Pronouns: she/her/hers
Joanna has a career history working in the public (state government) and nonprofit sectors. Much of her work has focused on her passion for creating opportunities for affordable housing and addressing homelessness. She has held positions in nonprofit social service agencies administering housing programs and writing grants to support the agencies’ work. She has also worked as a consultant assisting local units of governments and nonprofits in designing and implementing affordable housing programs using public and private funding sources and helping organizations develop internally to ensure strong program delivery. Joanna worked for the Wisconsin State Division of Housing for a period of time before moving across the county to California. Prior to joining Elevate, Joanna had been working for a community-based organization, writing grants to support the agency’s overall work and providing programmatic support to the agency’s transitional housing programs for homeless families and youth aging out of the foster care system.
Joanna continues to be passionate about her belief in the importance of affordable housing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Smart Share Housing Solutions, a local organization devoted to finding affordable housing solutions. She completed a master’s program in Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin’s La Follette School of Public Affairs and graduated from the University of Michigan with bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Women’s Studies. Before beginning graduate school, Joanna spent a year as a VISTA working for a nonprofit affordable housing developer. This experience was the beginning of the marriage of her interests in grant writing and affordable housing.
Joanna has lived all across the US but is happy now to call California home, where she enjoys the proximity to the ocean and the mountains.
Carrie comes to Elevate after five years of living abroad in the Republic of Ireland. Before her time in Ireland, she trained as an actor in the Meisner and Method disciplines in New York City, working primarily in theater, commercials, and print. During this time, Carrie also worked at some of New York City’s finest dining and event establishments, giving her an excellent foundation in customer service. She is passionate about equality, social justice, and the soft power of arts and culture and is excited to be a part of an organization whose clientele reflects these passions.
Upon moving to Ireland in 2016, Carrie earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from American College Dublin. She then worked as a Community Lead for a start-up organization and was a Client Services Professional in the corporate sector.
She eventually aligned her work experiences with her personal values and enrolled in the Master of Arts program at the University College Dublin to earn a degree in Cultural Policy and Arts Management, where she graduated with honors. Her research focused on arts funding in the EU and arts engagement with migrants, asylums seekers, and underserved populations during this time.
She has volunteered with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and while in Dublin, she participated in multiple fundraising campaigns for Woman’s Aid and the Mater Hospital.
When she is not working, you can find her traveling, attending gigs, trying to master new recipes, and spending time with friends and family.
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 : she / her / hers
As an experienced project coordinator, Claire brings a passion for increasing educational equity to the Elevate team and its clients. In her former role with Americorps, she managed a maker-focused education program and associated grants for an Oakland, California school.
She has also contributed her skills to various education nonprofits in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, most recently, serving as a teaching artist at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, where she designed and implemented a middle school-making course.
A Bay Area native, Claire holds a BA in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley, where she graduated with honors. Outside of work, Claire enjoys hanging by one of Pittsburgh’s many rivers, cooking meals with friends and taking her dog Rollo out on the town.
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.
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.
Ren leads Elevate’s capacity planning and staffing function within the Client Services department to ensure each client receives high-quality services. Ren also specializes in writing grants for clients on a range of issues, primarily focusing on health services, policy and advocacy, youth development, and services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Ren’s clients report that they have a knack for learning deeply about their programs and funding landscape to develop strategic grants that are highly competitive for funding. Ren draws from their own experiences as a Grant Writer to support the career development of Elevate staff.
Ren has followed a passion for promoting access to health services in the United States and abroad throughout their career. While pursuing their Master of Social Work, Ren saw how access to high-quality physical and mental health care plays a vital role in enabling individuals to achieve their fullest potential.
Before joining Elevate, they worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program, where Ren assisted with writing grants for their programs in Liberia and Haiti. Ren was also an intern with Georgia State Representative Shelly Hutchinson, where they conducted research and wrote policy briefs related to improving access to health services, immigrant rights, and criminal justice reform.
Ren graduated from the University of Georgia with a Master of Social Work and a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. They also have a BS in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University.
In their free time, Ren loves doing anything outdoors! In particular, they enjoy hiking and playing ultimate frisbee.
Elena brings to Elevate a passion for nonprofits and nonprofit leadership as a catalyst for social change. Prior to joining Elevate, Elena worked for nonprofits in Denmark and the US, in the global health, environmental, civic engagement, and democracy sectors. Her development experience includes direct marketing, building fundraising capacity, major gifts, and grants at organizations such as Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters and League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and Greenpeace.
Elena holds an MSc in Technological and Socio-Economic Planning from Roskilde University, Denmark, and a BA in History and Russian Studies from Bucknell University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Transformative Social Change.
When not wrapped up in the world of grants, Elena loves to read, spend time with the family dogs and cats, and stream British TV and movies while enjoying a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea. She also enjoys growing wildflowers and native plants, reformer Pilates, and interrupting her husband whenever he watches YouTube videos.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
As an undergrad, Katherine’s (Kate’s) university required students to run simulated businesses “selling widgets” to reinforce best practices. She quickly learned that simply “selling widgets” was not a career path she wanted for her future. Searching for more mission driven work, she was drawn to fundraising. She has a background in fundraising for a variety of cause areas: including human services, early education, advocacy, as well as higher education institutions. Kate understands strengthening the nonprofit sector has a ripple effect across communities that can bring powerful change. She is excited to work for Elevate whose mission so strongly aligns with these values.
Prior to joining the Elevate team, Kate managed the stewardship of endowed funds at Georgetown University Law Center. She also spent five years working for United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey supporting the nonprofit sector in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Kate earned her BS in Business Administration from Drexel University with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Sociology. Additionally, she holds a certificate in Social Responsibility in Business from Drexel University.
Outside the office, Kate enjoys teaching yoga, exploring new studios to expand her own yoga practice, and spending time with friends and family – especially at the beach!
