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.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Sushmita, who goes by her nickname, Nanu, joined Elevate as a Grant Writer in 2018. During her time at Elevate, she has helped her clients build sustainable grant programs through her strong project management and technical writing skills. Nanu works with a wide range of both direct service and advocacy organizations, including nonprofits that focus on health, addiction recovery, housing, youth development, and investigative journalism.
Prior to joining Elevate, Nanu spent a year teaching literature and creative writing as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Calcutta, India. She also volunteered as a content writer at Tiljala SHED, a Calcutta-based nonprofit that provides educational services and financial aid to ragpickers (waste collectors).
Nanu graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA in English. Outside of her coursework, she enjoyed working as a writing tutor on campus and volunteering as a science tutor at a local middle school.
On the weekends, you can find her exploring the city, trying new recipes, or relaxing with a cup of tea. When she’s not writing grants, she also enjoys writing prose and poetry on her blog, Aksharbet.
Pronouns: she/they
Alison Hight is a Director at Elevate, a leading grant writing firm that provides top-level development expertise to nonprofits nationwide. Her certification as a Fundraising Executive (CFRE) is a testament to her commitment to excellence. Alison has supported organizations focused on democracy, equity and social justice in the arts, youth and adult education, workforce development, healthcare, and international development. She brings deep issue knowledge in the arts, media, civic engagement, advocacy, and human rights, and is deeply engaged in women’s and gender issues.
Alison is a relationship developer and partnership identifier who excels at connecting people based on what excites them and the type of impact they want to have. She creates relationships where everyone can deepen their impact while sparking new ideas that can further their mutual visions. Alison is also an accomplished trainer and presenter who has developed internal and external training materials on essential fundraising topics and development activities. Her background in Visual Communications and Economics, as well as training in video and audio production, has allowed her to explore creative solutions to complex problems.
Alison is deeply committed to creating a more equitable and just philanthropic sector. She believes that fundraising is a critical tool for social change, and that it should be approached in a way that centers the values of equity, justice, and community power. Alison works to dismantle systemic barriers that have historically excluded marginalized communities from philanthropy, and advocates for funding models that prioritize community-driven solutions. Alison has developed and leads trainings on the power of language and how fundraisers can use it as active participants in creating more equitable philanthropy, the first of which she presented at the Grant Professional Association’s national conference in 2019.
Outside of work, Alison explores the human experience through experimental multi-disciplinary art and creative coding. She is also a transformational coach, avid reader, traveler, and coffee drinker. Alison’s favorite aspects of working at Elevate are the variety of clients she works with, the ongoing opportunities to learn, and feeling like she gets to be part of deepening the positive impact of people on the world.
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.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Elevate’s Vice President of New Client Partnerships, Jessica is responsible for all marketing and new business development at Elevate. She also supports the company’s Specialized Grant Services department. Leaning into her own experience as a grant writer and her background in nonprofit strategy, program design, and management, Jessica brings a deep understanding of the “pain points” nonprofits face and a strategic approach to addressing these through smart grant programs.
Jessica joined Elevate in 2016 as a team Director, and held roles within Elevate’s management and business development teams before joining the executive team in 2022. She is an experienced nonprofit professional with a background in corporate and foundation fundraising, program design, strategy, and partnerships. Prior to Elevate, Jessica worked in development and program management roles at the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Environmental Education Foundation, both based in the DC region. She also spent two years in her early career teaching high school biology in Northern Virginia.
A native of Atlanta, Jessica earned an MEd in Secondary Science Education at Georgia State University and a BS in Applied Biology at Georgia Tech.
When not at work, you may find Jessica on the tennis court, in her kitchen, buried in an e-book, or traveling to Brooklyn to play “auntie.” Jessica works from her home in Falls Church, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, their middle schooler, and Georgie, a special needs pup that regularly features on Elevate social media.
