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Kelsey Roebuck Neilson

Vice President of Client Services
Hometown: Davenport, IA

Pronouns: she/her/hers

As Elevate’s first Vice President of Client Services, Kelsey leads work to continuously improve all client services and develop systems and processes to support the career development of all 50+ client-facing staff. She is a member of Elevate’s 4-person executive team and leads the Client Services Management Team.

Kelsey first joined Elevate as a Grant Writer in August 2014, at a time when the company could still fit all staff around a single conference table. From that position, she grew along with Elevate, taking leadership roles on client teams and, eventually, as a member of the management team. In her current role, Kelsey strives to support staff members’ professional growth within the company, navigate the growth and evolution of the Client Services department, and build relationships with other consultants and nonprofit leaders working to strengthen the sector. “Getting Better at Everything, All the Time” remains her favorite Elevate value.

While Kelsey no longer serves Elevate clients directly, she continues to leverage her experience fundraising in the arts, education, and social services fields to support staff and consult with clients exploring changes to their contract to meet evolving needs and develop new tools to strengthen our services to clients.

Kelsey serves on the board of Jubilee JumpStart, an award-winning early childhood education center in Adams Morgan. She is a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa.

What’s your hidden talent?

I make amazing ebelskivers – Danish pancake puffs best enjoyed with large groups of people and lots of sugar.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?

Kate Winslet. Of course, this is a movie in which the director took serious liberties with my life story and made me British instead of Iowan, but I think I’d be ok with that.

Who is your hero?

My hero is Nancy Drew. She saved me from long family car trips and boring days at school. She taught me that a little ingenuity, some great friends, and a sincere desire to help others was enough to solve even the most baffling of problems.

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