Lisa Panka

Vice President, Program Development

Pronouns: she/her

For over twenty years, Lisa has dedicated her professional life to developing high-quality curriculum for the preK–12 educational publishing industry with specific expertise in preK–8 ELA, Social Studies, Science, and Math. As Vice President, Program Development, Lisa oversees the Content, Design & UX, Alignment, and Editorial Services groups. Lisa assists the Senior Directors in meeting their department goals, develops tools and processes to increase quality and efficiency, and provides outstanding service to our clients. She has a focus on building new teams to continuously grow CSA’s capabilities and address changing client expectations. Lisa works with the rest of the senior leadership team on company initiatives and future growth. Lisa especially enjoys building strong client relationships and seeing their products come to life.

Before entering the curriculum development world, Lisa spent more than a decade teaching preschool through fifth grade, both in affluent districts and lower-income communities. Lisa has been a key contributing member of teams in developing and supporting programs for major publishers and development houses. Lisa has run her own freelance editorial business, gaining management experience and useful tools to ensure contract adherence to compliance, deadlines, and budgets. Prior to joining CSA, Lisa started the K–12 editorial department for another large development house, building the team and putting processes in place that allowed the company to successfully build that business.

Lisa holds an MA in Elementary Education Administration from Northeastern Illinois University and a BA in Elementary Education and Psychology from Barat College of DePaul University.

At eleven years old, Lisa caught the rock music bug and never let go. She started going to concerts at age thirteen and still goes to as many shows as possible. She also enjoys nature photography and can often be found checking out nature preserves with her camera on the weekends.

Contact Lisa at lpanka@csaedu.com