Molly comes to Elevate from the National Council of Nonprofits, where, she worked in communications, network support, and policy research. At the Council she was immersed in work and conversations around policies affecting the sector, national and local advocacy, as well as capacity building and governance best practices. She loves that she gets to work with a broad array of nonprofits and causes at Elevate. She has a constitutive desire to write and write well, and she is deeply invested in conveying her client’s missions persuasively.
Molly holds an MA in Literature from American University in Washington, D.C., where she graduated with the Outstanding Academic Achievement award. In her graduate studies she focused on 20th and 21st century American literature, theories of social change, and cultural studies. She has a BA in Journalism, with a minor in history.
Outside of work, Molly can be found fretting over a To-Read list with a mind of its own, finding something to do outdoors, or getting offended by the “Are You Still Watching?” Netflix prompt. It is one of her lifelong goals to have a black lab named Pongo.
Tessa brings an avid and long-time interest in working with and supporting nonprofits to her role at Elevate. She is chiefly interested in the ways organizations and their funders can collaborate to most effectively achieve their goals. Over the last several years, Tessa has explored many aspects of the food world from working on a dairy farm in Australia, to running a CSA program for SNAP recipients in Boston. Prior to joining the Elevate team, Tessa worked as a Program Associate at the Center for Food Safety, a national nonprofit and environmental advocacy organization. There, she supported legal and policy work on a diverse range of environmental issues including climate change, soil health, and pollinator protection.
Tessa graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University with a BA in Sustainable Development and Sociology and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of New York. While at Columbia, she tailored her studies towards sustainable food systems, spending a semester in Dublin at the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.
As a newcomer to DC, Tessa can often be found exploring different areas of the city and trying out every dining establishment she comes across. When she isn’t sampling tacos from her favorite neighborhood spot, Tessa satisfies her love of museum wandering by taking full advantage of the Smithsonian’s free entry–the best deal in town! Now if she can only adopt a dog…
Davita is passionate about driving revenue and advancing organizational goals for her clients. She brings a diverse range of proven expertise in consulting, business development, nonprofit management, strategic partnerships, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement to Elevate.
As a Senior Director, Davita directs strategy for a portfolio of nonprofit clients working in youth development, college access and persistence, adult education, workforce development, empowerment-based solutions, economic development, and human services. Prior to Elevate, Davita served as the Partnership Development Director for the nonprofit EveryoneOn, overseeing the organization’s fundraising strategy, as they work to eliminate the digital divide in the United States. She was also the Director of Business Development and Consulting for the vertically integrated food incubator Union Kitchen, where she was brought on to drive growth and partnerships through local and federal grants as well as innovate and refine the organization’s consulting program, working with both domestic and international clients looking to open incubators and create economic opportunity in their local communities. Prior to entering the social sector, Davita worked in the fashion industry as an editor for the trend forecasting consultancy The Doneger Group and taught pre-college fashion journalism workshops at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Davita holds a BS in Fashion Merchandising Management and a minor in English from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management is from the SIT Graduate Institute and is a convoluted way of saying her schooling took the form of an “MBA for the social sector.”
An avid traveler, nothing makes her happier than meeting new people and experiencing different cultures. When not on the road or in the air, Davita can be found hiking, attending concerts, reading, dancing hip hop and bachata, boxing, volunteering with College Bound, and hanging with her dog Harley.
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.
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/ hers
A non-profit fundraising professional for over 18 years, Kristin has a passion for working with mission-driven organizations advancing access to services in underserved communities. Her career includes a wide range of experiences at the local and national level; from national organizations focused on movement building, preservation and expansion of reproductive rights, anti-hunger programs and healthcare access to local non-profits serving on the frontline of social service delivery.
Kristin has extensive experience in the field of grant writing, grants administration and management, and events. During her time at Elevate she has worked with direct service clients in the fields of education, housing, anti-poverty, health education, social services, and mental health to advance their strategic fundraising goals. Prior to joining Elevate, she led a Grants and Contracts unit within the development department of a DC-based non-profit overseeing a portfolio of over 50 federal, state and private foundation grants and contracts. Kristin holds a BA in History from the University of the South, Sewanee.
A native Texan, Kristin moved to DC after graduating from college. Today, she and her husband, and their two daughters, live in the heart of DC.
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
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.
Stephanie has a a passion for education and youth development nonprofit work. Prior to joining Elevate’s grant writing team, she served as Program Coordinator at Access Youth, a local DC nonprofit, where she worked with youth and families in the Arrest Prevention Program and wrote program and general operating support grant proposals. She is passionate about identifying new sources of funding that will serve low-income and vulnerable communities.
Stephanie earned her BS in Political Communication from Emerson College in Boston, MA, with a concentration in conflict resolution and nonprofit management. She has 100+ hours of training specific to direct service youth work and nonprofit development. Stephanie is a trained mediator and has utilized her training to resolve family and community disputes.
When she’s not at Elevate, you can find Stephanie teaching (or taking) yoga classes, testing out vegetarian recipes, or scouring out new reads at the library.
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.
