Elena Conley

Elena Conley leads MRBF’s grantmaking and influence work, coordinates the program team and supports the Foundation’s program-related investment strategies. She manages relationships and grant portfolios in Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. A member of the program and management teams, Elena trains, supports and supervises network officers and supervises the grants manager. She helps the Foundation maintain an explicit focus on racial equity in everything it does.

Elena has been managing grant portfolios and relationships since arriving at the Foundation in 2014, and her role has continually evolved to include more strategic and managerial functions. Before coming to MRBF, Elena was an organizer with the  Beloved Community Center of Greensboro,  which focuses on economic and social justice issues. There, she led several teams and campaigns, including Beloved's civic engagement and get-out-the-vote campaigns, as well as  their internship and service-learning program.

A native of Boulder, Colorado, Elena moved to North Carolina  to attend Guilford College, where she majored in Sociology and  Anthropology, and double minored in Psychology and Religious Studies. Elena enjoys reading, cooking and traveling.