Background & Bio

Lisa Asare is the Deputy Commissioner of Health Services, overseeing the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services that administers NJ FamilyCare and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and leading the Department’s work on First Lady Murphy’s Nurture NJ maternal health initiative. Lisa also supports the Catastrophic Illness in Children’s Relief Fund.

Lisa previously worked as the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Family Health Services at the New Jersey Department of Health, where she worked for more than 20 years. At Health, Lisa oversaw units that provided extensive public health programs and services, including Maternal and Child Health, Special Child Health, Early Intervention Services, WIC Nutrition Services, and the SNAP-ED Program. She retooled the Division’s approach to addressing black infant mortality and maternal mortality, contributed to the NurtureNJ strategic plan, addressed the social determinants of health by collaborating with sister state agencies and non-traditional partners, and leveraged additional state, federal, and philanthropic funding to address emerging issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her accomplishments included establishing the Colette Lamothe-Galette Community Health Worker Institute, the Doula Learning Collaborative, and transitioning to eWIC.

Lisa received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in Public Health from the Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Rutgers School of Public Health and the President’s Award from the NJ Public Health Association.