Meet Lisa
My name is Lisa Burnam. I'm a socialist running to represent Prince George’s County District 9 because we need someone with vision and is willing to doggedly fight for policies that meet the needs of working families and the climate crisis. We need someone who will be an advocate for parents by actively collaborating with the District 9 Board of Education counterpart to ensure the best investments are being made in our future leaders. We need someone who will boldly stand with labor in the fight for more quality jobs, democratizing the workplace, achieving greater worker protections and family-supporting wages. We need someone who will fight for small businesses and a fairer, progressive tax code.
It would be the greatest privilege
to serve the community I love so much.
— Lisa Burnam
A LIFE OF SERVICE
Building the muscle to fight and foster community.
I’ve spent my life serving. When I was 9, I started a program to feed homeless families. I organized my sibling and friends and, with the support of my parents and school, got parents and local businesses to donate food. It was a simple idea but made a world of difference for more than 100 displaced families in my community. At 15, I started a weekly email newsletter (on AOL!) for young people struggling with self-acceptance and depression.
For years, I volunteered with ONE DC (Organizing Neighborhood Equity) and EMPOWER DC to help organize around worker cooperative development, affordable housing, and public education. I helped found Supporting Prisoners and Acting for Radical Change (SPARC) to provide transportation to families and get media coverage in support of hunger strikes by incarcerated men at Red Onion State Prison.
For years, I helped develop the communications materials to promote the five days of education and lobbying events for the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five. I also volunteered with Family and Friends of Incarcerated People to execute an annual summer event to bring together communities, impacted by incarceration, to heal and reconnect.
Currently, I’m a member of Progressive Maryland working with dedicated organizers to urge Congress to enact Medicare for All. I'm also a member of Democratic Socialists of America. And, I’m a part of the Resident Advisory Group (RAG) which is part of Prince George's County Climate Action Commission.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, I grew up in a working-class family. My mom operated a daycare out of our home and my dad worked for the phone company and proudly served as a labor representative in IBEW Local 827. We kept an open door, always. The neighborhood kids knew we were the house to come to when they needed just a little more food or a few extra hugs.
At Howard University, I majored in African-American Studies and was a member of the department's Kwame Ture Society. Later, I graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Communications from University of Maryland GC.
Summa Cum Laude. Alpha Sigma Lambda Tau Honor Society. Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
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I believe I can do the most good for my community and the larger Prince George's Community by representing our district on the council. We can be an example to other municipalities that it is possible that all people can live well, live healthy, get a quality education and retire with dignity.
I live in beautiful Accokeek with my bestie & husband Tesfa, our two children, cat, and chinchilla.