Lisa Rathje is Director of Folklife Programs for Company of Folk in Chicago, IL, and also consults nationally specializing in ethnographic research and folklife program development. Her areas of interest include the intersection of arts, tradition, and community; with research specializations in Afro-Cuban arts, folklife and education, ethnographic research methodologies, and applying cultural knowledge in social justice efforts. At Goucher College Rathje teaches in the Masters in Cultural Sustainability program with graduate seminars in Cultural Partnerships and the Cultural Documentation Field Lab.

Working as a folklorist with the Institute for Cultural Partnerships 2006-2010 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she administered the Fellowships and Apprenticeships in Folk and Traditional Arts Program for Pennsylvania; including technical assistance, program management, site visits, and documentation. She conceptualized and served as project director 2006-2010 for the successful education program The Art of Many Voices, serving urban youth in Harrisburg’s alternative high school. Also, Making It Better:  Folk Arts in Pennsylvania Today, an exhibition featuring over 40 objects that exemplify how traditional art forms serve as catalyst in contemporary communities, was co-curated by Rathje and finished a successful two year tour in 2012. Since 2006, Rathje has served as oral history advisor and videographer for an on-going research project on Afro-Cuban artist Nancy Morejón and others of her generation. Rathje received her Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Folklore from the University of Missouri.