Tanisha Lewis is the Chief Financial Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. With over 120,000 members and 260 affiliated societies, AAAS represents 10 million people across all fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ecosystem.
Lewis first joined AAAS in August 2004 as a senior accountant on the grants team, of which she assumed leadership in 2018. In this position, she oversaw the organization’s grant portfolio that encompassed $30 million in private and public funding annually from over 60 sources. In 2020, Tanisha was appointed CFO and is an integral part of the team that is re-imagining the foundation of how AAAS operates. She oversees the organization’s annual budget of more than $110 million and helps to formulate and execute the organization’s overarching financial strategy. Lewis’ comprehensive non-profit financial accounting, grant accounting, and compliance experience helps her bring a collaborative problem-solving approach to AAAS’ financial activities. She is also leveraging new technological systems to progressively manage the organization’s evolving, complex business models.
Tanisha a DC native with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from The George Washington University. She is a member of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs (GWSCPA), the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), and the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE). Prior to joining AAAS, her experience included working in public accounting, where she managed the outsourced financial accounting functions including audit and tax compliance for multiple DC-area non-profit associations.