ABOUT US

Lisa Bernstein is the Executive Director and co-founder of The What To Expect Foundation. Bernstein was the former Associate Publisher of "Brain Quest", and has worked in the publicity, marketing, and editorial departments of  many commercial book publishers including The New Press, Bantam Books, Henry Holt and Co., and Little, Brown and Co.  At Workman Publishing she  promoted Heidi Murkoff and Arlene Eisenberg’s What To Expect pregnancy and parenting series.

Her publishing experience, coupled with a stint as a volunteer literacy tutor with substance abusing, teens on probation at Odyssey House's Drug Rehab Center is what sparked her passion for literacy education as a way to break cycles of poverty, illiteracy, and infant mortality. 

Lisa and Heidi started The What To Expect Foundation with the simple mission of creating a lower-literacy pregnancy guide that addressed the needs of underserved pregnant families.  That book, Baby Basics, is now available in 3 languages, and has grown to become a nationwide prenatal health literacy program that provides health and literacy support to families in-need, and teaches healthcare providers and educators how to better communicate and empower low-literate and immigrant families.  500,000 moms across the country have received a free copy of Baby Basics from their doctor, home visitor or managed care provider.  There are major Baby Basics Initiatives across New York and New Jersey, in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Palm Beach and Baltimore.

The funding for much of The Foundation’s work comes from an innovative social venture program.  The Foundation has partnered with leading corporations to create  award-winning media campaigns that give important health information to What To Expect families and also fund the Foundation's work with families in-need.  The What To Expect Guide To Car Seat Safety was create by Nissan and The Foundation to help families buckle up safely.  100% of the fees generated by that campaign went to help families in need.  Similarly,  Clorox's What To Expect Healthy Home and GSK's What To Expect Guide To Immunizations campaigns underwrote the Baby Basics Program's growth.

A native of Philadelphia, Lisa is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University and lives in New York City with her husband and two children. She serves on a variety of boards and committees including PBS Kids and NY Reach Out and Read Advisory Boards.