Lisa Smock

Mentorship Commitment Preference: Engage in a long-term mentorship (connect with your mentee throughout the semester, outside of LinkUp events — frequency and format are flexible). Available for both online mentoring and in-person.

Industry: Government Consulting

Employer: Guidehouse

Job Title: Managing Consultant

Areas Lisa is interested in mentoring: 

• Resume Review
• Work-life Balance
• Career Planning
• Networking Strategies

Bio: Lisa Smock is a PMP and Prosci-certified change management practitioner with nearly 15 years of communications, organizational change management, and project management experience in the public sector. She has extensive experience in stakeholder and client engagement, organizational improvement, virtual collaboration, facilitation, and process evaluation. As an engagement manager, she guides and mentors a hybrid team of 13 with consistent engagement and career mentorship.

How did you get your first job? As part of my internship at the Department of Homeland Security, my mentor there introduced me to a manager at Booz Allen who was looking to fill a vacant role and encouraged me to apply for the position. I got the role and she became my boss!

If you were starting your career today, what is the one piece of advice you would give yourself? Give yourself more credit, come prepared but don't be afraid to ask questions - you do need to have all the answers on day one. It's ok for your career goals to shift. 

In what ways has your career path been unique or unconventional? I had the privilege of working with mentors and managers who lead by example. I was able to take that foundation and become the manager I sometimes wish I had to the teams that I manage. 

What career paths have you explored or transitioned between? My internships were in non-profits and firm-based marketing. I realized quickly that I didn't see myself flourishing in those markets. Government consultant has been a much better fit - proven by my 15 years in the field! 

What skills or experiences have been most valuable in your career? 

• Communication 
• Active Listening
• Group/Team Management
• Unconscious Bias Training
• Compassion

Affinity Groups involved with at George Mason.

• Ballroom club
• RockOn (Outdoors club)
• Corner Pocket
• CKI