Focus on Family: Lisa DeBartolo ’92
For Lisa DeBartolo ’92, life is all about family. Born into a family best known in the Bay Area for its ownership of the San Francisco 49ers, she joined the organization after graduating from Saint Mary’s with a degree in art history and philosophy.
“I always wanted to be a part of the 49ers family,” said DeBartolo. “Then I wanted to use the money my family was lucky enough to have for positive change and good.”
DeBartolo did this first by shaping the 49ers Foundation, which supports programs that help keep underprivileged youths safe and in school. Since following her parents to Florida shortly after they moved there in 1999, she has overseen charitable giving for the DeBartolo Family Foundation in Tampa while also serving as an executive vice president of DeBartolo Holdings.
“We’ve put a lot of kids through college and helped hundreds of families directly. We have a strong focus on women, children, and animals—things that matter to me and my family,” said DeBartolo.
Noting she was raised to be both generous and grateful, DeBartolo points to SMC’s Lasallian mission as another influence. She explained, “I believe in social justice and always try to put myself in someone else’s shoes.”
DeBartolo considers the inability to provide help to everyone who needs it the greatest challenge of her work. But she finds particular reward in the opportunity to hold a Christmas celebration each year for children being raised by their grandparents.
“I hope I’m honoring my family and making them proud by what I’m doing and what I’ve become,” said DeBartolo, whose family now includes a husband and two young sons who are her primary daily focus. “I’m going to run a foundation for the rest of my life. That’s what I do from my heart.”