Description: Lisa Rogers is a native of the state of Tennessee. Lisa’s professional journey includes roles in advertising, library services, and recruitment prior to getting into child nutrition. Lisa joined the Institute of Child Nutrition as a Library Specialist, eventually becoming the Associate Director of the Training Division. Lisa retired on June 30, 2023.
Latasha McJunkins: Good morning, Lisa. How are you today?
Lisa Rogers: Hey, Latasha. It is always so good to see you.
Latasha McJunkins: You as well. My name is Latasha McJunkins, and it is November 1, 2024. I am here in Oxford, Mississippi, with Lisa Rogers, who is also in Oxford, MS. She is the former Associate Director of the Training Division at the Institute of Child Nutrition. I’m so excited to interview her today because she has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. I know her insights are invaluable, and I cannot wait to hear more about her time at ICN. So, without further delay, we’ll go ahead and jump into the questions, Lisa. I’d like to start off with you telling me a little bit about yourself and where you grew up.
Lisa Rogers: Well, I grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, which is right on the Kentucky border. It’s actually a very military town because it’s on the Fort Campbell, Kentucky Army Base. I grew up there, left home after high school, and went to the University of Tennessee, where I earned a degree in communications with a major in advertising, though I’ve never really used that major much.
After college, I went to work in Macon, Georgia, for BellSouth Advertising and Publishing, where we sold Yellow Pages ads. You probably don’t even remember what the Yellow Pages are because you’re so young! But back in the day, that’s how people found phone numbers. I sold Yellow Pages ads and actually met my husband, Jack, in training class. We got married, and we’ve been together for 40 years.
We have two grown daughters, and my husband is a retired Episcopal priest. Because of his ministry, we moved around a lot, and I worked various jobs to help support our family.
Lisa Rogers: My favorite place to settle was in Oxford, Mississippi. We moved here about 16 years ago, and I started working for the Institute of Child Nutrition as a library specialist. That’s how I sort of stumbled into the field of child nutrition.
Latasha McJunkins: Oh, okay. Lisa. So, you’ve moved around quite a bit.
Lisa Rogers: Yes, we have moved a lot! I like to say we’ve followed Jesus Christ all over the Southeast. My daughters moved with us quite a bit, and sometimes I’ve worried they might resent us for it. But fortunately, they both moved to Oxford, so now we’re all here together. I’ve loved having my family in this wonderful town.
Latasha McJunkins: That’s great! And we’re so glad you landed here at ICN. Now, tell me about your educational background. What schools did you attend?
Lisa Rogers: Well, I’m a Vol for life! I went to the University of Tennessee and earned my bachelor’s degree in communications. That’s where my formal education stopped, though I did take some education and paralegal classes along the way. I had a brief stint as a paralegal in New Orleans when we lived there for just under a year.
Most of my favorite jobs were library-related. I worked several library and recruitment jobs. I saw an ad for a library specialist at the Institute of Child Nutrition, applied, and got the job. Leslie White led my search committee, and Jeff Boyce and Sharon Walls were also instrumental in bringing me into the Institute. So that’s how I got started. I may not have had the exact educational background for the job, but my communication skills definitely helped me succeed.
Latasha McJunkins: I would definitely agree that communication is one of your strengths.
Lisa Rogers: I talked a lot, so there you go.
Latasha McJunkins: You’re an effective communicator, though.
Lisa Rogers: Thank you.
Latasha McJunkins: That actually leads into my next question: How did you get involved in the field of child nutrition?
Lisa Rogers: Before coming to ICN, my experience with child nutrition was personal. My grandmother, Lily Davis, was a school nutrition manager in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during the Manhattan Project, when they were building the atomic bomb for World War II. She spent her entire career in that school and managed her program so well that her cafeteria was always financially stable, even when others weren’t.
I spent summers with her when she did summer feeding programs. She was passionate about her work. Her food was so good that members of the community would come to eat at the school cafeteria. At her funeral, several people even mentioned how much they loved her food. I’m proud of that connection to child nutrition.
Growing up, I ate school lunch every day at Norman Smith Elementary. My favorite meal was chili and cinnamon rolls. I still make that combination for my family! We’ve had a lot of discussions about it at ICN, but Dr. Hall-Campbell just doesn’t understand the pairing. It’s delicious, though!
Latasha McJunkins: I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that combination.
Lisa Rogers: You get that sweet and savory mix—it’s fantastic! Sharon Schaefer talks about it, too. They serve it in Nebraska. A couple of years ago, I was at a training in West Helena, Arkansas, for Miss Shirley Banks, and she had chili and cinnamon rolls on the menu. So, it’s made its way to Mississippi, too!
Latasha McJunkins: I love both items separately, but I’ve never thought of having them together.
Lisa Rogers: Dip the cinnamon roll in the chili—it’s amazing. Try it!
Latasha McJunkins: I’ll have to get the courage to try it one day.
Lisa Rogers: I have so much admiration for the child nutrition profession. I truly believe that the managers and directors in this field can do absolutely anything.
Latasha McJunkins: That’s wonderful! What would you say was a typical day during your career, or was there such a thing as a “typical day”?
Lisa Rogers: Well, it was all really interesting and exciting. I started as the Library Specialist. I had John Wall, who later replaced me at the Institute. Back at that time, Beverly Cross—who was a cornerstone of the Institute—and Leslie White handled all the trainings and meetings that took place at the Institute.
Around 2011, they started working on developing a training team so we could conduct more ICN trainings. That’s when I was brought onto the training team. Beverly was our supervisor, and it was her, Leslie White, and me coordinating all the trainings. We also printed the materials, managed shipping, and worked with Henrietta Henderson, who handled the front desk and helped us with shipping. We collaborated with Ability Works to distribute training materials all over the country.
A typical day could have included packing boxes, scheduling trainings with child nutrition directors across the country, answering emails, or hosting a training in the building. In those early days, we had our hands in everything. It was exciting and made us feel like we were doing important work, getting those training materials to people nationwide. I was always amazed at the high-quality materials ICN developed with our consultants and Education and Training Specialists. Our trainers were so professional—they made us look good. I was in awe that they even let me be a part of the training team.
As the team grew, we were lucky to add people like Bill Barry. He handled our materials, duplication, shipping, and quality control. When Bill joined, the boxes and materials looked even better. With him on board, we were able to conduct so many more trainings and get more information to child nutrition professionals nationwide.
When Beverly retired, I was fortunate to apply and take over her role, supervising and overseeing all the trainings. Later, we added Sarah Thomas and Erica Covington-Ford, which allowed us to expand our outreach even more. It was such a wonderful time, working with such a terrific team.
Latasha McJunkins: That’s great. I find it really rewarding to hear feedback from our stakeholders. I didn’t get to hear it much until I started traveling with ICN to different conferences. Every time I attended a conference, stakeholders would share how much they appreciated and valued the resources and trainings we provide. It made me feel great about what we do.
Lisa Rogers: It really does. Everyone at ICN plays such an important role in getting that training out there. I also want to mention Margaret Schaff, who was part of our training team. She retired a little before I did, but the team I worked with for so many years was remarkable. They took on every task without hesitation.
We worked with over a hundred training consultants who were our boots on the ground. They were trained on the materials and then traveled all over the country to provide training. I was so impressed with their professionalism. They did nothing but make us look good. It’s been such an honor to serve those in child nutrition. During the pandemic, they were our frontline heroes—and still are.
Latasha McJunkins: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in that role?
Lisa Rogers: COVID-19. In March 2020, Leslie, Margaret, Bill, Sarah, Erica, and I were told to work from home. We had hundreds of trainings scheduled for the summer, and everything was cancelled. It stopped us in our tracks. We spent the first week processing cancellations.
Kudos to our IT team—they were amazing. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to stay relevant and provide training nationwide. Bill Barry deserves so much credit. He saw early on that we wouldn’t be shipping materials or duplicating them, so he focused on Zoom. He became an expert and helped transition our training modules to virtual formats.
We trained six consultants to conduct virtual trainings—only one of them had used Zoom before. Tom Hunter Pratt, our Zoom expert, taught us how to use the platform, facilitate trainings, and support the trainers. It was nerve-wracking. I couldn’t sleep before those first trainings, worrying about losing connection or making mistakes.
We started hosting virtual training sessions after Easter in 2020. Bill became known as “Breakout Bill” because he managed the breakout rooms. Those early days were chaotic but also rewarding. We worked together on every training until we felt comfortable enough to do it independently.
One of the blessings of that challenge was getting to sit in on so many training sessions. Before virtual training, I didn’t have many opportunities to attend. Listening to child nutrition professionals share their experiences and hearing the knowledge and compassion of our trainers made me even prouder to be part of ICN.
We always opened meetings by thanking participants for their work, saying, “An apron is a cape on backwards.” I meant it every time. What started as a challenge became one of the best blessings of my career. I’m so proud of our team and thankful for the leadership that trusted us to make it happen.
Latasha McJunkins: I know you’re modest, but we excelled because of your leadership and your team’s dedication.
Lisa Rogers: I just prayed every day that no one would find out I didn’t know what I was doing! But they let me stay. They didn’t even change the code on my key card.
Latasha McJunkins: You and your team did an amazing job. Your perseverance brought new opportunities, and we’re all grateful.
Lisa Rogers: Thank you. I’m grateful, too. The leadership at ICN is phenomenal, and the current team is in good hands. It’s a labor of love, and I’m just happy to have been a part of it.
