Lisa Romano, Neighbor

Born in Hartford and growing up in Redding, Lisa Romano has lived most of her life in Connecticut, the past 11 years in Newtown. She is the Democratic candidate for the 106th District seat in the Connecticut House of Representatives, which is located entirely within Newtown.

Lisa would bring a wealth of knowledge from her professional and volunteer experience to the legislature. She has worked as a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker out of the Newtown office since 2007, seeing the effects of the economic downturn while advocating effectively for her clients. She also received teaching certification in social studies through the Connecticut Alternate Route to Certification program in 2010. Since then, she has held several positions in the public schools, including AVID tutor in Stamford, educational assistant for literacy in Newtown, and substitute teacher. Lisa has also reported about Newtown for Patch.com.

As a stay-at-home mom for eight years with her three children, Lisa volunteered extensively in the public schools as a reading tutor and room parent. She served as leader of the Junior Great Books Program at Middle Gate Elementary School and on the board of the Suzuki Music School's parent association, as treasurer. At her church, Trinity Episcopal, Lisa is in her ninth year of teaching church school, and is a soprano in the choir and cantor for the Taize ensemble.

Before moving to Newtown, Lisa gained experience as a paralegal at a Wall Street law firm, as a television production assistant for ABC Sports and CBS News, in public relations at Sarah Lawrence College, and as an editor at the technology consulting firm Gartner Group.

Lisa graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree in history and politics, spending a summer in Washington, D.C., interning in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, and a master's degree in education from the University of Bridgeport. She is the mother of Charles (age 13), Ethan (age 11) and Anna (age 9).