.

Lisa is also a member of the New Jersey based company, Umoja Dance Company, where prior to her knee injuries, she performed with the Company at prominent New Jersey venues.  She is currently the Company’s Assistant Artistic Director.  Other dance highlights include joining New York’s Dance Africa in 2012 as a Candle Bearer.  Under the guidance of the late Baba Chuck Davis, Lisa represented the ancestral component of Dance Africa during the annual weekend celebration.   

Dance afforded Lisa many travel opportunities. She either studied or performed in places like Taiwan, Jamaica, Brazil, and Cuba.  However, with over 25 years of dance experience and her knee injuries, Lisa chose to expand her horizons in 2010.  She joined the leadership team of a rite of passage program for young girls 13-18 called Spirit of a Woman Leadership Development Institute (S.O.W.).  For three years, she mentored the participants and provided support and guidance to their parents.  She remained part of leadership until 2013.     

Even though her knee injuries stopped Lisa from actively performing and teaching, her passion for dance continued to be rewarding for her.  Upon returning from a trip to Cuba in 2015, Lisa put her all of her creative efforts into learning more about the Cuban culture and community.  Her efforts payed off, and in 2017, Lisa and a few other women artists created the One Love Weekend of the Arts that was held in Negril, Jamaica.  This event brought local Jamaican artists and artists from the U.S. together for a culture-filled weekend.  For 3 years, the weekend of the arts program had over 80 participants of all ages attend.  During this weekend, participants took classes in African dance, contemporary dance, capoeira, yoga, drum, shekere and Afro Cuban dance which was taught by Lisa.  2020 would have been the 4th annual event, but the pandemic put the event on pause.  

During the pandemic, virtual classes became the way the dance community remained connected.  Lisa discovered Viver Brasil Dance in May of 2020.  Here, she met a beautiful and spirited community.  From Monday late evening classes to various weekend workshops, Lisa studied and embraced Brazilian orisha dance.  When Lisa was asked to be a member of the Board, she knew this was the opportunity to give back all that she received during the pandemic from the Viver Brasil family.   

Dance has been and still is Lisa’s passion. Today, she remains connected to dance as an active member of the Umoja Dance Company’s leadership team as well as the administrative assistant for Aspire 2 Dance.  She coordinates and promotes dance classes in New York for her Afro-Cuban master teacher and mentor and continues to travel to sustain her knowledge and growth in the dance community.  With an HR background along with previous board experience and a genuine love for dance, Lisa is looking forward to offering her skills as a member of this Board.

Her motto is, “Dance is Life and Life is Dance. Each step we take is movement for the Universe.”