🌿 Rooted, Radiant, and Reimagined: A New Chapter Begins

“There comes a moment when the work you’ve loved evolves into the life you were meant to live.”

After decades of service in School Nutrition, on January 1, 2026, I am officially stepping into a new season - one that feels both sacred and exhilarating. As I prepare to retire from my role as School Nutrition Director for Buncombe County Schools, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for the incredible people, purpose, and possibilities that have shaped my journey.

Feeding children has never just been a career; it’s been a calling.
It taught me about leadership, compassion, and the quiet beauty of showing up every single day. It showed me that nourishment is more than food on a tray - it’s also laughter, belonging, and love served in a cafeteria filled with stories.

Now, I’m ready to carry those lessons forward into the next expression of my life’s purpose, through Lee Lees Life Lessons™ and Joyful Collective Studios™, Inc.

✨ The Joyful Leap

This transition isn’t a goodbye — it’s a transformation. I’m stepping fully into my heart’s work: weaving the science of Positive Psychology, the wisdom of Metaphysical Science, and the creativity of healing through play into programs that inspire hope and thriving.

🌸 Lee Lees Life Lessons™ will continue to nurture survivors and thrivers through the Let Us Play Series™ — retreats, workshops, and healing spaces designed to help people rediscover joy after trauma or illness.

🎨 Joyful Collective Studios, Inc. will expand the creative side, storytelling, metaphysical education, collaborations, and soulful art that remind us healing can also be beautiful.

Together, these two platforms form the heart of my encore chapter, a bridge between service and spirit, science and soul.

💜 Gratitude for the Journey

To my incredible team, colleagues, and community — thank you for the laughter, the lessons, and the legacy we built together. We didn’t just feed children; we nurtured dreams and dignity.

To my family, friends, and mentors, thank you for believing in me and reminding me that purpose has many seasons. You’ve been the bridge from “someday” to “right now.”

“Retirement isn’t an ending. It’s an awakening, a call to live what we’ve learned.”

🌸 Looking Ahead

This next chapter feels like stepping barefoot into morning dew, fresh, alive, and shimmering with possibility. I’m saying yes to painting, writing, teaching, and leading from a place of wholeness.

Through each new creation, I hope to continue guiding others toward joy, play, and peace. To every survivor, leader, and seeker who crosses my path — I hope you’ll join me in this beautiful unfolding.

Let’s continue to learn, laugh, and lift one another higher.
Because even in retirement, the work of the heart never truly ends, it begins again in a new way.

With Gratitude and Love,
Lisa Caughman Payne, MSc, HHP, CAPP
Founder, Lee Lees Life Lessons™ & Joyful Collective Studios™, Inc.
#RootedRadiantReimagined 🌿