Lisa Blanchette

Lisa may not fit the “official” definition of a Sanford native, but she was raised in Sanford from the age of 3; and she and her husband have raised their three children here;  3 of their grandchildren are being raised here as well. When Lisa’s youngest child was in Junior High, she was made aware of a new program being put into action by the school resource officers in the Sanford Public Schools, and immediately became involved as an active parent and executive board member of this initiative later to be named, Sanford Police Cadets and Youth Initiatives (her son graduated from Sanford High School and the Cadet program). Through her work at Sanford Community Adult Education over a 40 year span, Lisa has seen the result of children who have not had positive experiences and have come back for a second chance but the work that Strategies and their partners like SPC&YI is doing is an attempt to make the first try a positive experience and she wants to be a part of that. Lisa is an active member of Friends of Downtown Sanford, Sanford Alumni Association, and CrossRoads United Methodist Church serving on several committees and singing in the choir.