BIO

Lisa Akchin brings decades of leadership experience in higher education and academic medical center communications, marketing, and strategic planning to her role as senior counsel at R.W. Jones. She developed the first marketing and communications departments at the University of Maryland Medical Center and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), a rapidly rising public research university in Baltimore that has achieved R1 status. Her background also includes working within advancement organizations to frame the case for support for comprehensive fundraising campaigns, and strategically designing milestone anniversaries to achieve new levels of campus visibility and stakeholder engagement.

At UMBC, she worked directly with the President and the Provost to design and execute annual university retreats. She also played a central role in building an engaging campus participation process for strategic planning and is highly skilled in facilitating clients through conversations and planning that reveal shared interests and strategic opportunities. Her portfolio at UMBC also included community and government relations, issues management, and crisis communications. Most recently, she served on the team supporting the successful transition from a 30-year presidency to new leadership.

Lisa holds a B.S. in Mass Communications from University of Tennessee – Knoxville and an M.S. in Urban Studies and Planning from University of Maryland – College Park. She is currently participating in the Georgetown University Executive Certificate in Facilitation program.