About Elisa
Elisa M. Ortiz – Creating community change from the ground up
About me:
I am a young nonprofit leader who has worked in a variety of issue-based and infrastructure-focused nonprofit organizations. My background is in advocacy, organizing, grassroots movement building, training design and implementation, public speaking, strategic planning, capacity building, writing and editing.
I joined the team at Smart Growth America last year as the State Campaigns Director working with state partners to conceptualize, plan, and implement state smart growth campaigns. In addition to my day job, I also serve as a member of the Leadership Council of YNPNdc and as a citizen member of the Arlington County Transportation Commission.
My previous experience includes work on nonprofit leadership and organizational effectiveness (including co-authoring Work With Me: Intergenerational Conversations for Nonprofit Leadership, a hands-on workbook designed to help nonprofits identify and leverage the expertise of all generations in the work place), low income housing issues, women’s rights, reproductive justice and other political advocacy work.
I graduated from Utica College of Syracuse University in upstate New York with a degree in Political Science in 2002 and have lived in Arlington, VA ever since. In my personal life, I love to read, dance and sing (I am a karaoke fiend!), play softball and cultivate a very small container garden on my balcony.
This Blog:
Onward and Upward is a blog about nonprofit leadership, management, intergenerational issues and about my climb up the experience/knowledge/employment ladder. I hope that by reading it, others will gain insight and ideas into how to advance their own careers and make the nonprofit sector even better. And I hope to make some friends and meet new colleagues along the way.
Onward and Upward refers to my own personal goals in advancing my career and life as well as the movement of nonprofits – we’re all working to be better. It is important to note that all opinions expressed and affiliations listed are solely mine.
I love to talk to and meet new people – and I’d be happy to work with you to get your resume and cover letter in order, facilitate some intergenerational dialogue in your organization or help you with your social media strategy. To get in touch, you can email me, add me as a connection on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter. If you’d like to learn more about my professional and leadership experience you can check out my VisualCV.
Thanks and welcome!
