Hey there, my name is Elise!

I’m a Portland-born, Texas-raised artist with a Bachelors in English & Comparative Literature from Columbia University and an MFA degree in Film Directing from UCLA. I’ve got a poet’s soul, a wanderer’s ambition, and a wry sense of humor that usually finds me forever in pursuit of laughter.

The daughter of a Wall Street attorney and an Olympic athlete, I stem from loving traditions of scholastic achievement and competitive sports—all served up with a winking splash of southern pageantry. 

Interesting facts about me: I love goats, rivers, animation, chocolate milk, and dancing the Texas Two-Step. My favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice, my favorite show is One Piece, and my favorite film is Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s 1997 Cinderella. A fit of wanderlust once saw me through living off one deflated air mattress across three continents, but no matter where life has taken me, storytelling remains my forever home. I enjoy narratives steeped in history and fact, as well as those that explore the uncharted territory of life's what if's. Much of my work deals with the unique subjectivity of the Black American female and imagining how she might move through past, present, and perhaps impossible worlds.

In my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working as a creative and personal assistant to Gina Prince-Bythewood and then as a writers’ assistant on Apple TV’s drama, Swagger, produced by Reggie Rock Bythewood, Kevin Durant, and Brian Grazer. After, I enjoyed a wonderful stint as a Post Production Assistant/Coordinator for Lucasfilm Ltd. on two seasons of The Mandalorian (executive produced by industry powerhouses Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni) before joining hands with our partner company, The Third Floor, where I proudly served as the project manager of the Creative Department. As the world’s leading visualization studio that collaborates heavily with Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, D.C., Sony, and Fox, I learned oodles of cool stuff about virtual production, 3D animation, client relations, tech integration, and VFX pipelines.

In my most recent role, I worked as a project manager at London Alley Entertainment, a company that does all your favorite music videos and artist-driven commercial content. In addition to process development and creative marketing collaboration, we executed countless multichannel advertising campaigns that took LA by storm!

Currently, I do assistant directing for film productions, independent project management, and creative content consulting alongside my own proprietary entrepreneurial pursuits. Still forever an artist, but also a jolly (baby) company owner and a working woman!