Lisa Maranto

Lisa joined the board as trustee in 2013 after learning about The Seattle School through its Allender Center offerings. She is a passionate steward of the school’s mission to integrate theology and psychology. (Notably, at the urging of then-President Keith Anderson, she also became a passionate Seahawks fan and has led the cheer sections at many local pubs.)

Lisa worked for 32 years in the tax profession, retiring from Exxon Mobil Corporation as Tax Counsel after 22 years with the company. Her interest in law began at the age of 16, while anxiously translating her parents’ divorce pleadings from legalese to English using her local library’s Black’s Law Dictionary. She came away from that experience calmed, grateful for and deeply curious about the law.

In her early 20s, she found a job as a corporate tax clerk, the tax profession’s equivalent of working in the mailroom. She lived with an aunt for 9 years while working days and attending night school, earning an undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance with high honors. She went on to law school at Oklahoma City University. While at OCU, she was the editor for the Jessup International Moot Court team and earned membership into the Phi Delta Phi international legal honor society. After graduating from OCU, she earned an LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Over her legal career, she had the privilege of negotiating the tax-relevant provisions of joint venture agreements with foreign governments and drafted proposed U.S. tax regulations for consideration by the IRS and Treasury Department. Her fondest memories are of time spent with foreign colleagues; especially, sampling street foods in Beijing and Taipei, and exploring Souq Waqif in Doha.

She enjoys curating an eclectic music collection and has a menagerie of musical instruments that includes a Stelling banjo and two Pantheon Steel Halo hand pans. She enjoys drawing portraits, browsing in independent bookstores, and prefers espresso to drip.