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Lisa Causarano '09, United States
“Knowing that I would be receiving degrees from two of the most premier institutions was a substantial factor in my decision to attend the Dual Degree program. The schools' top rankings mean students receive a quality education from some of the best professors in the world.”


Lisa Causarano '09

Lisa Causarano’s expertise has run the gamut: from apples and oranges (literally) to natural gas, emissions and crude oil, and now, to interest rate swaps.

Previously a legislative advocate for California and Arizona’s Western Grower’s Association and later a manager for the Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association, Causarano knows a thing or two about produce. But that isn’t where her story ends.

During her 12-year professional career, she also managed marketing and new business development for a nonprofit that assists organizations that sell or provide products/services to the military. What’s more, she spent four years as the director of e-commerce sales and marketing for Kentucky-based energy brokerage firm, ICAP Energy. The position exposed her to international business for the first time.

Even with so much hands-on experience and global business exposure, Causarano says, “I wanted to further broaden the scope of my professional career into the international arena.” That's what brought her to Thunderbird - and to the school's unique Distance Learning Dual Degree program with Indiana University's Kelley Direct.

So, while she was honing her domestic business skills through IU's courses and learning the cultural nuances of global business in Thunderbird’s virtual classrooms and global learning experiences, she took on yet another challenge. She switched careers midway through the program.

Her next career move was working for an international start-up company that clears fixed income derivatives. Her primary role was to coordinate marketing initiatives for the central clearinghouse that manages interest rate swaps and other fixed-income derivative contracts.

“The company is comprised of many individuals around the world – Russia, Sweden, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand,” explains Causarano. “Classes at Thunderbird allowed me to work seamlessly with new colleagues who were from different cultures.”

Causarano says Thunderbird and Indiana University's dual degree curriculum also introduced her to differences in business practices worldwide. “Perhaps the lesson that resonates the most is to ‘think globally, act locally,’” says the 34-year-old native of California. “I work in a global industry, and it’s important for me to remember that transactions that some of my global customers are making may appear small, but, in fact, are worth millions and billions of dollars.”

The daughter of first-generation Italian-American immigrants, Causarano says the greater global world has always fascinated her. Studying as an undergraduate in Siena, Italy, where her family once lived, provided additional confirmation of her interest in all things global.

“One of my favorite characteristics of Thunderbird’s dual degree program is its diversity,” she explains. “My class included individuals of geographic, ethnic, professional, political, religious and social diversity. Plus, learning in an online environment allowed me to apply what I learned yesterday to my job the next day. Students of traditional on-campus learning do not always have this advantage.”