Prior to joining Elevate, Morganne ran Ghana in-country operations for Saha Global, a clean water nonprofit based in Boston. While in Ghana, she doubled Saha’s staff, updated several monitoring and evaluation and operations systems, and hosted donors from the US to get the nonprofit on its current expansion path. Using this operations knowledge and funding experience from her time with the Key Relationships department at charity: water in New York City, Morganne is excited to bring her expertise to Elevate and support innovative nonprofits as they strive for social change.
Morganne received her BA from Colby College, studying Economics and French. While at Colby she served as captain of the women’s swimming and diving team and was a member of the Colby Leadership Academy.
Outside of Elevate, Morganne can be found trying new coffee shops, exploring farmers’ markets, and fostering dogs until they are matched with permanent parents.
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.
Jake comes to Elevate after working for HELP USA, a homeless housing nonprofit located in New York City. At HELP USA, Jake worked closely with the Director of Development in researching potential donors, identifying and applying for grants, and assisting in various fundraising efforts. He also helped to construct grant proposals to match funding requests for HELP USA’s various sites and initiatives located across the country. Prior to HELP USA, Jake spent the 2015-2016 academic year in Slovakia teaching English at a secondary school through the United States Fulbright Program. While in Slovakia, Jake assisted the school’s English Department in expanding their curriculum, further developed the school’s English program, and taught a variety of classes ranging from culture to government. His experience in Slovakia has greatly influenced his knowledge of international exchange programs, and is always willing to expose anyone to Slovak food and beer.
Before leaving for Slovakia, Jake worked for the International Rescue Committee in New York City where he was tasked with providing assistance and re-settlement services to recently arrived refugees and authorized immigrants to the United States, primarily from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. In previous internships, Jake worked for a public relations firm, and for the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
Jake graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University with a BA in History, Political Science, and Humanitarian Affairs. He served as captain of the men’s rowing team for his senior year at Fordham, competing in and training for competitions throughout his collegiate career. He also was elected Treasurer of Phi Alpha Theta and inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Beta Kappa.
Jake is a life-long New York sports fan, with the exception of football and soccer in which he roots for the Miami Dolphins and Manchester United. He is an avid outdoor adventurer from his time as an Eagle Scout, and loves to travel and explore new towns, cities, and countries. He loves train travel and can have long conversations about historical events or about an episode of Doctor Who. He can be frequently spotted looking for the best cup of coffee or tea throughout DC, finding a great bookstore, running through parks, or watching the latest hit movie. Jake is thrilled to be at Elevate working with ambitious nonprofits working towards positive social change in and around DC and the United States.
Christine brings her educational and professional background in conflict resolution to Elevate. A certified mediator, Christine was the Development Assistant at Mines Advisory Group (MAG) America, helping raise funds for a $17 million humanitarian demining organization. Prior to that she was a Policy Analyst for Voices For Sudan, focusing on the organization’s social media platforms and external communication reports. In her role as Director of Project Coordination, she provides ongoing support to Elevate’s Project Coordinators, ensuring that they are equipped to meet clients’ diverse needs. She brings a deep understanding of database management and administrative tasks to her position, and is committed to ensuring quality systems implementation at Elevate.
Before joining the Elevate team in 2014, Christine earned her MA in Conflict Resolution at Georgetown University and her BA in English Literature at the University of Sussex.
Although she was born in Rochester, NY, she has lived in the greater DC area for the past 18 years. She is a recent adoptive parent to a rambunctious Aussie Shepherd mutt puppy, appropriately named Ruckus.
Patricia has a strong desire to help her teams and clients achieve their full potential and make a positive impact in the lives of the people they serve. Prior to joining Elevate, she interned at Monumental Sports & Entertainment in their Executive Suites Department and was also an Operations Intern at Most Valuable Kids. At Most Valuable Kids, Patricia supported underserved youth in DC in making social and academic progress through various cultural and sporting events. She then gained significant development experience as a Relay for Life Committee Member at the American Cancer Society, where she helped raise over $250,000 by recruiting teams and volunteers, assisting in acquiring in-kind donations, managing a database of all registered teams, and tracking all team financial donations.
Patricia continues to dedicate herself to nonprofit work by regularly volunteering for various organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Special Olympics. She holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University and has a BS in Marketing from the University of Puerto Rico.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, exploring museums, traveling, going to Trivia Nights, and watching Netflix.
