Lisa Schulze joined the Women’s Fund in April 2015. Around the office you’ll find a trail of confetti behind her everywhere she goes, overhear her pouring into others and generally being an entire vibe. Lisa was recently voted “most likely to make a friend everywhere she goes” by her teammates.
Lisa has been a guest reviewer for the American Journal of Sexuality Education and was a trainer for Answer on sex education for persons with intellectual disabilities at Rutgers University. She was awarded the National Association of Social Workers—Nebraska Chapter 2016 Public Citizen of the Year award for her work advancing comprehensive sex education. She is currently a mentor at Kids Can and is obsessed with making strawberry-basil shrub beverages with herbs from her ever-struggling garden. She holds a Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University and became an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator in June 2014.
Here’s a little bit more about our magical, expressive, funkadelic Education and Training Director:
Q: How long have you been at the WFO?
LS: Since April 6, 2015!! Forever ago! Also maybe just yesterday.
Q: Where are you from?
LS: Born in Papillion, first five years in Grand Island, then most of my life in Lincoln. Moved to Omaha in 2015 after starting my job at WF.
Q: Do you have any pets? What are their names?
LS: I do! She’s a sassafras! Maki is her name and she’s of the feline variety. She loves indulging in copious amounts of catnip, sleeping under radiators, cuddling and giving love bites when she retracts consent for touch.
Q: What are your “big 3” astrology signs (moon/rising/sun)?
LS: Aquarius Sun, Virgo Rising, Cancer moon
Q: What is your Enneagram number? Or Meyers-Briggs? Etc?
LS: No thank you to the Meyers- Briggs. I think I’m in Enneagram 7??? I can’t recall. Sounds right.
Q: What are your top 5 favorite albums?
LS: Oooohhhh however do I pick just five?? This is painful!
- Jeff Buckley – Grace
- Macy Gray – Ruby
- Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
- Mazzy Star – She Hangs Brightly
- Nina Simone – Wild is the Wind
Q: What are your top 5 favorite movies?
LS: Once again, this is SO HARD. I love so many!!
#1 Cinema Paradiso (OBSESSED, have seen it at least 25 times)
#2 The Way We Were (Hubbel!! Get it together!)
#3 Past Lives
#4 My Own Private Idaho
#5 Sex and Lucia
Q: Do you have a secret talent?
LS: Of course I do! I can crack my nose, loudly! Probably not healthy.
Q: Do you have a moment that really galvanized your feminism?
LS: Volunteering for Planned Parenthood when I was 16. My job was to cut out articles relating to repro rights from the newspaper and glue them into the “News Scrapbook” (can you believe). The best thing was that I got the chancer to listen to employees’ conversations around me about different feminist issues—access to sex education, health care and especially abortion. Fired me up! I just recently found the letter I wrote to Senator Jim Exon in 1991 about sex education and abortion rights. I don’t recall a specific moment—there were so many.
Q: Do you have a favorite Women’s Fund memory?
LS: So many!! One of my favorite memories is watching the young people bravely testify in front of the Nebraska Board of Education hearing in support of the updated health education standards. To see the young people supported, mobilized and passionate for change was awe-inspiring. The way the Women’s Fund staff creatively and fiercely made plans to make sure those voices were heard within a system that was actively sabotaging them was one of my proudest moments. We have borne witness to so many brave young people!
Q: Can you share something funny or cringeworthy from your career?
LS: I will never forget the day I taught a high school class and we were going through the anonymous question box. I made the amateur mistake of reading it aloud before fully processing it. Needless to say, “how do I become the mayor of titty city” caused the whole class to rupture into uncontrollable giggles.
Q: How do you find joy or hope these days?
LS: My joy and hope always comes from the moments of connection with my friends and family. Sharing laughter over a good meal and drinks, going to the movies, random dance parties, always in search of my next sound bath. Obsessively watching tik toks from my favorite creators.
Q: What are your currently reading/listening to?
LS: Currently reading bell hook’s book All About Love Listening to the Telepathy Tapes podcast and Barbara Streisand’s memoir (40+ hours!)
Q: What would be the title of your memoir?
LS: Breaking the Hymen: Stories from the Vault
Q: What’s the weirdest item we would find near your bed?
LS: So.many.crystals.
Q: What’s an unpopular opinion you have?
LS: Musicals are bleh (don’t hate me).