Lisa Blunt Rochester was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Blunt Rochester earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1985 and a master's degree in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware in 2003. Her career experience included working as the deputy secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services from 1993 to 1998, Delaware state secretary of labor from 1998 to 2001, personnel director of the Delaware Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2004, and chief executive of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League from 2004 to 2007. She was also a senior executive leadership and systems manager with the Institute for Community Inclusion.
