Lisa Mares was born in San Antonio, Texas. She has been an advocate for children since age 12, she was the neighborhood mama! After high school, she went to San Antonio College and studied business where she received an A.A.S in Management. She continued her education at St. Mary’s University where she received a B.A. in Philosophy and English. After teaching for three years in a middle school setting, Lisa began a home childcare business in 1987. She was very active in the childcare community and became the founder of Home Grown Kids (1989), a support group for childcare providers and the organization still exists today. In 1990 she became a certified trainer for new childcare providers with SMART START for Teachers and worked as a contractor for the City of San Antonio Childcare Licensing Department as a writer. In 1992 Lisa was asked to become a Nationally Accredited Family Home Childcare Provider. The City of San Antonio paid five childcare providers to evaluate the program and Lisa received accreditation in 1993. It was through the national accreditation program that Artworks Art Studio was founded. The last project for the accreditation program was to create a business that would reach a larger population in San Antonio. Artworks opened in 1996. Lisa and her husband, Steve, have been married for over 30 years and have two daughters. Megan, (age 28), graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2015 and moved to Sweden in the summer of 2015 to begin graduate school in Educational Research at the University of Gothenburg. Marina, (age 24), graduated from nursing school from The University of Texas Health Science Center in May 2017 with a B.S. in Nursing and is employed at University Hospital.
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