Michael comes to Elevate with a passion for the arts and education and is committed to providing a range of knowledge on fundraising and management for arts organizations, particularly the performing arts. Recently, he served as a Development Associate for the Cathedral Choral Society in DC, assisting with the Society’s institutional and individual fundraising goals. During this time, he served as the lead writer of letters-of-intent, grant applications, grant reports, quarterly appeals, and donation acknowledgements. Michael also served as a primary point of contact for the Society’s donors.
Previously, Michael served as a Grant Program Assistant with the Illinois Arts Council Agency, helping to coordinate the Arts and Foreign Language Grant Program serving the state’s public and charter schools. He also served as the volunteer Grants Manager with Two Pence Theatre Company, based in Chicago, where he worked as a teaching artist and performer. With Two Pence, Michael served as the lead writer for applications supporting youth education programs and professional productions.
Michael graduated from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre BFA Actor Training Program and attended North Park University’s Nonprofit Fundraising Certificate Program in Chicago. Outside of Elevate, he is a museum maven and a fan of all things theater.
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.
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.
Michelle comes to Elevate with a passion for education, youth development, and the performing arts. Most recently, she served as the Manager of Digital Communications at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, where she helped the Individual and Institutional Fundraising teams raise millions of dollars annually to support the Foundation’s arts and education programs. Michelle also brings experience in grant writing, web development and design, and content marketing from her years in the nonprofit sector prior to joining the Elevate team.
Michelle holds a BA in Linguistics with a concentration in Language and Society and a minor in Dance from the University of California, San Diego.
When she’s not sitting at her laptop, she can be found re-watching her favorite episodes of 30 Rock, pirouetting in her kitchen when she thinks no one’s looking, or indulging her inner Californian by exploring Northern Virginia’s wineries.
