MEET LISA
A DC Public School mom, retired public servant with 28 years of service, and a believer in community-powered change centered on justice that puts people first.
IT'S TIME TO BUILD
A JUST DC FOR ALL.
Lisa has been recognized nationally for her work on investigating some of the most challenging federal housing issues. She played instrumental roles in combating FHA mortgage fraud during our nation’s mortgage fraud crisis. Most recently, she led national efforts to respond to one of the largest and costliest disaster responses in US history; Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Throughout her career in public service, Lisa has witnessed first-hand the difficulties of navigating the systems families depend on for help. Lisa is running for DC Council At-Large to ensure justice for all of DC.
Lisa held bilingual (Spanish-speaking) positions in both the private and public sector, volunteered for non-profit agencies, and became a Certified Addiction Counselor, conducting her residency at Suburban Hospital. She’s seen how families struggled and felt lost trying to navigate government services and systems that aren’t designed for everyone, including immigrant families fighting for services in their native language. Her work with kids and families experiencing domestic violence, homelessness, teen pregnancy, and addiction framed her belief that government plays a crucial role in the well-being of the people it serves, whether it’s providing housing, education, or safe spaces.
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Lisa eventually embarked on a 23-year career serving as a federal special agent. She led efforts to hold violators accountable for the most egregious crimes and financial frauds that harmed DC residents and victims throughout the United States. She earned a reputation as a tenacious agent who wasn’t afraid to conduct difficult investigations, like public corruption, procurement, contract fraud, and other financial fraud schemes.
Lisa rose through the ranks and became a Special Agent in Charge. At that level, she commanded the Operations Division where she led a team of cross-functional staff in providing guidance and operational support to 44 investigative field offices located across the country and crafting national policies and initiatives to combat fraud in FHA and other federal housing programs. Lisa is well versed in the oversight of significant government programs. She led successful efforts in identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities in federal housing and community development programs and developed Congressional testimony on a range of federal housing matters, highlighting concerns with program efficiency and the proper spending of taxpayer dollars. She most recently led parts of OIG's response to HUD's $89B disaster recovery portfolio and OIG's Emergency Support Function #13 team.
As a mom, Lisa knows first-hand the challenges DC families face trying to raise kids in a safe, healthy environment.
Her son was born at only 24 weeks and spent six months in the NICU. Once Brandon came home from the hospital, Lisa spent years navigating services that were supposed to provide early support. This was an overwhelming and exhausting experience.
As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, the elected officials closest to resident concerns, Lisa worked to transform the way we think about community and whom that includes. She worked to expand the voices of diverse groups and stood with community members, advocates, and activists to fight for safe streets, expanded bus routes, improved bicycle infrastructure, racial and social equity, and greater oversight of policy technology, transparency in traffic stop data, and creating affordable housing. Lisa recognizes just how much our government matters and believes we can develop good programs that solve problems, remove barriers, empower people, and serve those that need them most.
A native of Virginia, Lisa grew up in Roanoke with her parents and older brother. Her dad owned a small construction business, and her mom and step-father were educators at the secondary and post-secondary school levels. She spent much time with her brother running through the neighborhood, climbing trees, and playing on sandlot sports teams. Lisa lived next door to her grandma and great-grandma and loved growing up under the watchful eye of three generations. She is the third generation of her family from Roanoke to make DC home.
Lisa is also a third-generation college graduate, graduating from the University of Virginia and she is pursuing her Master's in Management from the University of Illinois, Gies College of Business. Lisa is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and lives with her husband, Vertice, their son, Brandon, and fur-baby Shadow in Hawthorne. They attend Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
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Meet Lisa Gore
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