About Lisa
Lisa Currie brings her own brand of enthusiasm to her workshops and presentations, along with years of professional health education experience and a wealth of personal experience dealing with various health issues.  Her personal experiences bring these health issues to life, helping the audience to see the human face behind the facts and figures. 

In 2001, Lisa was diagnosed with compulsive eating disorder, after entering therapy for depression. Decades of body image issues, compulsive eating and yo-yo dieting suddenly made sense as she took her first steps on the road to recovery. 

Other events influenced the development of Lisa's eating disorder: the self-imposed desire and pressure to be the "perfect child"...the sudden loss of virtually everything she had known in her life due to her parent's divorce at age 11...the messages she received about her body from others...and perhaps most importantly, a family tradition of not sharing your feelings.

In spite of the emotional pain she experienced, or perhaps because of it, Lisa went on to develop a successful career in college health education. It also afforded her the opportunity to learn about the issues that impacted her the most -- low self esteem, poor body image, and disordered eating patterns. She has also developed a unique perspective on the need to address one’s own personal health concerns in order to live a more honest, authentic life. 

Educational speaking on health issues has been a long held dream of Lisa's. She has chosen to focus on eating disorders primarily due to the fact that it in a health issue of increasing concern in our society and on college campuses in particular. However, it is still greatly misunderstood as a physical problem that can be resolved with stronger willpower, rather than the serious mental health issue with physical consequences that it actually is.  Lisa wants to help prevent eating disorders by educating others on the experience of living with and recovering from an eating disorder and on the complexity of issues that contribute to the development of these serious mental health concerns. 

Experience in Higher Education
 Lisa has been working professionally on campuses and with college students since 1996. Her roots in student affairs lie in working as an Orientation Assistant and as a Peer Counselor in college. These activities spurred her to ultimately develop a career in student affairs by pursuing a master’s degree in College Student Development.

As a result of her personal interests and history and an assistantship she held in graduate school with a peer health education program, Lisa's professional work has centered on student development-based health education, addressing the topics which impact college students most frequently, including:

  • alcohol and other drugs

  • sexual assault & relationship violence

  • healthy relationships

  • sexual health & safer sex

  • eating disorders & body image

  • sexual orientation

  • stress management
    ...and so much more!

As a health educator, Lisa has also been involved with sexual assault response teams, alcohol and other drug task forces, facilitating student organizations, advising wellness program houses, freelance writing on health topics, and, keeping true to her roots, Orientation program planning. 

Working with student peer health educators is one of Lisa's favorite activities.  It has been her honor to work with a wide variety of peer educators on topics ranging from sexual assault to eating disorders, from alcohol to safer sex. She has served as a peer education group advisor since first becoming involved in peer education in graduate school. Currently, she also volunteers as The BACCHUS Network’s Area 10 Consultant, which has allowed her to share her enthusiasm with students and other professionals as well.
  

Professional Background

  • Director of Health Education, Wesleyan University (CT). 2000 - Present.

  • Assistant Director of the Wellness Center, The University of Scranton (PA). 1996 - 2000.

  • Adjunct Faculty, Physical Education, The University of Scranton (PA). 1997 - 2000.

  • Area Consultant, The BACCHUS Network, 2005 - present.

  • State Coordinator, The BACCHUS Network. 1997 - 2005.

  • Freelance Writer & Conference Facilitator, PaperClip Communications. 1999 - Present.

  • Advisory Board, www.SmarterSex.org "Ask the Sexpert!". 2004 - Present.

  • Advisory Board, Alcohol and other Drug Issues & Solutions (newsletter). 2002 - 2004.

Professional Affiliations

  • National Eating Disorders Association

  • American College Health Association

  • American College Personnel Association

  • TIPS for the University Trainer

Educational Background

  • B.A. in Journalism - Advertising
    University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, 1990

  • M.S. in Education - College Student Personnel
    University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, 1995

  • Additional coursework in Addictions, The University of Scranton, 1997 and Art, Wesleyan University.

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