Bio
Lisa Hamiel is the Research and Assessment Manager and Assistant Director of Partnerships for the Educating Character Initiative (ECI). She brings a strategic focus to data-driven initiatives and meaningful collaboration. In this role, Lisa manages research and assessment of ECI partners and grantees, overseeing collection, organization, analysis, and reporting for program impact and grant assessments. She supports research coordination and collaborates on dissemination and community-building strategies to enhance ECI’s impact across partner institutions.
Before joining her current role, Lisa worked at Character Lab, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting research and school partners interested in studying character education. She ran quarterly research projects, assisting researchers with each step of the research process, she was also responsible for recruiting and maintaining relationships with researchers. Prior to this role, Lisa worked as the Assessment Specialist at the University of Richmond, overseeing all administrative and academic assessment and evaluation. Lisa also has a background in education policy, having served in the Office of the Governor of Virginia and the Virginia Department of Education.
Lisa received her M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Towson University and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she studied the sense of belonging of Black students at predominantly White institutions. Her professional interests include motivation, sense of belonging, and equity in higher education, all of which continue to shape her approach to fostering inclusive and responsive educational environments.
Originally from Baltimore, MD, Lisa currently resides in Richmond, VA with her husband, two children, and their dog.