Elisa began her journey with Teach For America as a 1998 corps member in Phoenix. She joined staff in 2001 to lead the organization’s work in her hometown in the Rio Grande Valley. Four years later, she became chief operating officer, overseeing field operations as Teach For America expanded to more than 300 urban and rural communities and more than tripled its network of leaders while improving student outcomes each year. Today, under her leadership as CEO, Teach For America’s network of over 70,000 corps members, tutors, and alumni are working inside and outside the classroom to ensure that all children have the access and opportunity to learn, lead, and thrive.

Elisa sits on the boards of the Holdsworth Center, City Fund, GoGuardian, and Leadership for Educational Equity, and serves as a JOURNEY to Lead Champion and a Founding Partner of Starts With Us. She chairs the U.S. Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council, which provides recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on campus safety and security, strategic research, innovation, career development, partnership opportunities, and other topics. She is nationally recognized as one of the Top 20 Voices in Social Impact by LinkedIn and one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas by ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America). Elisa holds a B.A. in sociology from DePauw University. She lives in Houston with her husband, Jeremy, and their four sons.