Born in Stuttgart, Germany, the Winter family moved to the United States when Lisa was 7 years old. She spent her youth in Amherst, Massachusetts, and attended Carleton College in Minnesota before transferring to Smith College in Massachusetts. She spent a semester living in Paris and honed her French skills. Her postgraduate education includes a Master of the Arts in Teaching from Rhode Island School of Design, and a Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art, with an emphasis in realistic portrait sculpture. She has taught art to children and adults of various ages and wishes to continue pursuing a career in art that blends teaching and creating artwork.