Elizabeth Ross

Elizabeth is a seasoned executive who has managed strategic partnerships, business development, public relations and communication initiatives for a host of corporations and non-profit organizations including CERTIFY Global, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), Ogilvy, Chicago Cares, Net Impact, Speakeasy and The Atlanta Women’s Foundation.

Elizabeth currently heads communications and marketing for the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) in New York City. Elizabeth supports Unlock Capital, a newly launched investment readiness program for entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico and the peer network, Venture Capital Circle. Prior to her second stint at CDVCA, Elizabeth was the Chief Development Officer at NACME, a program supporting underrepresented minorities in STEM and worked on strategic projects for the PEN American Center. Previously, she was VP of Business Development for Speakeasy, Inc., a communication consulting firm. Elizabeth has also held positions with The Atlanta Women’s Foundation and Literacy Action, Inc., an Atlanta-based school for undereducated adults. Previously, Elizabeth was a program director for San-Francisco-based Net Impact, an organization that promotes corporate responsibility and sustainable business, where she managed corporate relations, fundraising initiatives, communications, and the organization’s annual international conference. Prior to joining Net Impact, Elizabeth was the Director of External Relations for Chicago Cares, an award-winning volunteer service organization and an associate with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

Elizabeth received her Master of Business Administration from The Stephen M. Ross School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Boston University. At Michigan, Elizabeth founded the Michigan Students for Responsible Business chapter (now Net Impact), was elected communications director for the Global Citizenship society and addressed her class at graduation in acceptance of the 1996 MBA Leadership Award. Elizabeth was also a Whirlpool Ambassador as part of the MBA Domestic Corps program and developed a handbook distributed to the business school faculty and students entitled, “Corporate Social Responsibility: Bottom Line Impacts.”

Before entering the MBA program at Michigan, Elizabeth worked for Western International Media, Earle Palmer Brown and The Washington Post. For three years, Elizabeth served as co-chair for the J in the City Steering Committee, an initiative of the Marcus Jewish Community Center. Additionally, Elizabeth is a graduate of the Erwin Zaben Leadership Development program. She served on the Board of Directors for the Fulton County League of Women Voters and Piedmont Park’s North Woods Advisory Committee. Elizabeth helped start and name a LEED- certified elementary school in Atlanta (Springdale Park) and served as President and Vice President of the Parent Teacher Organization. She was President of the Midtown Parent’s Group and community director for the Midtown Education Committee.

Elizabeth lives in Manhattan and has three boys. Her eldest will be graduating from Penn State in 2022 and working in financial consulting with EY. Her middle son is a first year at Michigan and her youngest is a sophomore in high school.