Elana has dedicated her career to elevating student achievement and wellbeing. As Manager of Apply Philly Charter, she is able to focus her impact on expanding opportunities to excellent education for students in Philadelphia. Elana began her career in Washington, D.C. with Teach For America as a Middle School History teacher. Her journey as a teacher brought her through multiple regions at public, charter and Renaissance schools contributing to her eclectic educational experience. Her hard work and impact earned Elana leadership roles outside of the classroom. She served Young Scholars Kenderton Charter School as the Founding Manager of Student Life and later Chief of Staff helping to lead the turnaround of one of Philadelphia’s most struggling K- 8 elementary schools. Wanting to develop herself and positively impact students even further, Elana trained with TNTP’s PhillyPLUS program as a part of its inaugural Turnaround cohort in order to prepare to lead. Following her training, Elana took on the principalship at Isaac A. Sheppard Elementary School. She led her community through the unprecedented experience of teaching and learning in a global pandemic. Despite the challenges of online instruction, reopening the building safely and rebuilding a community of families, partners, staff and students, Sheppard had the highest literacy growth in its district learning network upon returning to in-person learning. Belief in student and staff capacity, creating the conditions for success, and relentless hard work made it possible to begin to fill the learning gaps created by the pandemic. A desire to continue to develop herself professionally, refine her skills and embark on systems leadership brought Elana to her current role as Manager of Apply Philly Charter at Elevate215. It is her humbling honor to serve Philadelphia families on such a large scale to expand their access to high quality schools.