Ren Paul

Ren leads Elevate’s capacity planning and staffing function within the Client Services department to ensure each client receives high-quality services. Ren also specializes in writing grants for clients on a range of issues, primarily focusing on health services, policy and advocacy, youth development, and services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Ren’s clients report that they have a knack for learning deeply about their programs and funding landscape to develop strategic grants that are highly competitive for funding. Ren draws from their own experiences as a Grant Writer to support the career development of Elevate staff.

Ren has followed a passion for promoting access to health services in the United States and abroad throughout their career. While pursuing their Master of Social Work, Ren saw how access to high-quality physical and mental health care plays a vital role in enabling individuals to achieve their fullest potential.

Before joining Elevate, they worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program, where Ren assisted with writing grants for their programs in Liberia and Haiti. Ren was also an intern with Georgia State Representative Shelly Hutchinson, where they conducted research and wrote policy briefs related to improving access to health services, immigrant rights, and criminal justice reform.

Ren graduated from the University of Georgia with a Master of Social Work and a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. They also have a BS in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University.

In their free time, Ren loves doing anything outdoors! In particular, they enjoy hiking and playing ultimate frisbee.

Elena brings to Elevate a passion for nonprofits and nonprofit leadership as a catalyst for social change. Prior to joining Elevate, Elena worked for nonprofits in Denmark and the US, in the global health, environmental, civic engagement, and democracy sectors. Her development experience includes direct marketing, building fundraising capacity, major gifts, and grants at organizations such as Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters and League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and Greenpeace.

Elena holds an MSc in Technological and Socio-Economic Planning from Roskilde University, Denmark, and a BA in History and Russian Studies from Bucknell University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Transformative Social Change.

When not wrapped up in the world of grants, Elena loves to read, spend time with the family dogs and cats, and stream British TV and movies while enjoying a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea. She also enjoys growing wildflowers and native plants, reformer Pilates, and interrupting her husband whenever he watches YouTube videos.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

As an undergrad, Katherine’s (Kate’s) university required students to run simulated businesses “selling widgets” to reinforce best practices. She quickly learned that simply “selling widgets” was not a career path she wanted for her future. Searching for more mission driven work, she was drawn to fundraising. She has a background in fundraising for a variety of cause areas: including human services, early education, advocacy, as well as higher education institutions. Kate understands strengthening the nonprofit sector has a ripple effect across communities that can bring powerful change. She is excited to work for Elevate whose mission so strongly aligns with these values.

Prior to joining the Elevate team, Kate managed the stewardship of endowed funds at Georgetown University Law Center. She also spent five years working for United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey supporting the nonprofit sector in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Kate earned her BS in Business Administration from Drexel University with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Sociology. Additionally, she holds a certificate in Social Responsibility in Business from Drexel University.

Outside the office, Kate enjoys teaching yoga, exploring new studios to expand her own yoga practice, and spending time with friends and family – especially at the beach!

Pronouns: she/her

Janelle has a passion for social justice and fairness in the global community. Her commitment to this ideal manifested in her work as a paralegal in Hawaii working for fair credit reporting laws. After relocating to Fredericksburg, Virginia, Janelle joined the staff at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center where she sought to inspire justice through her support of art and story at the Museum. While at the museum, Janelle worked as the volunteer coordinator, development assistant, and, most recently, as the education coordinator where she developed programs that used art education to confront historic and current injustices in her community. In an effort to expand the program’s reach to marginalized communities, Janelle began writing grants to fund scholarships for low income students.

In 2015, Janelle took a leap of faith at an opportunity to reduce her carbon footprint and bought a vintage sailboat to live aboard while undertaking its restoration. She apprenticed with a marine engineering company and learned the basics of sailing, marine electrical and mechanical maintenance, solar and wind power technologies, woodworking and varnishing, and crewed several coastal and offshore deliveries. In the summertime, Janelle teaches sailing in down east Maine and is working toward her Mate’s license through the US Coast Guard. Janelle also writes and edits articles for maritime publications.

Janelle holds BAs in Philosophy and American Studies from the University of Mary Washington, formerly Mary Washington College. She graduated cum laude and was the honors graduate in the American Studies department where she focused her studies on the political and cultural causes of the Civil War and the War’s lingering legacy. For her academic contributions in the civil rights field and her stated career goals, Janelle was awarded the James Farmer scholarship and was elected president of the college’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter.

When not at work, Janelle can be found at Fred’s Theatre where she acts, sells tickets, cultivates donors, cleans floors, or performs one of the other multitudes of jobs needed to ensure the show goes on! If Janelle had one piece of advice to give the world, it would be to find your creative self and nurture it.

Stacy brings to Elevate a desire to help nonprofit organizations achieve success through strong and stable funding. As a senior director at Elevate, Stacy supports a variety of nonprofit clients, including those working in early childhood education, higher education, human services, and veteran support. She has experience working with both direct service and advocacy clients to obtain national and regional/local funding. Stacy has a background in public policy and grant writing and worked for over 10 years at the U.S. Department of Education. She also worked as a grant writing consultant, helping public schools develop and write successful grant applications for government and foundation funding in order for them to fulfill their mission of providing all students with a high-quality education.

Stacy holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland where she won a fellowship for her work in the School of Public Policy, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and other honor societies.

Outside of her role at Elevate, Stacy enjoys watching her children’s extracurricular activities, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Sushmita, who goes by her nickname, Nanu, joined Elevate as a Grant Writer in 2018. During her time at Elevate, she has helped her clients build sustainable grant programs through her strong project management and technical writing skills. Nanu works with a wide range of both direct service and advocacy organizations, including nonprofits that focus on health, addiction recovery, housing, youth development, and investigative journalism.

Prior to joining Elevate, Nanu spent a year teaching literature and creative writing as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Calcutta, India. She also volunteered as a content writer at Tiljala SHED, a Calcutta-based nonprofit that provides educational services and financial aid to ragpickers (waste collectors).

Nanu graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA in English. Outside of her coursework, she enjoyed working as a writing tutor on campus and volunteering as a science tutor at a local middle school.

On the weekends, you can find her exploring the city, trying new recipes, or relaxing with a cup of tea. When she’s not writing grants, she also enjoys writing prose and poetry on her blog, Aksharbet.

Pronouns: she/they

Alison Hight is a Director at Elevate, a leading grant writing firm that provides top-level development expertise to nonprofits nationwide. Her certification as a Fundraising Executive (CFRE) is a testament to her commitment to excellence. Alison has supported organizations focused on democracy, equity and social justice in the arts, youth and adult education, workforce development, healthcare, and international development. She brings deep issue knowledge in the arts, media, civic engagement, advocacy, and human rights, and is deeply engaged in women’s and gender issues.

Alison is a relationship developer and partnership identifier who excels at connecting people based on what excites them and the type of impact they want to have. She creates relationships where everyone can deepen their impact while sparking new ideas that can further their mutual visions. Alison is also an accomplished trainer and presenter who has developed internal and external training materials on essential fundraising topics and development activities. Her background in Visual Communications and Economics, as well as training in video and audio production, has allowed her to explore creative solutions to complex problems.

Alison is deeply committed to creating a more equitable and just philanthropic sector. She believes that fundraising is a critical tool for social change, and that it should be approached in a way that centers the values of equity, justice, and community power. Alison works to dismantle systemic barriers that have historically excluded marginalized communities from philanthropy, and advocates for funding models that prioritize community-driven solutions. Alison has developed and leads trainings on the power of language and how fundraisers can use it as active participants in creating more equitable philanthropy, the first of which she presented at the Grant Professional Association’s national conference in 2019.

Outside of work, Alison explores the human experience through experimental multi-disciplinary art and creative coding. She is also a transformational coach, avid reader, traveler, and coffee drinker. Alison’s favorite aspects of working at Elevate are the variety of clients she works with, the ongoing opportunities to learn, and feeling like she gets to be part of deepening the positive impact of people on the world.

Elizabeth has more than 15 years of fundraising experience and a passion for social justice. She loves helping nonprofit organizations secure the resources they need to pursue their missions and create positive social change effectively.

Elizabeth leverages her expertise and project management skills in a hybrid role at Elevate. As the Director of Business Development, she works with Elevate’s New Client Partnerships team to grow and sustain the company’s partnerships with nonprofits across the country. In her role as Senior Director of Client Services, she leads client teams of all sizes, providing development strategy and institutional fundraising expertise to organizations working on issues including public health, civic engagement and advocacy, social services, immigrants’ rights, international development, and education.

Elizabeth loves forming close relationships with clients to help them build and sustain a tailored grants program that meets their organizational needs and goals, addresses their capacities, and can be adapted to meet challenges as they arise. She is especially skilled at working with organizations with multiple tax statuses, including 501c3s, 501c4s, and fiscal sponsorships. Clients who are new to grant funding benefit from Elizabeth’s expertise in setting up the internal infrastructure (budgets, program design, systems) necessary to prepare to pursue grants.

Prior to Elevate, Elizabeth was the Director of Foundation Relations at Alliance for Justice, a national advocacy organization. She was responsible for planning and implementing the organization’s $3 million foundation fundraising program. She also worked as the Assistant Director of Development for Foundation Relations at Hillel International, where she oversaw foundation relations for a $26 million international organization. She began her career in development at various international organizations, including the Centre for Development and Population Activities, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and the Council of the Americas/Americas Society.

Elizabeth holds an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a BA cum laude in Anthropology from New York University. She is also a certified ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) teacher and spent two years teaching English in Mexico and Europe. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two sons. Outside of Elevate, she enjoys hiking and biking with her family, swimming, reading fiction, gardening, and listening to podcasts.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Elevate’s Vice President of New Client Partnerships, Jessica is responsible for all marketing and new business development at Elevate. She also supports the company’s Specialized Grant Services department. Leaning into her own experience as a grant writer and her background in nonprofit strategy, program design, and management, Jessica brings a deep understanding of the “pain points” nonprofits face and a strategic approach to addressing these through smart grant programs. 

Jessica joined Elevate in 2016 as a team Director, and held roles within Elevate’s management and business development teams before joining the executive team in 2022. She is an experienced nonprofit professional with a background in corporate and foundation fundraising, program design, strategy, and partnerships. Prior to Elevate, Jessica worked in development and program management roles at the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Environmental Education Foundation, both based in the DC region. She also spent two years in her early career teaching high school biology in Northern Virginia.

A native of Atlanta, Jessica earned an MEd in Secondary Science Education at Georgia State University and a BS in Applied Biology at Georgia Tech.

When not at work, you may find Jessica on the tennis court, in her kitchen, buried in an e-book, or traveling to Brooklyn to play “auntie.” Jessica works from her home in Falls Church, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, their middle schooler, and Georgie, a special needs pup that regularly features on Elevate social media.