Since April, 2000, Lisa has enjoyed her role as Executive Director of the Pittsburgh-based arts-in-education organization, Gateway to the Arts, having previously served as Associate Director of Young Audiences of Maryland since 1995. A non-profit, Gateway to the Arts (GTTA) serves schools, libraries and early childhood programs in 14 western Pennsylvania counties. Last year, over 100 performing and visual artists taught 94,000 students and educators through pre K-12 performance programs, extended learning workshops, artists-in-residence, out-of-school and community programs, and professional development workshops for educators. GTTA is proud to be one of only 16 affiliates of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning in the Arts and the only one in the state of Pennsylvania.
Lisa has a BA from Hampshire College and a masters in performance from New England Conservatory, with a background in music performance and teaching at the community college level. Currently she serves on the board of directors of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, the Steering Council of the Arts Education Collaborative, the Community Advisory Board of WQED Multimedia, and the Program Committee of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Lisa has served on grant panels and teaching artist rostering panels for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Nevada Arts Council and the Baltimore City Mayor’s Advisory Council on Art and Culture. She was a board officer of Baltimore Artists’ Housing, a living/working cooperative in East Baltimore where she launched their open studio day and positioned the organization to hire a professional property manager, among other things.
Lisa is married to Buck Favorini, a theatre arts professor at University of Pittsburgh, and lives in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood with their 2 cats, 1 dog, many vegetables and random visiting stepchildren.