Lisa holds a B.A. in English Literature and an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She began her career as a reference librarian at Juniata College and at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. In 1994, she accepted a post at the United States Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) as Supervisory Librarian, and she was promoted to Analytical Research Unit Supervisor. In 1997 she wrote the article, with her colleague David J. Bonski, Do Digital Libraries Need Librarians: An Experiential Dialog. This article became a seminal work on Digital Libraries, translated into several languages, used on graduate school reading lists across the country, and used by the Library of Congress at the Center for the Book. Returning to higher education, she became Director of the Library at Mount Aloysius College. In 2003, Lisa went to work for Libraries for the Future, a national non-profit based in Manhattan, with a 3 year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to train public librarians on current technology. Lisa served under this grant as the Pennsylvania State EqualAccess Program Coordinator. In 2010, Lisa published Re-Presentations of Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Portrayals in Fiction, Drama, Music and Film. Amherst, N.Y.: Cambria Press. Finally, Lisa was Academic Advising Coordinator and Humanities Instructor at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.

Lisa is currently a board member of the Peer Empowerment Network (PEN). PEN provides services and community to people with mental illnesses. She is also past president of the Johnstown Art League. On most Monday mornings and some Thursday nights, she is a member of the online co-work writing group. Lisa is an avid knitter—a member of the Wednesday Night Knitting Class. She loves to read and travel with her husband Robert Matson. She loves to garden. In 2020, Lisa was elected by the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church to serve on the Church Council from January 2021 to January 2023. She tries to write every day. She has been a regular contributor to The Review of the Pre-Raphaelite Society beginning in 2011, and has started writing for the Johnstown Magazine. Lisa lives with her husband, Robert W. Matson and her mother, Joanne Dallape, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.