Clearinghouse Spotlight: Lisa Black, Client Education Specialist, Education Management

The Woman behind our Webinars

Our Clearinghouse Connections series offers you a more intimate look at the National Student Clearinghouse by introducing you to our people and the work they do. Today, meet Lisa Black, who manages the Clearinghouse Academy and continually provides resources and support to the Education Services division.

Q: So, Lisa, you’re a Client Education Specialist. What exactly does that entail?
A: The focus of my role is centered around instructional design. My goal is to better understand how we can measure education needs of our Education Services clients. Through market research, surveys, and client feedback, we can analyze and determine what works best in providing our clients with the information and training they need.

Q: Client Education Specialist was a new role at the time of your hire. What was it like filling this new position, and how are things different from when you first started?

A: The Clearinghouse was not conducting an extensive webinar program when I started. We held in-person Clearinghouse Academies, now known as our Clearinghouse Academy: Live in your Neighborhood events. I co-hosted 100 of those annually across the country, getting to know our clients and delivering training. I liked my job and the traveling didn’t bother me – I mean, everyone has a commute, mine just happened to be by plane a lot of the time.

Q: How did you get started in a career in higher education?

A:  I started out working in college admissions, and after a brief stint teaching middle school science and math, I ended up in alumni relations before coming to the Clearinghouse. I’m still actively involved in higher education, frequently mentoring college students who are completing internships in the DC metro area. I help them with things like online networking, personal branding, and resumes.

Q: What is your favorite part about your job, and what is your biggest challenge?

A: I really enjoy working with a variety of different Clearinghouse departments, helping them learn how to leverage technology and deliver learning value to our clients. The challenge is always how to put all these plans in motion with a limited number of hours in the day.

Q: Outside of the Clearinghouse, what do you like to do for fun?

A: Listen to podcasts. Lots of podcasts. My favorite podcast is probably NPR politics. I generally stay away from politics, but NPR does a great job at providing relevant information and telling you why those issues affect you. I also belong to a running club. I don’t care much about running races, I just like running and spending time with the group!

Fun Fact: Lisa is an expert light packer.  She traveled to Greece for 10 days with just one carry-on bag and had room to fit souvenirs! Her keys to success include using the bundle method and sticking to one color scheme to avoid packing too much.

For more information on Clearinghouse Academy and to watch the Clearinghouse’s live sessions, on-demand videos, and webinars, visit https://clearinghouseacademy.org/.

“Through market research, surveys, and client research, we can analyze and determine what works best in providing our clients with information and training they need.”