Lisa Z. Lindahl

EZL Enterprises, LLC

• Inventor, Author, entrepreneur, artist
• Bellisse, founding partner
• Jogbra, founder & inventor
• Advocate for True Beauty

Early in her career, Lisa Lindahl invented the first sports bra (“Jogbra”) because she started running, joining the fitness revolution of the late 1970s. More than 40 years later, nearly every woman owns at least one sports bra.

Lisa’s invention and its business history is now in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s archives in Washington, D.C.

In 2020 Lisa Z. Lindahl was inducted into the National  Inventors Hall of Fame.

The  invention of the sports bra is considered one of the primary factors in the remarkable rise of women athletes worldwide leading to a shift for what is possible for women in all sectors. The sports bra has even been credited with birthing the current athleisure trend in fashion as well as contributing to Third Wave Feminism. 

“The introduction of the sports bra did more than improve athletes' performances. It represented a revolution in ready-to-wear clothing, and for many women athletes, past, present, and future, it actually made sports possible.”   - Cathy Keen, Archivist, Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

An original “Jogbra” can also be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume collection where this iconic product is labeled a “revolutionary piece of women’s undergarments.” 

While the Jogbra was just her first transformative idea it was far from her last. After building and running the Jogbra company for 12+ years she sold her company and successfully transitioned it to its new corporate owners. 

After a spate of teaching, writing and painting, Lisa next partnered with enterprising physical therapist, Dr. Lesli Bell, instigating another entrepreneurial endeavor to adapt the sports bra technology into a patented chest compression garment for breast cancer patients.

The Bellisse Compressure Comfort® Bra, a revolutionary medical device at its inception, has become a foundational piece for breast cancer survivors who need to find relief from related medical procedures and side effects. 

In addition to creating business and marketing systems to support the new company, Lisa developed educational materials to raise awareness about this under-diagnosed problem affecting a significant percentage of breast cancer survivors, virtually coining the term “truncal lymphedema.” Today truncal lymphedema is a recognized worldwide and Dr. Bell is an internationally known speaker on the subject.  The Bellisse Compressure Comfort lymphedema bra is currently distributed through JoviPak USA.

Lisa’s commitment to women’s health, success and well-being comes in part from her personal history of living with epilepsy. Diagnosed at age four, she attributes both her skill for creative problem solving and ability to quickly adapt to a lifetime of coping successfully with this incurable disease.

Throughout her career Lindahl has worked to raise awareness about epilepsy, both locally and nationally. She served as the Senior Vice President on the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of America from 1992 to 2001. In this role, Lisa tirelessly advocated for the inclusion of women’s stories and experiences, specifically in medical research as related to gender differences in epilepsy. Her external work included outreach through conferences, advocacy groups, networking with other foundations, and media (radio, print, and TV). She has spoken extensively about epilepsy all across the country. Her internal work included chairing the Task Force on Women and Epilepsy. She was featured in a Discovery Channel program on “The Brain” in its segment on epilepsy.

Lindahl has served on numerous other boards and community organizations from educational organizations to land trusts, and received multiple awards for her work, including: Congressional Commendation from the 106th US Congress (Sen. James Jeffords, Nov. 2000), Hall of Fame inductee to the Epilepsy Foundation of Vermont (1999), Boss of the Year nominee by Sporting Goods Manufacturers’ Association (1992), Entrepreneur of the Year nominee (Inc. Magazine 1990), Outstanding Support Award, Epilepsy Association of America (1989).

An accomplished visual artist and writer, Lisa is the author of: Minding Your Business, a guide book for women entrepreneurs in the Women’s Small Business Program in Vermont, with Carminati and Angolano; On Being a Woman with Epilepsy , the opening chapter in the collective work Women with Epilepsy: A Handbook of Health and Treatment Issues, edited by Martha Morrell, MD. Published by Cambridge Press, 2003.

In 2017 Lisa published her signature Beauty as Action, the Way of True Beauty and How its Practice can Change our World, a handbook for those looking for effective ways to create positive change.  One person called it “the how-to book for everyday change-agents.”

Her newest book is Unleash The Girls, The Untold Story of the Invention of the Sports Bra and How it Changed the World  (And Me). Both books are available online and at local booksellers.

Lisa received her Bachelor of Science in Education from University of Vermont and a Master of Arts in Culture and Spirituality from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA.Recently she also completed the three-year Advanced Program of Shamanic Studies at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, www.shamanism.org.  

       Through her experience-rich life Lisa has consistently been in intentional action to improve lives. Both her books, Beauty As Action, as well as the business memoir, Unleash the Girls, are her latest contributions.