Lisa Kalem - Lisa Kalem South Pasadena California
Lisa Kalem serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the New City School in Long Beach, California, where she extends her support of public education beyond financial matters. An advocate of physical education and athletics, Lisa Kalem works with the South Pasadena Little League and the American Youth Soccer Organization to give students access to team sports. Lisa Kalem also affiliates with the South Pasadena Educational Foundation, an organization that supports increased access to counseling services and encourages students to study science, performing and visual arts, and foreign languages. A proven financial leader, Lisa Kalem came to the New City School when it was faced with necessary building repairs and weighed down by a substantial debt. Lisa Kalem carefully managed the school’s funds, gathering the money needed to repay most of what was owed. In addition, Lisa Kalem employed her talents as a negotiator to convince the IRS and the Employment Development Department of the State of California to forgive a debt of $73,000. In order to ensure the school’s future stability, Lisa Kalem completely remodeled its finances, managing to retain all of the school’s teachers while still bringing its budget under control. A constant friend to school employees, Lisa Kalem also streamlined the process by which PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) and STRS (State Teacher Retirement System) funds were disbursed. Lisa Kalem earned a BA and an MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California, where she also received one of the institution's prestigious Marketing Awards. An environmental advocate, Lisa Kalem works with the Hahamongna Arroyo Seco Preservation Group to protect the area’s natural beauty. She also enjoys distance swimming, softball, and dressage and takes pleasure in the works of authors such as Salman Rushdie, Langston Hughes, Michael Chabon, and William Shakespeare.