Fearless by Design
Andy Byrne '82 and Lisa Matthews '83. Photo by Stephen Munchel.
Alumni couple embraces the unexpected; helps students thrive
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Lisa Matthews ’83 was a multilingual student-athlete, eager to explore the world. Andy Byrne ’82, interested in science and art, had already traveled extensively. He sought a college home where he could put down roots.
They didn’t know each other as students. But decades later, they’re life partners, with thriving careers along unexpected paths and a shared commitment to giving back.
A passion for learning and travel
At Dickinson, Matthews was a Russian and Soviet area studies major and student-athlete. Seminars with Provost and Dean Emeritus Neil Weissman sharpened her public speaking and critical thinking, and studying abroad in Vienna stoked her independence. She completed a high-level internship through the U.S. Army War College and, through a self-designed independent-study course, read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina in Russian. By graduation, she was fluent in four languages.
After graduation, Matthews put that intercultural prowess to work at the National Security Agency. Two years later, she pivoted to Wall Street, and by age 29, she’d founded her own financial advisory firm. She says her varied Dickinson coursework provided the knowledge base to move into a new field, and her study-abroad experience gave her the confidence to make the entrepreneurial leap.
Finding a college home
Byrne majored in geology—his father’s field, and a driver of his family’s international lifestyle. Eager to settle in on campus after frequent family moves, he made close friends through cross country and track and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE).
As a new graduate, he moved to Canada, where he was born, to work as a geologist for an oil corporation in Calgary, Alberta. About a decade in, a major recession hit the company hard, and it was acquired. Like Matthews, he says his liberal-arts background was critical to what came next.
“The other guys I worked with in Calgary had been on a strictly science track in college, and when the oil market crashed, they had a narrow track of options,” Byrne remembers. “I was the only geologist there with a liberal-arts background. I knew I could go on to do anything I wanted, because I had a degree of competency in different areas, and I wasn’t afraid to learn something new. That’s what a Dickinson education gives you.”
Byrne’s fresh start began with a crash course in accounting and a move to NYC. After working at a financial publishing and research firm, he joined an energy-research firm, now part of S&P Global.
Meet-cute at the G-Man
In 1992, soon after his move to the U.S., Byrne returned to Carlisle to attend his 10th-reunion celebration. During an informal Alumni Weekend meetup at the downtown Carlisle hangout the Gingerbread Man—"G-Man,” to locals—he met an alumna he’d heard a lot about.
Matthews was in Carlisle that weekend to attend an Alumni Advisory Board meeting. She was well known to young NYC alumni, having partnered with the college to develop a regional alumni group in the city. It was the college’s most active alumni group, earning her a Volunteer of the Year award.
When Matthews stopped by the G-Man, a mutual friend introduced her to Byrne. Their first conversation flowed easily. So did the next. When they married, the friend who introduced them was best man, and roughly half of the guests were Dickinsonians.
Giving where they can see results
Today, Byrne is executive director of company research at S&P Global, and he enjoys visual arts in his spare time. Matthews has developed and sold several companies across her career. Now retired, she mentors students and serves on the boards of charitable organizations serving children and others in need.
Both are longtime John Dickinson Society members. “We could just write a check to a charity, but we want to have an impact and give where we can see real results,” says Byrne. “That fits naturally with Dickinson, where we can give and see the direct impact on students.”
When Dickinson established the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy in 2024, the couple found new ways to get involved with the college. Inspired by what they saw taking shape, Byrne and Matthews increased their support for Dickinson through the Burgess Institute, joining its founding investors in helping advance the institute and its impact on Dickinson students. Matthews has visited campus several times through Burgess programming, including serving as an executive-in-residence. In September, Byrne joined her for an on-campus lunch with students who are active with the Burgess Institute.
“The Burgess Institute speaks to us in many different ways,” says Matthews. “We see that it’s developing essential skills, such as public speaking and networking, that students need to be fearless and take risks.”
Megan Fife ’27 (international business & management) was one of the students who met Byrne and Matthews this fall. “Connecting with alumni like Lisa and Andy, I've learned the value of a Dickinson liberal-arts education, practiced networking skills and discovered what I value and want out of my career,” says Fife, who found a passion for marketing through a Burgess workplace visit. “I'm so grateful to Dickinson for giving me these opportunities.”
It’s a full-circle experience, says Matthews.
“Dickinson gave me opportunities to learn and grow when I was a student, and when I graduated, it brought us together and gave me my social circle in New York,” Matthews says. “It’s been there for us through our whole life, and we want to give back.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published October 19, 2026