Pronouns: he/him/his
Zach entered the fundraising profession out of a desire to use his writing and critical analysis skills to affect positive, progressive social change. Since joining Elevate in 2018, he has supported local and national clients working in issue areas, including K-12 education, college access and persistence, youth organizing, and social services. His past clients range from nonprofits just launching their grants programs to established organizations seeking to grow their funding portfolios, with budgets from less than $1 million to almost $20 million.
His pre-Elevate nonprofit experience includes two years at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, where he helped curate one of the largest existing collections of jazz performances on film.
A native of Southeast Michigan, Zach holds an MA in Media Arts from the University of Arizona. He has BA’s in both Film and Video Studies and Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Michigan, where he graduated with High Honors. Outside of his day job, Zach enjoys reading, record collecting, writing and podcasting about popular music, and playing video games with his son.
Pronouns: she/her
Since joining Elevate in 2017, Caroline has used her experience in nonprofit management and fundraising and her skills in grant writing, prospect research, and project management to support clients with various grant program needs and challenges. She specializes in advocacy and civic engagement organizations and has also worked with clients in the education, housing, and human services sectors.
Caroline enjoys working with clients to strengthen their proposal and report language to better articulate their mission and impact and build a grant fundraising program that aligns with their organizational needs and capacities. She aims to help clients focus their prospect research and qualification strategy and presented at the Grants Professionals Association annual conference.
In her prior position as deputy director at NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Caroline oversaw development efforts and strategic plan management during a period of significant growth for the organization. Previously, Caroline worked as an account executive at a consulting firm supporting major donor and grants fundraising for national progressive organizations.
Caroline earned her BA in Government with a minor in Sociology from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. She was a student leader in political and social justice activism and worked as a writer in the college’s Office of Communications and Development. A long-time Washington, DC resident, she is active in local politics and activism.
Elizabeth first worked as a grant writer at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, where she served on the development staff for many years. She has since done grants and development work for a range of arts and environmental non-profits, including the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Writers in the Schools, the Houston Chamber Choir, and the Coastal States Organization. She is a true believer in the capacity of non-profits to achieve visionary, necessary work that is too often overlooked and under-funded, and her dedication to grant writing is rooted in that belief.
Liz graduated with a BA in English from Sarah Lawrence College in 1996. She worked for more than a decade as a journalist, freelance writer, grant writer, bartender and gardener while living in Vieques, Puerto Rico and in Cape Cod, Massachusetts while also traveling extensively around the world. In 2011 she moved to Texas to pursue an M.F.A. in literature and fiction writing at the University of Houston, where she taught English and fiction writing, and served as Director of UH’s Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers.
In addition to passions for reading and writing fiction, Liz loves to cook, eat, hike, garden, travel, play the drums, surf, and longboard. She lives in Maryland with her partner, their baby daughter, and two bad cats.
Corinne has worked in grant writing and development for several years; she takes pride in helping nonprofits do what they do best through the research, strategy, and collaboration that make up the grant writing process.
At Elevate, she writes grants for social services, education, and arts organizations in the DC area and across the country, spanning from the East to West Coast. She is particularly inspired when writing for programs that promote childhood development.
Prior to coming to Elevate, Corinne wrote grants and provided development support for a social service agency in Cincinnati, which operated Head Start preschools that prepared children for kindergarten, provided affordable housing for women, and ran a recovery program for victims of human trafficking.
Corinne was prompted to begin grant writing when her passion led to working with a nonprofit that empowers middle school girls and college-aged women to be successful leaders.
Corinne studied English at The Ohio State University with minors in Psychology and Professional Writing.
In her free time, Corinne enjoys reading literature–or simply the latest popular mystery novel–and spending time with her two clingy-yet-adorable cats.
Pronouns: he/him/hers
Eric is Elevate’s Associate Vice President of Specialized Grant Services. In this role, he leads project-based services that leverage Elevate’s expertise to meet a wide array of institutional fundraising needs like prospect research, executive coaching, or complex proposal submissions. He also oversees Elevate’s external learning products, which provide a rotating calendar of informational and interactive webinars, as well as custom workshops or webinars for nonprofit organizations. Through these projects, Eric pursues a goal of supporting organizations in overcoming gaps in knowledge, capacity, or time to advance their institutional development program.
Eric joined Elevate in 2015 and in his roles as Grant Writer and Director supported more than 25 organizations in raising 20+ million dollars, with a focus on organizations working on systems change work through policy and advocacy. He especially enjoys helping nonprofits define a clear and concise theory of change that communicates their work and its impact. He has developed and facilitated a variety of workshops and webinars on fundraising for systems change, communicating impact, and preparing for federal grant applications, and has presented at the UL Innovative Education Award, Grant Professionals Association, and Providers’ Council annual conferences.
Eric is an avid plant dad and enjoys filling his home with as much greenery as it can fit (or as much as his cat and partner will tolerate). He is always down to trade cuttings or visit a plant shop.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Mary brings a lifelong passion for service and youth development to Elevate. In her role, she is committed to making DC nonprofits better by leveraging the unique vantage points and perspectives that local nonprofits bring. Before joining Elevate in 2014, she spent seven years working with Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma. While working for the Girl Scouts, she facilitated programs for youth and volunteers, including mentoring for children and their incarcerated mothers, bully prevention, financial literacy, outdoor recreation skills, and youth leadership development.
Mary graduated from the University of Tulsa, earning her BA in Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in English Literature. While at the University of Tulsa, her studies focused on the intersections of history, film, literature, and feminist theory, and enabled her to critically review power structures around gender, race, sexuality, and class throughout American history.
Outside of Elevate, Mary is a self-declared history nerd and enjoys watching her dog play at the dog park and reading fantasy/sci-fi novels.
Noura joined Elevate in 2015 and has 10 years of experience in proposal development and program design in community organizing, policy advocacy, homeless service provision, education, social services, workforce development, and international development. Prior to joining Elevate, Noura worked in grants and communications at Thurgood Marshall Academy, a high-performing public charter high school in historic Anacostia, where she was the lead writer on private and government proposals, annual reports, and print and e-newsletters. Previously, she worked in international development, designing and managing programs in the Middle East and North Africa focusing on women’s empowerment, workforce development, peacebuilding, and advocacy with Education for Employment and the American Islamic Congress.
Noura holds an MA in Global, International, and Comparative History from Georgetown University, and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in History and French from Goucher College. She was the 2008 recipient of the Goucher College Calvin Prize in History, awarded annually to an outstanding history major. She is also a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and Chi Alpha Sigma, an athletics honor society.
A lifelong swimmer, Noura spends most of her time at the pool when she is away from her computer. She competes with the District of Columbia Aquatics Club, and currently serves as a member of the team’s Board of Directors. She is a vigorous defender of the Oxford Comma and a frequent user of the em dash.
