Wooster woman appears on Times Square billboard
To the right of the 21 sign is the billboard that recently ran on Times Square in New York City, featuring Wooster resident Lisa Wills.
To most folks who know Wooster resident Lisa Wills, she is a specialized paraprofessional with the Wooster City Schools. To a very few of her friends, she also is a professional model.
Recently, she hit the big time of any modeling career when she appeared on a billboard in New York City’s Times Square.
Her journey from the Wooster school day to the center of New York City’s modeling community took determination, hard work, talent, a bit of luck and a whole lot of courage.
In her job with the schools, Wills works with the LEAP program, both in transportation and at the high school. She supports a group of kids who are struggling in a variety of ways.
“I give them everything that I have the ability to give them,” Wills said. “We go through the good days and the bad days with these kids who often come from pretty difficult situations.”
Wills’ modeling career began in 2015 when she was part of an empowerment group for women at the Wayne County Public Library.
“It was for helping women find their footing in life,” she said. “You got to meet other women you could reach out to. It helped to build us up.”
Sheer Professionals Hair Styling Studio came into the class and provided makeovers. “They chose three of us from the group to be in a fundraiser later that year. I was one of the three,” Wills said. “I’ll never forget it. It was emotional, powerful. It was a turning point for the good. After that, I started to do local bridal shows and then decided to take it a step further.”
Since then Wills has been in a Purell commercial, published in magazines and walked on fashion show runways including one in New York City for fashion week.
Over the years Wills worked numerous times with Jackie Bertolette, the editor of Haute Ohio Magazine, so when Bertolette recently created the billboard idea, it was the perfect opportunity.
“Bertolette stands for 100% inclusivity — including size, age, walk of life, physical ability, beauty in all,” Wills said.
The timing was just right for Wills, who had been on a different sort of personal journey for the past several years. “In the summer of 2019, I fell off the map,” Wills said. “Life crashed.”
While going to work every day and taking care of her family, Wills said she had been living in darkness — the result of being a childhood trauma survivor. “I was in the darkest depression I’ve ever felt,” she said. “I started counseling, and once I took that step, there was no going back.”
She reached out to Bertolette, who was delighted to hear from Wills after her absence. “Once she told me I had the billboard spot,” Wills said, “I decided I’m going to show up. I’m going to be there. I’m going to do this.”
Wills decided to include as many of her local connections as possible with her on the journey and went to CLOW9 in Wooster for her hair and makeup for the photo shoot that took place in Cleveland. “They got credit on the billboard as well,” Wills said.
Bertolette, also a professional photographer, took the photos herself. “When I look at that picture, I see a different person,” Wills said. “It’s hard for someone like me to find their place in this world. It’s been a struggle all my life.
“It’s been a long road. I’ve definitely found bravery through this journey, courage — my voice. I would like to tell my story in person one day.”