ShoutOut LA: Lisa Niver, TV Host & Travel Journalist

Embracing Risk as a Path to Growth

When reflecting on the role of risk in her life, Lisa Niver sees it not as something dramatic or impulsive, but as a choice between growth and comfort. For her, taking risks has always been about trusting herself to adapt and keep moving forward, even when the outcome is uncertain. Some of the most significant “risks” she has taken include dropping out of medical school, leaving a stable teaching job to work on cruise ships, and saying yes to travel without knowing where it would lead. Later, she chose to start over after her marriage ended. Each of these moments was less about the leap itself and more about the trust in her ability to land, adapt, and continue.

Travel played a pivotal role in shaping this mindset. Scuba diving taught her to stay calm, breathe, and respond to what is actually happening rather than what she fears might happen. This approach has carried over into her writing, television work, and art. She emphasizes that risk isn’t about ignoring fear; it’s about listening carefully and moving forward anyway.

Professionally, Lisa has taken risks by building her own platforms, pitching stories that don’t fit neatly into categories, and sharing personal stories that were easier to keep private. WritingBrave-ishwas one of the biggest risks of all — putting her reinvention on the page and trusting it would resonate. It did, but not because it was polished or perfect. It worked because it was honest.

She also notes that risk doesn’t disappear with experience — it just changes shape. Creating new television projects, launching a podcast, sharing her art publicly, and mentoring other writers all come with uncertainty. The difference now is that she sees risk as a practice, not a personality trait.

Taking risks has shaped her career, but more importantly, it has shaped her confidence. Not confidence that everything will work out, but confidence that she can navigate whatever comes next. And that, to her, is where real freedom lives.

A Creative Life Rooted in Presence and Curiosity

Lisa’s professional life revolves around curiosity, connection, and asking better questions. Her writing, journalism, and television work are driven by the same principles that guide her ceramics practice — patience, humility, and trust. Working with clay at her Members Only LA art studio has taught her that you can’t rush the process, and you can’t control everything. You show up, you work, you fail, you try again. That rhythm mirrors both travel and life.

Clay also gives her a way to step fully out of the noise. Like scuba diving, it demands complete presence. You can’t check your phone at the wheel any more than you can underwater. Your breath, your balance, your attention — everything has to be in the moment. And in that quiet focus, something remarkable happens. Some of her clearest ideas come not when she’s staring at a screen, but when her hands are covered in clay or she’s moving through water. Problems in a story resolve themselves. A sentence finds its ending. A question she’s been carrying suddenly makes sense.

What sets her apart is that she doesn’t see creativity as a single lane. She moves between disciplines — science, travel, journalism, teaching, television, and visual art — and lets them inform one another. The observational skills that make her a better journalist help her notice form and texture in clay. The vulnerability required in memoir shows up in her art. And the patience learned at the wheel makes her a better storyteller.

She is most proud of building a creative life that values presence over perfection. Whether she’s filming on location, writing an essay, shaping clay, or diving beneath the surface, the goal is the same: to slow down, pay attention, and create something honest and human. At this stage, her art isn’t about polish — it’s about listening, discovery, and trusting that clarity often arrives when we finally step away from the noise.

A Weeklong Itinerary for a Best Friend’s Visit

If her best friend were visiting for a week, Lisa would plan a mix of her favorite things. The trip would start with a stroll on Santa Monica Beach and lunch at Cha Cha Chicken — she loves the outdoor dining and vibrant Caribbean flavors. A day exploring The Getty Center and the Skirball Museum would follow, with a stop at Audrey’s Museum Store for a few treasures.

They would then tap into creativity at Members Only Art Studio, where they could play with clay and immerse themselves in hands-on art. Wandering along Montana Avenue, popping into local shops, and catching a book event at Zibby’s Bookshop would round out the day. Attending services at Stephen Wise Temple would offer a moment of reflection and grounding in community.

In the summer, an evening at the Hollywood Bowl would be a must — enjoying live music under the stars. Lisa believes Los Angeles is best experienced when you mix curiosity, culture, and connection — and take the time to savor the city’s hidden gems.

Gratitude and Community

Lisa acknowledges that her journey has never been a solo one. She gives credit to the educators who shaped her, both as a student and as a teacher. Teaching science was where she learned how to explain complex ideas with curiosity and heart, and that foundation still informs everything she does as a writer, journalist, and storyteller.

She also thanks the travel community — editors, fellow writers, photographers, guides, scientists, and adventurers — who opened doors and shared their knowledge generously. From cruise ships and scuba instructors to expedition teams in Antarctica and storytellers she’s met around the world, these communities showed her that learning never stops and that curiosity is a powerful connector.

Her literary team deserves deep gratitude as well. Her agent, Chip MacGregor, believed inBrave-ishwhen it was still a fragile idea, and her publisher, Debby Englander at Post Hill Press, helped bring that story into the world. Writing a memoir is vulnerable work, and having people who respect both the craft and the human behind it makes all the difference.

Lisa is especially grateful for the creative communities that continue to ground her — from We Said Go Travel, where she’s had the joy of mentoring and publishing thousands of writers, to her Members Only art studio, where working with clay reminds her that creativity doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. Art, like travel, teaches patience, resilience, and trust in the process.

Finally, she wants to shout out her spiritual community at Stephen Wise Temple. It has been her home through life’s milestones — her Bat Mitzvah, her wedding, her book discussion — and especially through moments of uncertainty and grief. In times when the world feels unsteady, community reminds us that we don’t carry everything alone.

None of what she does exists in a vacuum. Every story she tells, every place she explores, every writer she mentors is part of a larger ecosystem of support, generosity, and shared curiosity. If there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s this: success grows faster — and deeper — when we lift each other along the way.