Elissa Sloan Perry has over 20 years of experience working with people, organizations and networks who care deeply about the dignity of people and planet and act on that caring. In 2013 she joined Management Assistance Group (MAG) [http://www.managementassistance.org] as the Program Catalyst for the Network Leadership Innovation Lab, became a Senior Consultant with MAG in 2014, and is now Co-Executive Director.

MAG runs programs, convenes people, and provides coaching and consulting support to organizations and networks with a justice mission. They do this work by bringing together the 5 elements necessary for a thriving justice ecosystem.

Elissa also teaches in the MA in Leadership Program [http://smcleadership.org] at Saint Mary’s College where she recently helped establish the Social Justice concentration.

Everywhere she is, Elissa enjoys bringing together theory and real-world practice and is driven by the values of human dignity and justice in both what she does and how she does it. 

Elissa holds a BA in Humanities with a concentration in social change and an MFA with concentrations in teaching and ethnic literature. She is also a certified coach.

When she’s not consulting or coaching (and sometimes when she is!), you can find Elissa writing, dancing, exploring other art forms, and hanging out with her wife and with trees.

Interests

I am interested in art, social justice and community leadership. My research has primarily been in the areas of community leadership, shared leadership and leadership in communities of color. I firmly believe that it takes a village - the businesses, schools, nonprofits, informal leaders, etc. - for communities to survive and thrive. I am most interested in the intersections and the possibilities when diverse perspectives and ways of being in the world are brought together by a common idea of thriving community.