Lisa Rodarti

Lisa Rodarti is dancing for the joy of it. She's the only 2008 star who doesn't consider herself to be competitive. But she does know how to face a challenge, and she might understand joy just a little bit more than the rest of us.

Like a lot of kids who grew up here, Lisa left college wanting to leave small town life behind. And she did—for a while. But while traveling the world, her heart kept returning home and her dreams changed. She began to long for a quaint beach cottage in her home town. Eventually, she got her dream, and she still lives in that picturesque home with her 3 boys.

She brought a little of her international experience home when she opened Erba, a European-styled bath and body boutique. And building on that success, she opened Erba Home Furnishings to rave reviews. Not so surprising, as she comes from a family of entrepreneurs. What is surprising is that she was able to get her business off the ground while battling a very aggressive breast cancer (she's in total remission now). While her primary treatment was at Saddleback Memorial Laguna Hills, she was a patient at San Clemente and credits the hospital and Dr. Kruse with saving her from life threatening bout with sepsis. And that's one reason she's dancing. She knows that the more money we raise for our hospital, the more resources we'll all have to help us face our own life's challenges.

She's thrilled to be dancing, but truth told, was surprised to be asked. Little did she know that her sister Keri, who works at Carbonara's restaurant where the Dancing to a New Beat committee meets frequently, served up a confidential recommendation alongside the Linguine Vongole. Sometimes, a sister knows you better than you do yourself.

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