Elyse was born and raised in the suburbs of Oakland County and brought up in a family of handymen and women. Inspired by her grandparents and Mom, Elyse adopted a do-it-yourself attitude and an appreciation for craftsmanship from an early age. Elyse graduated from the University of Michigan in 2015 with a degree in Biopsychology and a minor in Statistics and shortly after, segued into public health work in Detroit.

Elyse began building a network within the city’s urban agriculture community through a fellowship with Eastern Market’s food access programs and volunteering her time with community growers as she achieved her Master Gardener certification. Elyse continued to be an advocate for healthy, sustainable communities as the manager for two neighborhood farmer’s markets among other greenspace initiatives - like designing and building rain gardens in her neighborhood. She is also the Board Secretary of 360 Detroit Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on beautifying vacant land and facilitating community programming in arts, leadership and literacy in Virginia Park. 

Prior to launching Mona Lisa Living, Elyse spent several years at Meridian Health Plan where she interacted with the broader, more complex regional healthcare system. Here, she leads several enterprise-wide projects as a process improvement project manager that lead to better cohesion in overall operations while impacting the financial bottom line. Elyse refined her knack for process thinking and learned strategies to adapt solutions in an ever-evolving industry.

In the early days, Elyse served as her grandfather’s apprentice in the rehab of two-century-old homes. Following in his footsteps, she received her MI Residential Builders License and is now the qualifying officer for Mona Lisa Construction LLC. As co-founder & partner of Mona Lisa Living, Elyse leads general contracting, accounting, and financial strategy. In her personal time, Elyse can be found in the kitchen experimenting with fermented foods, outside piloting her latest garden idea, or relaxing in her cozy living room with her nose stuck in a book.