Elise received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2007 and a B.A. in English and French from the College of Wooster in 2001.  

Elise has spent her entire legal career in public service. Immediately before joining the University of Chicago Law School, Elise was the Associate Director of Pro Bono & Programs at the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), where she oversaw the court-based Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) program, as well as led the CBF’s pro bono efforts, working with lawyers, firms, corporations, the courts, and pro bono and legal aid organizations to maximize the impact of pro bono work. 

Prior to joining the CBF, Elise served as Pro Bono Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP where she managed the pro bono program in Kirkland’s Chicago and California offices. Before joining Kirkland, Elise began her legal career as a Staff Attorney at Legal Aid Chicago (formerly known as the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, or LAF), working first in the Family Law Group with a focus on representing domestic violence survivors, and then in the Consumer Practice Group during the height of the mortgage foreclosure crisis.