Pronouns: she/her
Sarah is a lifelong DC area resident who has dedicated her career to supporting non-profit organizations through fundraising, project management, and event planning. She brings to Elevate a depth of experience and passion for translating the work of non-profits for funders and the general public.
Prior to coming to Elevate, Sarah was Director of Development at Rock Creek Conservancy, a local watershed conservation group, where she managed all foundation, corporate, and individual support for the organization. At the Autism Society, a disability advocacy and support organization, she served as the National Conference Director, managing the logistics and fundraising for the 1,200 person annual event. As Major Gifts Officer at Greenpeace, she managed foundation and individual support for environmental initiatives and actions as well as special events for the major donor groups. She began her career as a project manager at The Nature Conservancy, moving into training and fundraising roles with the Conservation Science and Marketing departments.
Sarah has a bit of a problem with volunteering too much, especially when her children are involved. As a result, she has served in various PTA positions and has run numerous school silent auctions. In addition, she volunteers regularly with her family with Rock Creek Conservancy and A Wider Circle.
Sarah attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota where she majored in English and Anthropology.
She loves to cook, read, see live music and hike in parks around DC with her husband and children.
Ethan is a passionate social entrepreneur who is excited to contribute a multitude of local and international experiences to Elevate’s clients. As a high school student, he started an integrated development project in Cambodia that focuses on education, healthcare and economic livelihood in rural communities. Ethan continues working on the project on the side. Before college, he worked on the executive board of a fledgling social enterprise that empowers Singaporean youth with entrepreneurial skills to support local nonprofits. Since then, he has become a strong advocate for the power of education, innovation and entrepreneurship to drive change in communities. After coming to DC, he has continued to immerse himself in the nonprofit space, working and volunteering with organizations like Ashoka, 826DC, Little Friends for Peace, US Dream Academy and the Banyan Tree Foundation.
Ethan graduated from The George Washington University with a BA in International Affairs and minors in Geography and Geographic Information Systems. His thesis on faith-based organizations in Cambodia reflects his strong interest in inter-faith approaches to social change. Ethan graduated in the top two percent of his class, and was invited to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative (University) and the D-Prize Global Poverty Solutions Competition.
Ethan is a lover of all things sweet, and revels being in the nation’s cupcake capital. He can often be found café hopping, and parading the local farmers’ markets. He is also a nature lover and loves hiking in the national parks around DC.
Courtney joined the Elevate team in 2017 with a passion for empowering nonprofits to achieve their missions by building effective grants programs to fund their work.
In her role as Director of Business Development, Courtney 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 a Senior Director, Courtney works with a broad range of direct service clients—including those in the arts, education and youth development, health and human services sectors. She enjoys helping clients to build new grants programs from scratch, launch new programs or expand to new geographies, and develop internal systems and processes that enable organizations to cohesively work across departments to achieve their strategic goals.
Before joining Elevate, Courtney worked in development and communications for a DC-based youth development nonprofit where she led the grants program, writing both public and private grants to support academic, childhood nutrition, and civic engagement programming.
Courtney graduated from Colby College with a BA in Government and International Studies with a focus on Latin America.
In her spare time, Courtney enjoys hiking and skiing, cooking, and exploring DC with her toddler and husband.
Rachel has over 12 years of experience raising money, grant writing, and delivering strategic communications for major international and local nonprofits. Her goal is to serve as a thoughtful and trusted partner to nonprofit clients, guiding them toward the creation of more strategic and successful grants programs. Satisfaction is seeing clients win money that propels much-needed social and environmental change.
Prior to joining Elevate, Rachel worked as a Senior Writer at World Wildlife Fund and as the Director of Development at Minds, Inc. (Mindfulness in DC Schools), where she now serves on the Board of Directors. Previously, Rachel worked as a staff writer at CARE, helping to raise millions of dollars for CARE’s diverse poverty-fighting around the world. Rachel’s other work experience includes writing for the United Nations Population Fund, the Resource Foundation, and the Star-News Newspaper in Wilmington, NC.
Rachel was born in DC, and grew up on the coast of North Carolina. She graduated cum laude from Kenyon College and earned a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. In addition, she is now pursuing a Master of Social Work with the ultimate goal of offering therapeutic support to individuals. Rachel is a trained yoga teacher and has taught meditation classes in DC for several years. She is happiest when out in nature, particularly mountains, and/or in the vicinity of dogs, goats, or other farm animals.
Christina brings a diverse range of experience in international development, women’s and girl’s rights, public policy, and military affairs to Elevate. She has a research interest for international issues, particularly surrounding conflict, modern day slavery, and girls’ education. Prior to joining Elevate, Christina worked as a Grants Specialist at the USO where she developed an institutional fundraising strategy. Previously, she worked as a Development Associate at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and as a Research Assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Division of Global Health and Human Rights.
Christina holds an MS in Global Affairs from New York University and a BA in Political Science and International Affairs from Hofstra University.
Outside of her work at Elevate, Christina is an avid runner and does not shy away from spontaneous travel. Recent travels include Oahu, Lisbon, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates. Christina is an active member of the Junior League of Washington.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
As Elevate’s first Vice President of Client Services, Kelsey leads work to continuously improve all client services and develop systems and processes to support the career development of all 50+ client-facing staff. She is a member of Elevate’s 4-person executive team and leads the Client Services Management Team.
Kelsey first joined Elevate as a Grant Writer in August 2014, at a time when the company could still fit all staff around a single conference table. From that position, she grew along with Elevate, taking leadership roles on client teams and, eventually, as a member of the management team. In her current role, Kelsey strives to support staff members’ professional growth within the company, navigate the growth and evolution of the Client Services department, and build relationships with other consultants and nonprofit leaders working to strengthen the sector. “Getting Better at Everything, All the Time” remains her favorite Elevate value.
While Kelsey no longer serves Elevate clients directly, she continues to leverage her experience fundraising in the arts, education, and social services fields to support staff and consult with clients exploring changes to their contract to meet evolving needs and develop new tools to strengthen our services to clients.
Kelsey serves on the board of Jubilee JumpStart, an award-winning early childhood education center in Adams Morgan. She is a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa.
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
Ava has a passion for the arts and a background in nonprofit development. She worked for eight years as a performer, teaching artist, and fundraiser with nonprofit organizations in both California and the DC area, including: California Shakespeare Theater, Round House Theatre, and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. Most recently, Ava served as the Development Manager for Blue Star Families, a nonprofit organization that provides free resources to more than 1.5 million military family members. In this role she was the project manager and principal writer for a variety of print and electronic fundraising materials.
Ava is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Emerging Arts Leaders DC. She earned a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and graduated cum laude with a BFA in Acting from Brooklyn College.
Ava is a native Californian, who has happily adjusted to the DC arts scene. She can often be found going to plays, concerts, and museums, or dancing at 18th Street Lounge.
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.
