Mrs. Cleaver earned her B.A. from William Jewell College in Liberty, MO, and her M.A. from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. She serves as English department chair at GHS and has coached the academic team, being selected as an All-State coach for four of the last five years. She is currently in her 26th year as a professional educator. Named as Guthrie's District Teacher of the Year in 1999, she was selected as one of 12 finalists for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.

She and her husband Philip, a writer, are the parents of two daughters. Lisa, the elder, is married, lives in Austin, TX, and has two young sons. Younger daughter Angela has just started her sophomore year at the University of Missouri-Columbia as a photojournalism major.