Dr. Lisa Marie Portugal holds a PhD in Leadership, a Master of Education in Health and Wellness, a Master of Arts in Education, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is a personal and professional life coach, author, university professor, PhD chair, committee member, and a faculty supervisor / mentor to teacher candidates. She currently instructs coursework at the undergraduate, graduate, EdD, and PhD levels for various universities and abroad. She is a researcher, peer-reviewed scholar, educator, and has authored several books. Dr. Portugal is on the review board for various academic journals.

Dr. Lisa Marie expertise and research interests include health and wellness, cancer, diabetes, child and adult vaccines, Big Pharma prescription drugs, allopathic and naturopathic medicine, GMO foods, pesticides, government legislation, student engagement and success, student retention, adult learning theory, adult, nontraditional, and at-risk learners, faculty retention, hiring practices, faculty burn-out, best practices in online learning, emerging technology in course design and instruction, online education, learning styles, diversity leadership, transformational leadership, and the Community of Inquiry Framework. She integrates theory into practice through conducting research in these areas.