Managing Director of Corporate Engagement & Strategic Partnerships
SMU Cox School of Business

Dr. Lisa Tran currently serves as the Managing Director of Corporate Engagement & Strategic Partnerships at the SMU Cox School of Business.  In her role, she creates connections with corporations for talent recruitment, talent development, and faculty partnership opportunities. Lisa spent nearly a decade in career services and led the Career Management Center until 2019. Prior to joining SMU, she worked at Harvard Business School as a Sr. Project Manager and as a Buyer at JCPenney and Neiman Marcus. She holds a BBA in Finance from SMU Cox and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from The University of North Texas. She received her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Higher Education degree from the SMU Simmons School of Education & Human Development in May 2024.

In addition to her role with the Council, Lisa is an actively involved with several other nonprofit organizations, including the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce (Board Member), Orchid Giving Circle of the Communities Foundation of Texas, SMU Association of Asian and Pacific American Scholars & Allies (Chair-Elect), 50/50 Women on Boards (Leadership Committee Member), and Against the Grain Productions AAPI Scholarship Selection (Co-Lead). Lisa is a member of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Leadership Dallas Class of 2018. In 2017, Lisa received the SMU Presidential Award for Outstanding Leadership and the Staff Recognition Award from the Cox School in May 2021.

Lisa and her husband, Jimmy, are college sweethearts and proud parents of 3 children and a rescue dog. She is an avid runner, cyclist, and world traveler.