Elise is the principal in The Eplan Group, a firm that advises philanthropic organizations. Prior to her consulting work, Elise was Vice President for Special Initiatives at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which was created by the co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons. The Foundation has granted more than $250 million since it was launched in 1995. As one of the Foundation’s first two staff members, Elise led the trustees in developing the vision, direction and processes for the Foundation. Over a period of 11 years, she oversaw the discretionary grantmaking for the trustees and over $10 million in Foundation grants for parks and greenspace in Atlanta. Prior to this, Elise was the Director of The America Project, an urban anti-poverty initiative undertaken by The Carter Center in the 1990s. During this time, she explored promising initiatives that were undertaken in other cities and disseminated information about lessons learned by The Atlanta Project.

Elise was the Founding President of Hands On Atlanta, a community service organization, and she now serves on its Advisory Board. Elise also serves on the board of The Paideia School and Agnes Scott Board of Visitors.

Elise was President of the Atlanta chapter of The American Jewish Committee from 2003-2005 and has been an active board member with the organization, notably with its Black-Jewish Coalition.

Elise received her undergraduate degree in American Studies from Brandeis University and her Masters in Public and Private Management from Yale University. She and her husband, Bob Marcovitch, have two children, Hannah and Max.