Elise Eplan is Vice President for Special Initiatives of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Her current responsibilities include overseeing the Foundation’s Inspiring Spaces grantmaking, as well as trustee discretionary giving. Elise has been with the Foundation since 1997.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Eplan was the Program Director for The America Project, an urban community development program of The Carter Center. The America Project served as a resource to cities throughout the country that were attempting to address problems of urban poverty.

Elise was the founding president of Hands On Atlanta, an organization that provides community service opportunities to over 20,000 volunteers. She currently serves on the advisory board.

She is the immediate past president of the Atlanta chapter of the American Jewish Committee and is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

A native of Atlanta, Elise received her bachelor’s degree in American studies from Brandeis University and her master’s degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University. She and her husband, Bob Marcovitch, have two children