Meet Our Founder,
Lisa Duty, Ph.D.
Dr. Lisa Duty is the Founder and Principal Consultant of the nonpartisan Civic Futures Institute. She is a futurist, strategist, and advisor who helps private sector and civic leaders and institutions navigate change, design for the long term, and strengthen the civic foundations of communities. Her work spans foresight, innovation, education, and democratic renewal—connecting ideas with action to create lasting impact.
Lisa is the author of Civic Life in America: Alternative Futures in 2036. She serves as Futures Consultant to the America 250-Ohio Commission's Future Ohio: Projecting Ohio in 2076 initiative, helping shape an effort envisioning Ohio's future at the nation's 250th anniversary.
Lisa Duty, Ph.D.
Founder & Principal
Civic Futures Institute
Previously, Lisa led the revitalization of Leadership Ohio, transforming it into a statewide force for civic vitality. She founded the Ohio Civic Health Initiative, a statewide effort to understand and improve the conditions that foster trust and civic participation. This work includes the Ohio Civic Health Index, developed in collaboration with the National Conference on Citizenship. She also created Join In: Uniting Communities in Ohio—supported by the America 250–Ohio Commission—to spark reclaiming the spirit of association to strengthen Ohio.
Earlier in her career, she consulted global and national organizations such as Imagine Worldwide, Teach the World Foundation, and the Omidyar Network, and served as a Founding Partner at The Learning Accelerator and Senior Director of Innovation at KnowledgeWorks.
Lisa has worked in international forums on civics and education—from Poland and Ukraine to South Africa—and has served as adjunct faculty at The Ohio State University. She is a gubernatorial appointee to the Ohio Commission on Service and Volunteerism, serves the board of directors of the Ohio Victim Witness Association, and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists, Heterodox Academy, and Ohio Women in Government. Ohio Business Magazine named her to its "Ohio 500" list of the state's most influential leaders in 2024 and 2025.
Lisa earned a Ph.D. in Global Education from The Ohio State University, with cognates in Democratization and Education Transformation.