Lisa Berry currently serves as a Senior Philanthropy Officer at Berea College, covering western Kentucky, the eastern portion of Virginia, Washington D.C., the Mid-Atlantic states, and the New York metropolitan area. She joined the staff of Berea’s Alumni, Communications and Philanthropy team in 2015. She is a proud member of Berea’s Elizabeth Culbreth Society, which recognizes her consistent financial support, Berea Partners for her monthly giving, the Second Century Club for her annual giving, and the Great Commitments Society for naming Berea College in her estate plans.

A native of Indiana, Lisa graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1986 with a B.A. in marketing. As a student, she served as president of the university’s chapter of the American Marketing Association. She has held positions in sales, marketing, and event planning during her more than 25 years of experience in consumer product sales and higher education publishing before transitioning to her current position at Berea.

Although Lisa and her husband, Dr. Chad Berry, are not alumni of Berea College, they like to say that they are “Bereans by choice.” They chose to move to Berea in 2006 when Chad accepted his first position at the College as Director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. They have been proud Bereans ever since.

Lisa and Chad have two children. Their son, Nathaniel, is a 2020 graduate of the University of Richmond, where he majored in politics, philosophy, economics, and law; he is now in law school at the University of Chicago. Their daughter, Madelaine, is a graduate of Hanover College, and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University; she is married to David Taylor, a Captain in the U.S. Army and graduate of West Point. Madelaine and David welcomed their first child, Olivia Katherine, in July 2021. Chad and Lisa raised their children on a small farm not far from the College where they had all kinds of animals; currently, they have a 15-year-old cat named “M,” and a three-year-old Airedale named Piper.

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