Elyse is a connector, convener and facilitator who wears many hats at Philanthropy Northwest. Born and raised on the East Coast, Elyse has now been in Seattle for 7 years and is proud to call the Northwest home. Elyse will be taking the lead on the Annual Conference starting in 2018, and also leads all Member Briefings and Responsive Programming here at PNW. She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Washington, with a focus on place-based philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. She most recently was a Community Based Learning and Research Fellow at the University of Washington, Bothell, where she taught about philanthropy, equity, nonprofit management, power, identity and culture. Elyse has a passion for how to make philanthropy more responsive, more inclusive, more transparent and more equitable, and is eager to get to know how our multiple and diverse membership is approaching these values in their specific places. She loves to cook and bring people together around food, and will likely include snacks during any in-person trainings! When not being a nerd about philanthropy, Elyse can be found hanging out with her chatty cat, cooking for friends, adventuring around the NW, practicing Spanish, or dancing. She also serves on the Young Professionals Board of Crosscut, a nonprofit regional news organization.
Each year, Philanthropy Northwest's Annual Conference helps unite our different regional experiences of philanthropy, community and social impact. It offers a rare chance for funders across our region to come together and share approaches and best practices for adapting to the latest social issues and exploring collaboration. Here are my top five reasons to attend this year's conference (#AC18) in Boise!