Lisa Stevens founded Paizo Publishing in 2002. The initial focus of the company was publishing magazines such as "Dragon" and "Dungeon" under license from Wizards of the Coast.

Wizards of the Coast decided not to renew Paizo's license to publish "Dragon" and "Dungeon" magazines. This posed a significant challenge to Paizo's business model.

In response to the license loss, Lisa Stevens spearheaded the development of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, a tabletop RPG based on the D&D 3.5 edition rules. Pathfinder became a major success and a competitor to D&D, which then had moved on to 4th edition. The Pathfinder campaign setting, Golarion, was highly praised.

Lisa Stevens served as CEO of Paizo Publishing. She was instrumental in driving the growth and success of the Pathfinder and Starfinder brands.

Lisa Stevens stepped down as CEO of Paizo Publishing in August 2019. Her departure marked a shift in the leadership of the company.