Lisa Freiburger is GRCC’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, overseeing the college’s Finance, Human Resources and Facilities departments and the GRCC Police.
Her departments manage a budget of more than $112 million, and make sure students and employees have a safe, inclusive environment and grow and maintain facilities needed to gain and provide a top-notch education at GRCC.
Freiburger, a Certified Public Accountant, started her career in public accounting with the Lansing-based Maner Costerisan and Ellis in 1989 before embarking on a 25-year career in education.
She started working in the Grand Rapids Public Schools in 1995, first as an internal auditor, then rising to the role of deputy superintendent and chief financial officer. She came to GRCC in 2011.
Freiburger is recognized for her leadership in West Michigan and in the educational community.
She was one of two GRCC leaders awarded the prestigious Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence in 2016. The Aspen Institute, a Washington, D.C-based educational and policy studies organization, selected Freiburger to be among the inaugural group of 40 leaders with the drive and capacity to transform community colleges to achieve higher levels of student success.
Locally, she serves as assistant treasurer of the GRCC Foundation Board, treasurer of the Grand Rapids Smart Zone Authority Board, vice chairperson of the West Michigan Health Insurance Pool Board, and treasurer of the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology.
Freiburger received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a major in accounting and a minor in finance, from Central Michigan University in 1989. She received her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University in 2010.
