Lisa Ponticello

Chief Marketing Officer

Lisa Ponticello fell into her role at AutismUp when her youngest child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of two-and-a-half. As her focus shifted to the 24/7 care and management of services for her toddler, she sought information about best practices and discovered a coalition of parents who would drop anything to pull each other out of isolation and lift one another up. Faced with the reality that she couldn’t control her son’s diagnosis, she committed to influencing his future outcomes by helping to create opportunities for children with autism.
Lisa began her formal tenure with AutismUp shortly after the organization’s first autism awareness event where she showed up with four gigantic auction items that her soon-to-be colleagues would need to frantically make space for. Word is that following that event, the Founders referred to her as “a live one” and the rest is history. With the initial goals of raising awareness about this awesome grassroots autism support group, and raising money to run a social skills summer camp, Lisa jumped in and began to curate and define the brand so that local families being diagnosed with autism would find help more easily. She served in numerous volunteer roles including Vice President of the Board of Directors and Special Event Chair before accepting her current position as Marketing and Development Director overseeing the rebranding of the organization from UNYFEAT to AutismUp and expanding fundraising revenue during a decade of rapid growth.
Lisa draws inspiration from her now 19 year-old son with Autism Spectrum Disorder, energy from the AU-some mothers she works with, and experience from a decade of Organizational Development work with Constellation Brands and Chase Manhattan Bank. A native of Fairport and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she resides in Brighton with her husband, Angelo, and two children.