Lisa Karmacharya

Lisa Karmacharya

2021 NACSA Leader

Executive Director, Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board

Dr. Lisa Karmacharya is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board. Dr. Karmacharya works to ensure that board decisions align with national best practices to maintain high standards for charter schools, uphold school autonomy, and protect student and public interests. She has served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of School Administrators (MASA) where she honed her skills for marketing, budgeting, conference and program planning. Dr. Karmacharya has over 25 years of experience in public education, having served as a special education teacher, assistant principal, principal, superintendent, and Executive Director of Federal Programs and Curriculum and Instruction for both elementary and secondary schools. Dr. Karmacharya holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from the University of Mississippi, a Masters in Supervision of Instruction from Mississippi College, and an Educational Specialist and Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Mississippi.


Most Recent Posts
Raising the Bar: NACSA’s Updated State Policy Recommendations
NACSA believes that strong laws enable strong authorizing. In turn, strong authorizing leads to strong public education outcomes for students, families, and communities. That’s why we regularly update our state...
A New Path Forward: NACSA’s Bold New School Application Guidance
I’ll never forget a foundational principle I learned nearly two decades ago, while authorizing in Indianapolis: It should be hard to gain approval to start a new charter school. But...
How to Start Updating Your New School Application to Reduce the Paper Burden
Most authorizers will need some time to make NACSA’s suggested improvements to their new school application process. Here are some ideas on where to start.  1. Focus on the vision...