Pronouns : He, Him, His
Ben has a decade of experience in development, fundraising, nonprofit project management, and a lifelong passion for international development. Prior to Elevate, Ben worked with Canine Partners for Life (CPL), a small nonprofit that provides service dogs for people with disabilities. Before working at CPL, he worked in a rural area in South Sudan, developing and subsequently managing a large donor portfolio for two schools and a clinic.
Ben has a Masters in Public Administration with a focus on International Development from the University of York (UK), a BS in Biology from Eastern University, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. He volunteers with several nonprofit organizations, and has served on nonprofit boards, working to improve their impact and fiscal sustainability, furthering his personal belief that people can do good in the world when they use their strengths and work together.
Although a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ben has spent much of his life overseas. He enjoys volunteering, reading, cooking, spending time with loved ones, traveling, and trying to keep up with his high-energy border collie, Buna.
Pronouns : she / her / hers
Patrice comes to Elevate with a decade of marketing and communications experience. She has worked within the trade association, nonprofit, and small business sectors, and her experience ranges from leading brand strategies to managing nonprofit partnerships with organizations like Make-A-WishⓇ. Patrice has dedicated her career to connecting small businesses and nonprofit-based organizations with their target audiences through a mix of corporate strategies and grassroots marketing. She has a passion for collaborative strategy development and brand awareness campaigns and thrives when identifying emerging market opportunities and producing high-class content.
Patrice obtained her undergraduate degree in Business Management from Bowie State University and has continued graduate-level coursework at the University of Virginia. Outside of work, Patrice enjoys spending time with her husband and children, traveling, and live music.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Sara is passionate about building healthy communities for people and our planet. Before joining Elevate, Sara worked on the 2020 election with Work for Progress as a Campaign Associate. She canvassed voters in Colorado and provided information about candidates for state and federal elections. She also recruited new staff to join the Work for Progress campaign. Prior to her work during the 2020 campaign cycle, Sara was an Administrative Assistant for Can-SOLVE CKD, a pan-Canadian patient-oriented kidney research network. She provided administrative support for the operations team, coordinated logistics for meetings and events, and assisted in developing an online learning module about patient-oriented research and kidney research in Canada.
Sara is a volunteer for Climate Crisis Policy, where she uses her cartography skills to map membership of the coalition. Sara earned her BA in Geography with a focus on Environment and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia.
In her free time, Sara loves to cook vegetarian meals, explore the outdoors, and read books about food and plants.
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.
Pronouns: she/her
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
Pronouns: she/her
Angela has over a decade of nonprofit fundraising experience which includes grant writing, grant research, government/corporate relations, and major gifts donor cultivation for several national and international nonprofit organizations such as the Center for Court Innovation, Legal Aid Society, Nazareth Housing, Futures in Education, Bellevue Hospital and the Lemann Foundation of Brazil. More specifically, she specializes in assisting organizations with focus areas in legal aid, criminal justice reform, homelessness prevention, education, child welfare/human services, violence prevention and arts/culture.
In her previous roles, she managed development teams and led complex proposal and reporting development projects. She also has extensive experience supporting clients as a freelance nonprofit fundraising consultant and a Policy and Advocacy Relations consultant on behalf of multiple nonprofits at a major lobbying firm in New York City. In her role as Director at Elevate, she partners with client organizations to deliver customized, highly effective grant writing strategies designed to maximize revenue potential and help clients significantly impact the communities they serve.
Angela earned her BA in Economics and Social Sciences on a full scholarship, pursued a Masters in Government (ALM) at Harvard University and was admitted into a Juris Doctorate (JD) program at Northwestern California University School of Law.
In her free time, she enjoys discovering new recipes to cook on the weekend, watching a good movie with snacks and a cozy blanket, taking walks in the park and attempting to schedule as many spa days as humanly possible.
Pronouns: they/them
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.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
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.
Adrienne is passionate about art and social justice. She is particularly interested in the role of art in peacebuilding. Adrienne has worked with various indigenous communities. She has volunteered with the Snowbird Cherokee tribe in Tennessee and participated in an ethnographic field school in the Brazilian Amazon with the Kayapo People. She has also attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Adrienne graduated with an MA in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. During her time there she served as the Director of Outreach & Media for the Journal of International Service. She worked at the Institute of World Affairs as a program assistant for the Program on Trauma Healing and Community Resilience. She earned a BA in Studio Art and a BA in Anthropology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
In her leisure time, Adrienne can be found frequenting the District’s amazing museums, exploring a new restaurant, or plotting her next vacation.
Pronouns: she/her
Janelle has a passion for social justice and fairness in the global community. Her commitment to this ideal manifested in her work as a paralegal in Hawaii working for fair credit reporting laws. After relocating to Fredericksburg, Virginia, Janelle joined the staff at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center where she sought to inspire justice through her support of art and story at the Museum. While at the museum, Janelle worked as the volunteer coordinator, development assistant, and, most recently, as the education coordinator where she developed programs that used art education to confront historic and current injustices in her community. In an effort to expand the program’s reach to marginalized communities, Janelle began writing grants to fund scholarships for low income students.
In 2015, Janelle took a leap of faith at an opportunity to reduce her carbon footprint and bought a vintage sailboat to live aboard while undertaking its restoration. She apprenticed with a marine engineering company and learned the basics of sailing, marine electrical and mechanical maintenance, solar and wind power technologies, woodworking and varnishing, and crewed several coastal and offshore deliveries. In the summertime, Janelle teaches sailing in down east Maine and is working toward her Mate’s license through the US Coast Guard. Janelle also writes and edits articles for maritime publications.
Janelle holds BAs in Philosophy and American Studies from the University of Mary Washington, formerly Mary Washington College. She graduated cum laude and was the honors graduate in the American Studies department where she focused her studies on the political and cultural causes of the Civil War and the War’s lingering legacy. For her academic contributions in the civil rights field and her stated career goals, Janelle was awarded the James Farmer scholarship and was elected president of the college’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter.
When not at work, Janelle can be found at Fred’s Theatre where she acts, sells tickets, cultivates donors, cleans floors, or performs one of the other multitudes of jobs needed to ensure the show goes on! If Janelle had one piece of advice to give the world, it would be to find your creative self and nurture it.
