Lisa Olson, PhD, executive director
Biography
Lisa Olson, PhD
Lisa Olson serves as the first executive director of the Richard B. and Lynne V. Cheney Cardiovascular Institute. She manages the day-to-day business of the Institute. She works closely with the director and board to set strategic direction, implement the programs of the institute and fundraise.
Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Olson served as the founding executive director of the Heart Rhythm Foundation (HRF). She established the foundations 501 (c) (3) status, brand identity, website and hired staff. She served as the day-to-day manager of all Foundation activities and established a successful leadership giving program.
Prior to HRF, Dr. Olson served as executive director/president of a.ha Group, Inc., the company she founded in 1999. Dr. Olson created the a.ha Group as a marketing and management consulting firm to provide strategic marketing, market research, communications, marketplace analysis, development, business planning and other consulting services to clients.
Other positions Dr. Olson has held include: chief operating officer of C.L. McIntosh & Associates, a leading regulatory and clinical trials consulting firm; officer and vice president for a high-tech software and informatics company, Summit Medical Systems, Inc.; and from 1985 to 1994, she served as director, marketing and then associate executive vice president for the American College of Cardiology, the worlds leading cardiovascular non-profit organization.
Dr. Olson holds a BS in Marketing from Arizona State University, MBA in the Management of Technology and Science from The George Washington University, and a PhD in Business and Health Services Administration from The George Washington University.
