Tell me a story

LISA COLE is a born, raised, and seasoned Southern storyteller who fell in love with stories before she could walk. Today, her writings give a distinct Southern voice to obscure emotions sparked by daily human encounters. Digging into individual histories and exploring relationships, she writes under the motto, “Stories Bond Us All.”

Lisa has a long history of serving the writing world, nonprofits, and public education. She has guided development of nearly 250 policies for various groups, developed websites for small businesses, authored two picture books, and led the publication of over a dozen other books under her company Vestra Lingua Publishing.

An indie publisher at heart, over the past two decades Lisa has written for blogs, websites, print magazines entrepreneurs, non-profits, and schools. Contributions include Reach Out Columbia, Dr. Katrina Hutchen’s Voice Positioning and Dave Newell’s epic novel, Red Lory. After leaving behind a beloved era with the Division of Academics, Student Affairs & Research (SC Technical College System), she accepted the role of Board Chair-as-Interim Executive Director of Turning Pages SC, an adult literacy council in Columbia, SC.

As a volunteer, Lisa has served on over two dozen civic committees including City of Cayce Beautification Foundation, two School Improvement Councils and three Board of Directors (East Point Academy, Midlands Fatherhood Coalition, and Turning Pages SC.) She is also active in leadership for the  Junior League of Columbia and maintains membership in the Independent Book Publishers Association, ProLiteracy, Author’s Guild, and SC Technical Educators Association. 

Professionally, Lisa holds an MBA, is a United Way Blueprint for Leadership graduate, and is constantly seeking new things to learn. Her hobbies include reading, primitive camping, philosophical exchanges with friends, picking up Legos, and hiding her snickers bars from the kids.