Sioux Empire United Way is excited to highlight our Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Romkema.
Lisa was born and raised on a farm near Springfield, South Dakota. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Dakota State University.
After graduating, she began her career with Target as an Executive Team Leader, taking her from Watertown, SD to Fargo, ND, and later to the Twin Cities, before ultimately choosing to return closer to home.
Lisa is no stranger to SEUW—she previously served as Campaign Director from 2010 to 2015. With nearly 14 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofit leadership, she brings a strong background in annual campaigns, major gifts, and planned giving.
At Sioux Empire United Way, Lisa provides an overall strategic vision and leadership to Sioux Empire United Way, while also engaging a committed board, community volunteers, agency partners, and key organizational stakeholders.
To learn more about her, be sure to read our interview below!
What does your day-to-day work look like? Day to day, I get to focus on our overall organization strategy, community connections, relationships with donors and nonprofit partners, and helping our amazing team find ways to continue to make a huge impact on the Sioux Empire community.
What's your reason for working at SEUW? I love that we get to support nonprofit organizations who are working to meet the greatest needs in the community, while also being champions for philanthropy and connecting generous individuals to opportunities for giving back. It’s so incredibly rewarding to play a role in linking generosity with opportunity and getting to see the result of that work through the impact that is shared.
How long have you worked at SEUW? I have been in my current role at SEUW for 9 months, and also served as the Campaign Director from 2010-2015, so a combined total of just under 6 years!
What’s something you do at work that makes your job more fun? Spending time connecting with the team, our volunteers, and leaders in the community. Hearing ideas and learning from the experience and expertise of others is so incredibly rewarding, and I feel like I get to take in or learn something new every single day!
If you had to describe your job using only a movie title, what would it be? Pay It Forward
What’s one thing you love about our workplace culture? Collaboration. I love how engaged our team gets in brainstorming and idea sharing between departments!
What’s one skill you’d love to learn? I would love to learn how to play golf! Is that considered a work response?! 😉 In addition to the sport itself, it’s such a great opportunity for connecting and networking!
What’s the weirdest or funniest job you’ve ever had? I detasseled corn for a few weeks during the summer as my first ever paid job. We walked through corn fields taking the tassels off the top of stalks so that the corn could be cross-pollinated to create hybrid seeds. I also rode on a bean bar spraying weeds in the field throughout many late summers as a farm kid!
If you could swap jobs with anyone in the company for a week, who would it be and why? Courtney or Katie! I have a degree in Business/Marketing but have never had a role where marketing was my primary focus, and I really enjoy getting to dip my toes into that work every once in a while!
What are some of your favorite hobbies or what do you like to do for fun? I love to spend time outside, walking or hiking, hanging out by the lake, or even just sitting on the patio chatting it up. I also love to travel to fun new places, or even just back home to my parents' farm!
What’s the last show you binge-watched? White Lotus.
What’s your dream travel destination? There are so many on my list that it’s hard to narrow down! Right now, Kaui has been topping the list for the next big trip.
If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be and why? Teleportation – to be able to see (quickly) some of the places in the world that are difficult or impossible to travel to!
If you were an action figure, what accessories would you come with? As a professional and a mom…. I have to go with a coffee cup that’s always full and hot, multiple cute outfit options, and a calendar that organizes itself!
