Portia is a social justice advocate passionate about youth development and equitable access to education and healthcare. Before joining Elevate, she served as a College Adviser with the Carolina College Advising Corps, an AmeriCorps funded program dedicated to helping low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students find their way to colleges that will serve them well. This passion for youth stems from her social justice involvements in college. While in undergrad, she served as a Co-Director of Catalyst Conference, a weekend-long social justice conference for high school students. She also spent a summer working abroad in Panamá where she taught English to second graders and organized a health fair centered around water safety in the town of San Miguel.
Portia graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Anthropology and Peace, War, and Defense. Amongst other activities, Portia left her heel print as Founding President of the Society of Undergraduate Anthropologists, an organization dedicated to the edification of anthropology majors and minors and the facilitation of global conversation. She is currently working on a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at American University.
Portia has a huge sweet tooth and enjoys trying out DC bakeries. She also enjoys trying out new restaurants, perusing used bookstores, and watching Insecure.
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.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Marcy comes to Elevate with a background in program management, direct service, and fundraising, and brings a passion for helping nonprofits succeed in achieving their missions. At Elevate, she has worked effectively with a range of small and mid-size organizations at both the regional and national levels. Marcy is knowledgeable in issue areas of early childhood and K-12 education, college access, workforce development, adult literacy, health, food security, and the environment.
A Rockville native, Marcy has lived in the Dominican Republic, Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Big Island of Hawaii. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Northwestern University.
When not writing grants, Marcy enjoys visiting farmers markets, thinking of new ways to use her cast iron pan, and spending time in nature with her daughter.
Tyler is a passionate advocate for the non-profit sector with a background in environmental advocacy and youth development.
She earned a BA in Cultural Anthropology and a BA in Environmental Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County before accepting a Fulbright Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to teach English in Malaysia. She was first exposed to fundraising through canvassing work with Clean Water Action and report writing at the Chesapeake Stormwater Network.
>Since joining the Elevate team, Tyler has worked with nearly 20 nonprofits focusing on issues from environmental justice and race equity to hunger relief and youth development. She has experience working with nonprofits ranging in budget size from $400,000 to over $20M and has been successful identifying and supporting cultivation efforts for prospective national, regional, and local funders. Tyler particularly enjoys serving as a thought partner for her clients and developing new grant language that both captures recent program developments and demonstrates alignment with specific funders’ priorities.
Tyler regularly volunteers as an Emerging Readers Tutor with Reading Partners and as a Case Manager with Baltimore Abortion Fund. When Tyler is not in the office, she can be found testing new recipes, attending concerts, or muddying her shoes on a new hiking trail.
Oumou is a Supervising Director at Elevate where she primarily manages Elevate’s outstanding Project Coordinators and leads work to support the company’s information, systems, and calendar management process across all teams.
Oumou first joined Elevate in 2017 as a Project Coordinator. In that time, she has served more than 25 nonprofit clients who work in a wide range of issue areas including Education, Civic Engagement, Social Services, Advocacy and Policy Change, and Food and Nutrition. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Outside of work, Oumou is an avid sports fan. She is particularly passionate about Formula 1. Oumou also enjoys loose-leaf tea, discovering new coffee roasters, house plants, and maintaining her spreadsheet with her favorite movies.
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.
Ellen comes to Elevate with a passion for the arts and education. Before joining the Elevate Operations team, she interned and volunteered at a variety of nonprofits around the country. Her introduction to working at nonprofits began as a Development Intern at BBYO International Headquarters. Ellen later worked as a Public Affairs and Marketing Intern at the Smithsonian Institute’s Freer|Sackler Galleries. She also served as Co-President of Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art’s Student Advisory Board.,
Ellen graduated from Northwestern University in 2016 with a BA in Psychology and Art History, and a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from the Medill School of Journalism. She also spent a semester studying Art History in Florence, Italy. While in Italy, Ellen worked as a Biblioteca Berenson Intern at Villa I Tatti: The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.
When not working at Elevate, Ellen can be found exploring a new museum, attempting to finish a jigsaw puzzle, or cooking a homemade meal for friends and family.
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.
Melinda has a passion for organizational development and is committed to supporting her clients as they build sustainable and successful grant programs. She has several years of experience working with nonprofits, serving both as a grant writer and as part of a development team. Most recently she was a Site Director and Grant Writer at the YMCA, where she won thousands of dollars in support of their youth programs. She also carried out program development for the YMCA’s after-school and summer camp programs, creating developmentally appropriate curriculum for school-aged children.
Melinda stays involved in the community as the president of her local chapter of the Relief Society, the world’s largest women’s service organization. She recently graduated with her Master’s in Human Development from Virginia Tech and holds a degree in Human Development from Brigham Young University, where she was Valedictorian of her class.
In her free time, Melinda can be found attempting ridiculously complicated British pastry recipes and enjoying the outdoors.
