Lasallian Partner, A Lifelong Pursuit: Alisa Macksey '00

You can call it coincidence or say it’s just fate — but Alisa Macksey sees her ties to Saint Mary’s College as “divine intervention.” What else could explain her freshman enrollment in a school outside her faith that seemed, to her, too close to home?

That was 1996 and she’s been a Lasallian partner ever since. As the Program’s Director for the Office of Lasallian Education of the Christian Brothers Conference, Macksey oversees the mission and education formation programs for faculty, staff and administration at 100 ministries in North America and Canada.

“I’m on the road reviewing curriculum, programs and designs to make sure they’re relevant and up to date,” she said.

Saint Mary’s helped teach her the skill set. “Seminar was very influential in problem solving and critical thinking,” she said. Macksey’s passion for social justice was spawned at Saint Mary’s, too, especially after studying abroad in racially divided South Africa. She returned from that trip to become student body president and a volunteer for the newly formed Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action. Balancing meetings with classes, she said she was “notorious” for staying up all night.

Macksey’s boundless energy has served her well in a job where she travels almost half the year. At the age of 34, she admits her social life probably takes a back seat to her job, but she enjoys spending time with her co-workers. “There are a group of us who’ve been professionally formed by the Brothers,” she said. “We do work a lot, but it helps to have other people with similar views, so it can be a social time as well.”

From her first job out of college with Lasallian Volunteers to her position as regional director, Macksey sees her work with the Brothers as a lifelong pursuit. “It’s a mission I believe in very strongly,” she said.