Lisa A. Lori J.D.

Lisa A. Lori, J.D. serves as Marywood University’s 13th  president, also holding the distinction of being the institution’s first lay president. President Lori’s distinguished qualifications include a dynamic leadership record as Marywood’s former Board Chair, along with an extensive legal background.

A proud Marywood alumna, President Lori is committed to further expanding Marywood’s scope of influence in higher education, so that a broader range of students can come to know and love the University as much as she does. She believes the University’s greatest resource is its people. Working diligently to advance Marywood’s life-changing mission, she collaborates with campus and community partners to ensure that Marywood University is a leading academic institution for today’s students and for future generations, as well as an economic engine for the region. 

An experienced business litigator for more than two decades, President Lori was a partner with Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg LLP, Philadelphia, Pa., until she began her presidential tenure at Marywood University. During her legal career, she represented national and international businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, higher education institutions, health care providers, and individuals, in a full range of complex business litigation and strategic advising matters. She also was a founder and co-chair of her former firm’s higher education and healthcare industry practice groups. 

Before becoming a lawyer, President Lori pursued an entrepreneurial career, designing and manufacturing a line of clothing under the label Fioretti USA, which was sold at stores nationwide, including Nordstrom, before being acquired by a larger apparel manufacturer. She then decided to go to law school and pursued interests in intellectual property and business litigation.

A graduate of Wyoming Seminary (Kingston, Pa.), she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Design from Marywood University (Scranton, Pa.). President Lori earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, cum laude, from Temple University School of Law (Philadelphia, Pa.), where she served as Editor in Chief of the Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review. She also holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in trial advocacy from Temple University and a Certificate in Strategic Leadership in Education from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.).

A member of the Board of Directors of Jefferson University Physicians (2021–present), President Lori has been recognized as a leading commercial litigation attorney in Pennsylvania by Chambers USA (2021, 2022, 2023), which ranks leading lawyers and law firms across the nation, based on in-depth market analysis and independent research. She also is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a highly selective, invitation-only honorary society of trial lawyers composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Selection is based on excellence and accomplishment in litigation and a superior ethical reputation. Further, she is AV Preeminent rated by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating for legal ability and general ethics, as well as being named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer (2016, 2017, 2018) by a vote of her peers.