In 2019, Debbie Castaldo celebrates her 11th season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, overseeing the organization’s award-winning community efforts as vice president of Corporate & Community Impact and executive director of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation. Castaldo leads the team’s industry-leading fundraising and community relations efforts. The D-backs Give Back efforts include more than $65 million in charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations throughout Arizona on behalf of the D-backs and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation.
The D-backs Give Back efforts include the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation alongside team ownership, players, employees, corporate partners and fans. With support from President and CEO Derrick Hall, and Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick, the Arizona Diamondbacks charitable efforts have risen to prominence within Major League Baseball — ranking in the top three for both fundraising and contributions to the community. Paving the way with industry-leading programs that include the D-backs Give Back 50/50 Charity Raffle, D-backs Give Back Youth Jersey Program and Evening on the Diamond, the D-backs have solidified their role as one of professional sports most charitable organizations.
The D-backs’ commitment to the community is demonstrated in unique programs, created by Castaldo and her team, including the D-backs Youth Jersey Program launched in 2014. The charitable program provides jerseys and hats to youth baseball and softball leagues across the state. In 2019, with support from Fry’s, Tide and Steward Health, the D-backs Youth Jersey Program expanded to include 115 leagues and 70,000 players and coaches from across Arizona. In April, the “Diamonds Back” Field Building Program, in partnership with APS, dedicated its 42nd youth baseball field, celebrating the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson.
Education is a top priority for Castaldo and the D-backs, including the D-backs School Challenge presented by University of Phoenix. To date, the Foundation has awarded $850,000 to 170 winning schools from across Arizona. The D-backs Science of Baseball presented by Chase and Insight is a comprehensive STEM initiative that uses baseball as the platform to teach science, technology, engineering and math. D-backs Most Valuable Teachers program celebrates the efforts of outstanding teachers from across Arizona.
Castaldo earned a degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1992. She is active in the community and has served on the board of the Ronald McDonald House, US Airways Foundation, the Harmon Killebrew Foundation, and extensive committee and advisory roles that include the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, Lou Grubb Friends Fore Golf, Florence Crittenton, Go Red For Women, Anti-Defamation League and many more. She was recently named an Honorary Commander for the 56th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base. In 2018, she received the Positively Powerful Woman Award for Corporate Leadership. She has also received the Heart of the House Award for her impact on Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2011 and was named the 2008 YWCA’s Woman of Distinction for her philanthropy work in the community.
Castaldo and her husband, Vince, live in Peoria with sons, Jake and Zack.
Company Name: Arizona Diamondbacks
Main Office Address: 401 E. Jefferson St. Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: (602) 462-6500
Website: dbacks.com
No. of Years with Firm: 11
Year Established Locally: 1998
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