Sr. Lisa Atkins has been a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas for 31 years. She has spent the last 24 years in nursing. Most recently, Sr. Lisa served as a Nurse Practitioner at the Mercy Health System of St. Louis in Rogers, AR for 18 years. During this time at Mercy Health System, she helped to start the Mercy Community Health and Benefit Department, through which the Homeless Motel Ministry in Rogers was started and continues to operate. Sr. Lisa, with Mercy Health System and local community partners, led the project to build affordable housing in NWA. Sr. Lisa is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with her MSN-BSN from Maryvale University of St. Louis and BA in Psychology from Belmont Abbey of Belmont NC. She is also a Certified Spiritual Director, receiving her Spiritual Direction Certification from the Global Spiritual Direction Program by the Benedictine Sisters of Benet Hill, CO. Sr. Lisa also enjoys reading, hiking in nature, cooking, gardening, and watching movies.