Debbie Lister

Background

About Debbie Lister

Debbie is a highly passionate empath who is committed to educational equity. She brings three decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. She excels in interpersonal relationships and the ability to identify and address underlying root causes, and these skills have enabled her to be successful in the areas of partner development, human capital, internal team building, coaching, consulting, and meeting/retreat facilitation. Debbie currently serves as an independent consultant providing capacity for a variety of organizations in the functions including talent, strategy, project management, and training. She previously was a Partner for Education Board Partners where she supported public schools in improving leadership practices. Debbie served as the DC Director for Education Pioneers where she led the successful growth and implementation of transformative Education Pioneers Fellowship programs in the DC Metro area. Debbie was Senior Vice President of Partner Engagement at America's Promise Alliance where she designed and managed strategies to activate over 400 national partners to improve high school graduation rates. Prior to that role, she was a Program Manager at the CityBridge Foundation, where she led the DC Catalyst Project, transforming nine traditional DCPS schools into theme-based schools to foster school improvement and community engagement. Debbie’s previous experience includes Director of Recruitment for City Year Washington, DC and Manager of Partnerships for the Points of Light Foundation. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Public Administration from American University. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer working on nonprofit development in Lithuania and continues to serve as a volunteer and on boards.