Meet Elizabeth

Elizabeth began her career with the Michigan AFL-CIO during the last months of a campaign to protect collective bargaining in the state constitution. When that campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, she played a key communications role during the so-called "right to work" battle that culminated in 10,000 labor union members rallying to protect their rights at the State Capitol. Now that Michigan has a more representative government under fair maps, right to work has been repealed in the state. During her time at the AFL-CIO, she also helped empower rank and file members to speak with the press and oversaw a complete organization rebranding and website redesign.

Elizabeth also served as the Digital Media Strategist for the Michigan Senate Democrats in 2016, helping to bolster the digital profile of caucus members and providing integral support through the early stages of the Flint water crisis. While her professional contributions to the success of the caucus and individual members were many, she continues to speak out as a voice to support a change in the often-toxic culture in state politics. Here are a few of the headlines of her advocacy:

• MLive (4/20/2021): Butt pinches, threesome requests and a glass ceiling: sexism is systemic in Michigan’s political culture 

• MLive (4/22/2021): Video: Women share what it’s like facing sexism in Michigan’s political sphere

• Bridge Michigan (4/21/2021): Michigan Senate to update sexual harassment policy amid reckoning in Lansing

Perhaps her proudest professional achievement, Elizabeth began her involvement in the democracy reform space as one of the lead strategists on the 2018 Voters Not Politicians ballot initiative to end partisan gerrymandering in Michigan. The campaign won with 61% of the vote, securing majority support in 67 of 83 counties and earned Elizabeth and her former colleagues a Silver Anvil, the top award in the nation from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a Bronze Pollie Award from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). Personal accomplishments from her work on Voters Not Politicians include:

• Serving as de facto Communications Director, securing more than 1,525 pieces of media coverage from the launch of the campaign through the election, including three pieces in the  New York Times and coverage in The Washington Post, The Hill, Elle and 38 letters to the editor published in newspapers across Michigan. Her work also helped secure endorsements from 12 Michigan publications, including the Detroit Free Press.

• Working with organizational leadership to transform a well-oiled, all volunteer grassroots organization to one of the most respected political organizations in the state. She also helped secure support from national funders, ultimately resulting in over $15 million raised throughout the life of the campaign.

Elizabeth's mastery of strategic communications, organizational management, and collaboration across important stakeholder groups led to her early involvement in the initial stages of two ballot initiatives to enact an independent citizens redistricting commission in Arkansas and bring ranked choice voting and open primaries to Missouri. She also served as the Deputy Director of Advocacy for national ranked choice voting leader FairVote, helping to steer the strategy and development of the organization's 501(c)4 arm, advising on organization-wide systems and processes and serving a key role in pursuing state legislation across the country to enact ranked choice voting in presidential primaries.

During her first weeks at Michigan State University, Elizabeth joined the Sexual Assault Program and Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Team, which provided resources and advocacy for survivors of sexual abuse and misconduct, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. Before the revelations of rampant sexual abuse across campus were made apparent, Elizabeth fought alongside program staff to advocate for additional resources and funding. She served as the president of the student-led group and helped raise over $25,000 for the organization in two years – all before her Junior year of college. 

As one of the first peer educators for MSU's Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence Prevention Program (now Prevention, Outreach and Education Department), Elizabeth was welcomed to Washington, D.C., by then-Vice President Joe Biden in recognition of the first-in-the-nation approach to peer education on these important issues across college campuses.

In 2018, with support from her therapist, friends and community, Elizabeth filed a successful Title IX complaint against the former executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. She has used that experience to encourage other women to stand up for themselves and for others by "Galvanizing the whisper network." Here are some of the subsequent news articles covering her complaint:

• MSU harassment victim hopes for 'positive precedent' – Detroit News (11/1/2018)

• Former MSU Alumni Association director was a mentor to her, then he made a sexual advance - Lansing State Journal (11/1/2018)

• Woman who filed harassment complaint about MSU Alumni head comes forward - WLNS TV 6 (11/1/2018)

Elizabeth also served as vice president on the board of the domestic violence shelter End Violent Encounters (EVE), Inc. in Lansing, Michigan, where she helped guide the organization through the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and through a search for a new executive director.