Pronouns : he / him / his
Frank comes to Elevate hoping to help solve complex problems in a data-driven and practical way. He was recently the Operations Team Leader at the Global Language Network where he maintained the rosters for classes in over 20 foreign languages.
Frank is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Claremont McKenna College. He is currently involved in many organizations on campus but spends most of this time with the CMS swim team.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his dogs, family, reading, and watching movies.
Pronouns : she / her / hers
Neal Montoya has a childlike curiosity that guides her and a background in facilitating multiple projects while building community. Before Elevate, she served an AmeriCorps VISTA term with Food Recovery Network (FRN). When she began working at FRN, Neal had limited knowledge about the food justice sphere, but her love for learning new things gave her the confidence to take the role. As a result, she learned about food insecurity and food recovery while building robust systems for the FRN Network and fostering relationships with students and alumni across the nation.
Neal attended the University of Maryland, College Park, and received a BA in English Literature with a minor in History. During her undergraduate years, she interned at the Dickinson Electronic Archives, participated in two Alternative Break trips, and served as a production assistant on student films.
When she’s not working, you can find Neal reading a book, playing video games, taking random photographs of her surroundings, or practicing songs and scales on her beloved bass guitar.
Pronouns : she / her / hers
Cheyenne has a strong passion for helping underserved and marginalized populations achieve a better quality of life. Before Elevate, she made her debut in the nonprofit world first as a volunteer at an affordable housing and services provider in Ventura County, CA. She gave hundreds of hours of her time to low-income students and their daily academic needs. When a staff position opened up, she jumped on the opportunity and became a direct youth services provider. Over the course of several years, she developed and refined many impactful programs for her students.
In 2015, she decided to jump on another opportunity at the organization, diving deep into the world of fundraising and grant writing. Tapped for her excellent writing and research skills, she soon became a Grant Manager and was eventually put in charge of the grant program for the entire organization. In this role, she penned hundreds of proposals that helped fund a variety of important causes, including food assistance, case management, after-school programs, supportive housing, summer camps, financial literacy training, and more. Since then, she has greatly expanded this scope of expertise to include workforce development, advocacy, disability inclusion, and efforts to strengthen democracy.
Cheyenne graduated summa cum laude with the highest honors from California Lutheran University. She earned a BS in Psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies. She also holds a Certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University. Once a California native, Cheyenne is now happily living in North Carolina. She is an expert cat wrangler, a beginning gardener, and a truly subpar violinist in her own time.
Pronouns : he / him / his
Greg believes that entanglement across sectors – arts, politics, healthcare, science, technology, among others – is core to building healthy, self-sustaining communities. Greg has worked as a consultant to numerous arts, heritage, and cultural institutions; helping them deepen community ties, better define their purpose, and surface and organize around mutual self-interests. He previously served as an analyst at AMS Planning & Research and was the 19-20 Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage. Along with those roles, he has been fundraising for universities and arts organizations since 2014.
In the field, Greg also works as a director for theater, opera, film, and games. His artistic practice closely resembles Elevate’s — working with an array of collectives or organizations to help advance their mission and goals in concert (only instead of through grantmaking, it’s through artistically excellent storytelling — which tends to attract the grants). He served as the Producing Director for the Helen Hayes-winning 4615 Theatre Company. Greg holds a BFA from the University of Michigan.
Raised between wintery Michigan and sunny Shanghai, Greg can shovel a driveway with ease and was sipping on boba tea before it was cool. You can catch him at the premiere of a new show, goofing off in the gym, or gushing about Beyoncé.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Christian comes to Elevate with over a decade of experience serving nonprofits in education, housing, health and mental health, the arts, and social services. Prior to joining the team at Elevate, he served as the Executive Director of Care to Learn, a nonprofit providing funding to address students’ emergent health, hunger, and hygiene needs throughout Missouri. Growing up in a family that valued volunteerism and community engagement, he has seen countless examples of the difference that nonprofits make in their communities and is excited to help Elevate’s clients increase their impact. Before entering the nonprofit arena, Christian worked (briefly!) as an attorney and professor, teaching courses on animal law and criminal justice.
Christian earned his JD from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law and a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis.
When not serving Elevate’s clients, Christian enjoys spending time with his fiancé, Serena, and their daughter Keener, reading, gaming, playing guitar, or watching any horror movies he can find.
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: 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.
