Sarah came to Elevate with a drive to continue her career in public service and a passion for supporting programs and organizations that improve the quality of life for people around the country. Sarah has worked in local government in North Carolina with the Town of Boone and the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission, a regional Council of Governments. During her time in local government, Sarah worked closely with municipalities to encourage economic development, cultural resource management, and regional advocacy. Sarah has written grant applications for a variety of state and federal agencies including the Appalachian Regional Commission, FEMA, and HUD to name a few.
Sarah has her Master of Public Administration and BSBA in Marketing from Appalachian State University. A true “Boonie” at heart, Sarah can usually be found enjoying the outdoors via a kayak or hiking trail. Go, Mountaineers!
Sarah also enjoys spoiling her dachshund, Stella, and baking in her spare time. Her favorite baked good to share with friends and family is her nana’s famous pound cake.
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Mel believes in facing the multi-faceted challenges of our time by connecting resources with the people who need them. They previously interned at two policy think tanks in DC and learned a lot from fast-paced, hard-working Development Directors. At the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, they helped write resources for partner fundraising staff and make donor reports easily understood.
Mel earned their BA in Psychology at George Mason University with a minor in Philosophy and Law. At university, where they presented an undergraduate thesis to a committee of experts as part of an Honors Psychology program and were awarded as an Outstanding Senior. They previously volunteered writing newsletters for EcoRing, a green travel nonprofit based in California. At Elevate, they have worked with a number of clients across the nonprofit sector, from homelessness to refugee services to education.
Outside of work, Mel enjoys playing board games (anything besides Monopoly) with their partner, and cuddling with their two cats, Raini and Zuzu. They also spend time making lots of art!
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As Vice President of Finance & Operations, Keisha provides financial and administrative leadership and strategic insight to ensure business practices align with the company’s core values. With over 15 years working in the nonprofit sector, Keisha has considerable knowledge and experience supporting mission-driven organizations dedicated to social change and justice.
Before joining Elevate, Keisha was Associate Director, Global Operations at 350.org, a global nonprofit committed to building a future safe from the effects of the climate crisis. In her role, she managed the operational budget, worked cross-functionally with teams to ensure financial health, and drove global expansion by establishing new offices in the UK and South Africa. At Fiver Children’s Foundation, a youth development organization, she served as the first Senior Director of Operations and established its operational practices and procedures.
Keisha is committed to supporting our global community, especially young people. As a volunteer, she led a grassroots initiative that gave students from the African diaspora in New York and Atlanta the opportunity to travel to Ghana for cultural enrichment and service-learning projects.
Keisha is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC, where she received a BFA in Theatre Arts Administration and Business Management.
She loves and is inspired by the creative arts and enjoys traveling as much as possible. She has visited 29 countries so far and captured a portfolio of photographs documenting her journeys.
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Justine has more than 15 years of experience as a grant writer, development expert, and strategic consultant in the nonprofit sector. She started out in the nonprofit field as an adult educator and coordinator, teaching classes and helping create new adult education programs. She quickly realized that grant writing was a way to bring her academic background, love of storytelling, and program development skills into her nonprofit advocacy work. She has helped raise millions of dollars for her clients, from small start-up organizations to large universities and every type of organization in between. The parts of her job she loves the most are helping the program people on the ground tell their stories effectively and helping nonprofit leaders grow new programs that foster social change.
Justine has a master’s degree in English Literature from Duke University and a bachelor’s with honors in English from Johns Hopkins. In addition to nonprofit development, Justine has been a journalist and an award-winning live storyteller.
Bentley joined the Elevate team excited to help others realize their visions. Prior to joining Elevate, Bentley interned with the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, as well as worked helping with administration for arts and culture funding in Philadelphia. They are particularly passionate about science, technology, the rapidly developing nature of online interaction, and the issues of intersectionality and access facing these areas.
Bentley holds a Master of Science in Applied Sociology, alongside a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas at Dallas, where they also earned a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Technology. Having landed back in Maryland, they also hope to engage in progressivism in the DC area.
In Bentley’s free time, they are on a personal journey to find the perfect pepperoni pizza and the perfect soundtrack to accompany it. While not engaged in that, they also enjoy browsing Atlas Obscura and pondering the existence of ghosts.
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Mimi came to Elevate eager to learn and grow with the team. Prior to joining Elevate, Mimi worked primarily on outreach and programs at a nonprofit focused on youth development in Montgomery County. This is where she learned the importance of proper funding. She is passionate about raising funds so that our amazing clients can continue to make a great impact!
Mimi has worked in underserved communities to bring special programs and awareness to their struggles. She has facilitated free community outreach camps and college readiness conferences. These programs offered communities resources that they were not aware of prior. In order to reach as many people as possible, Mimi partnered with local nonprofits and has built many meaningful relationships with these organizations.
In Mimi’s free time she enjoys cooking and trying out new restaurants. She also enjoys spending the afternoon in Marshall’s shopping for candles
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Ami came to Elevate in 2020 with two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector, including ten years as an independent development consultant in the New York Metro and New England regions. In that capacity, she supported progressive grant writing initiatives around workforce development, affordable housing, and health equity. Ami’s extensive experience with metrics and evaluation in anti-poverty work are key to her role as a team leader and strategist at Elevate, where her portfolio is largely focused on housing and homelessness.
Ami earned her BA in History from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has completed coursework at the University of Rhode Island and Brown University. In the 1990s, Ami lived and worked in South America and speaks Spanish and Portuguese in addition to her native English.
Ami resides in lovely Providence, RI with her two teenaged children, who keep her very much on her toes.
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Rylan came to Elevate with a passion for helping organizations secure the resources needed to build strong and vibrant communities. With a background in philanthropy, Rylan brings a unique perspective to the grant writing team. Having worked at Vitalyst Health Foundation, a private health conversion foundation, and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, a national philanthropic association, they understand the importance of philanthropic funding for community-based organizations.
Rylan earned their BS in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University. In their free time, Rylan enjoys working with the LGBTQ+ community and volunteers with the DC Center for the LGBT Community and Trans Lifeline.
In addition to volunteering, Rylan enjoys cooking and baking for friends and family. When they are not in the kitchen, you can find Rylan outside, going for walks, hikes, and camping as often as possible.
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Abigail (Abbie) Fine serves as Supervising Director of Client Relations, supporting Elevate teams in building and maintaining strong partnerships with our clients. Abbie also supervises Elevate’s Senior Directors and works as part of the Client Services team to provide excellent strategic consulting services. Previously at Elevate, she worked in New Client Partnerships and led client teams in the Director role. Abbie enjoys partnering with clients to bring significant and breakthrough successes in institutional fundraising.
Abbie has more than a dozen years of experience in leadership and development roles at arts, culture, and education organizations. Prior to joining Elevate, Abbie served as Managing Director of NextStop Theatre Company. She was responsible for development, marketing, financial management, and administration, and proudly led the company through a significant growth period. Prior to that she was Director of Development for Fairfax Library Foundation, creating and expanding grant programs supporting early literacy, new Americans, scholarship programs, and other library initiatives.
Some semesters Abbie teaches Principles of Management as an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University. She earned her MBA from George Mason, where she was named “Outstanding MBA Student of the Year” by faculty and “Most Contributed to Learning” by her global residency classmates. Abbie received her BA from the University of South Carolina on a full academic scholarship, earning a double major in Theater and Economics. Abbie is an accomplished theater director, with over 20 professional credits, and a published author of fiction.
Outside of nonprofit management and creative pursuits, Abbie most enjoys spending time with her two young children, going flying with her husband in the single-engine plane he pilots, and reading novels.
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Ruthie came to Elevate with a passion for creating meaningful social change, and she is excited to work with Elevate’s amazing clients to get there. Ruthie has a specific interest in creative and sustainable community development practices. While a student, Ruthie spent time in Makhanda, South Africa where she worked with various arts organizations, including The Black Power Station, researching the effects of creative economic activities on socioeconomic development. Her interest in nonprofits began when she interned at Project HOPE, an international nonprofit that works across the health spectrum, and was strengthened through her work with the arts organizations in Makhanda.
Ruthie graduated from the University of Virginia, earning her BA in Economics and Global Development Studies. She loves languages, and has studied Spanish, Arabic, and a little bit of Hebrew.
As a new DC resident, Ruthie loves exploring the city and all it has to offer. In her spare time, Ruthie enjoys spending time outdoors, attending concerts (in a COVID-free world), trying new foods, and partaking in any sort of art activity.
