Lisa Joyner, with Mason President Ángel Cabrera, was integral to the College of Health and Human Services' move into the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall. Photo by Evan Cantwell.
Lisa Joyner told herself that while on her Pocono Mountains honeymoon, she would not look at her email. But she admitted she just couldn’t resist, and that’s when she got a surprise: notification that she is George Mason University’s March Employee of the Month.
“It was really nice,” Joyner said as she laughed that the message was dated Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, the day of her wedding to husband, Don.
Joyner, executive director for finance and administration in the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), has been at Mason since 1997. She is responsible for ensuring the college’s units receive the proper funding for day-to-day operations and is the liaison with the university’s central office on personnel matters.
She also was integral to the college’s January 2018 move to the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall, as she worked with faculty members on the building’s floor plan and ensured the space could accommodate future faculty, staff and student growth.
She called it a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“It took, literally, months going into years,” Joyner said. “We worked with a planning group, and they had deadlines, so it all depended on what was needed and when to ensure that we were progressing in a timely manner from phase to phase of the building planning.”
“There simply were no glitches throughout the move,” said CHHS Dean Germaine Buck Louis. “In working together, [Joyner] keeps the spirit of striving together alive and well. And she expects nothing in return for her effort.”
Except the satisfaction of a job well done, which Joyner said she experiences every morning she walks into Peterson Hall and thinks, “I had a hand in this.”
How she got here: We relocated to Northern Virginia in August 1997, and I began working in a fiscal position in the College of Nursing and Health Science, now CHHS. It's been amazing to watch and be a part of a college that has grown so quickly in a short period of time.
Best day on the job: My best day on the job was in January 2018—the day that all moves were complete and the faculty and staff of CHHS had been relocated to our new home, Peterson Family Health Hall. This is the first time that all of the departments and schools in our college have been housed in one building, and it feels great.
What she likes best about working at Mason: Working behind the scenes in my role of overseeing the finances, administration and operations for CHHS has been quite rewarding. My colleagues are great. There's never a dull moment. We take time to encourage, recognize and celebrate with one another. We work together to ensure that guidelines and policies are created and enforced, and everyone is always willing to assist one another. Mason is really a great place to work.
What she likes to do when not working: I love attending our family socials, traveling and spending time with my children: Carl and Cyerria, and husband, Don. I enjoy talking to my parents and friends, attending fashion shows, reading and playing with the grand-pup, Prince.