Introducing the new ELA staff!
Hello ELA Community! As many of you are already aware, there have been some changes at ELA HQ. We are pleased to announce a new team of support staff here to help advance ELA’s work and execute all of the events to support membership. Our new team consists of a small group of dedicated non-profit professionals from Richmond, Virginia. We would like to introduce the ELA community to Peggy McElgunn, Mads McElgunn, Zach McElgunn, and Aviva Clayman. The team prioritizes relationships and community building in the work they have done. This comes especially naturally to them as the three McElgunn’s are, in fact, related!
Peggy McElgunn joined ELA as head of finance and strategic initiatives. She is looking forward to reaching out to membership and getting to hear what the ELA community has in mind for future events and planning of ELA. She goes out of her way to guarantee quality work that satisfies everyone while strengthening existing community, and she has instilled this in her team as well. You can reach her at peggy@ecolandscaping.org!
Mads McElgunn is the new director of ELA. They are the go-to person for all ELA membership and are excited to not only become a familiar face for all, but to connect with all ELA members in an effort to serve their various needs. In fact, if you would like to set up a time to ask them questions or just have a friendly conversation, please reach out to them at mads@ecolandscaping.org! They want the chance to speak to anyone who has interest, ideas and/or feedback for ELA.
Zach McElgunn is the head of education and publications for ELA. His understanding and experience of “education” runs the gamut from writing the “Call for Proposals,” to submitting his own abstracts, to ordering the tea and coffee for the break rooms at education events. That is to say, having been in every role from event attendee, to speaker, to administrative conference support, he is committed to ensuring that educational events are built on a foundation of collaboration to ensure that the relationships developed and the learning engaged in extend well beyond participants’ time in the classroom. If you have any ideas about extending the many learning experiences of ELA – networking events; any insights you’d like to share; topics for further exploration among members; etc. – please don’t hesitate to reach out to zack@ecolandscaping.org.
Aviva Clayman works primarily with communications. She will be working primarily on membership efforts and strengthening membership experience. If you would like to set-up any regional member experience or learn more about membership offerings, you can reach her at aviva@ecolandscaping.org.
The support staff is here to listen to all ELA membership and leadership in order to provide the best experience possible. We are eager to help engage and reinforce ELA’s closely-knit community. At a time where the knowledge and expertise of ELA’s members are more valuable than ever, we feel privileged to help leverage the collective vision and expertise of ELA’s community to create a more just, sustainable, beautiful, and healthy world.
Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this important work!
