Meet Elisa Pratt, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Brewer Pratt Solutions, LLC. It is an association advancement consulting firm that provides customized solutions to help nonprofit organizations succeed.
After serving as a senior staff member at several nonprofits, Elisa Pratt started her own organization in 2017. She is a certified association executive and has been working as one for the last 20 years. She is an expert in nonprofit management, association engagement, and membership experience. She provides innovative engagement solutions, tactical member development and operational effectiveness strategies to the non-profits to benefit the clients, and the individuals involved in it.
Growing up, Elisa was an unusually tall and awkward kid. She was 6ft tall by her sophomore year in school. But she was also a natural leader and was fairly outspoken. She fought through her internal insecurities by trying to overachieve and excel in high school. She found solace in school, sports, and her job. Thanks to the youth work permit, she got her first job at 13, and being the editor of the school yearbook helped her find her voice and confidence.
Elisa moved to Washington DC after graduating from the University of California at Davis as a valedictorian. She worked on Capitol Hill and focused on grassroots activism, community organizing, and fundraising activities. Gradually, she moved towards the nonprofit community where she saw organizations come together for a specific cause. That’s where Elisa decided that she wanted to work to make a difference. Initially, she fought for speciality nurses and then got a chance to advocate for construction workers. She says, “It was always important for me to work for “the good guys” and support professionals who made the world a better place. Over the years I evolved from fundraising and advocacy to coalition building, strategy, and executive management”.
Elisa also received a Master’s in Government with honours from John Hopkins University. When asked about the one idea that worked for her, she says, Work hard, be candid, and know who you are. By knowing oneself, she means taking note of both your weaknesses and strengths.
Talking about her organization, she says, “Brewer Pratt Solutions LLC (BPS) is an association advancement and strategic consulting firm, specializing in the delivery of mission-focused and highly customized engagement solutions, instigating increased organizational success, and the transformation of associations and their members”. BPS mostly works with nonprofit organizations and membership associations. She works to ensure the implementation of strategic solutions that allow the evolution of nonprofit staff, elected boards, and volunteer leadership. Elisa helps advance the mission and vision of the organization, and also the internal and external stakeholders related to them.
Apart from the BPS, Elisa has also started a new venture known as Association Transformation that uses podcasting and leadership development programming to evolve nonprofits and nonprofit leaders. Through this, she gets to challenge the status quo, ask the right questions, and indulge in some amazing conversations.
Elisa notes that while starting her career, she was young and wanted to see good in people. She cautions us to know that words can’t always be trusted, and people eventually show who they are. It took her a while to read the signs and ensure that she only had supportive people in her life. She counts the return clients as her greatest achievements and is proud to see her clients increasing every year.
Inspiring all the women out there to take charge of their lives, Elisa leaves them a message saying, “Don’t wait for someone else to give you what you want. Design your own destiny and make your own fate. As women, we can’t wait for a prince charming to save us. Be the hero of your own story!”