- Portland State University, Master of Social Work
- Quest University Canada, Bachelor of Social Justice
- Trained in EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment Family Therapy, SMART Recovery, Art Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing
- Safe Zone Certification working with the LGBTQ+ population
Elise began working at Aspiro as a field guide in 2015. After witnessing the profound impact that wilderness therapy had on the youth and young adults she worked with, Elise decided to return to school to become a wilderness therapist. Elise moved back to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, to attend graduate school at Portland State University where she earned her Master of Social Work and became a Licensed School Social Worker. Her Bachelor’s degree in Social Justice that she received from Quest University Canada in Squamish, British Columbia, helped provide a strong foundation for her focus on equity as she completed her master’s program.
Elise’s therapeutic approach is strengths-based, student-centered, and trauma-Informed. She integrates Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy while maintaining an equity lens with her students. Elise has used this approach while working with children in the foster care system and with teens in academic settings who struggled with challenges such as early trauma, depression, anxiety, and identity development. Elise believes that everyone deserves to live a life worth living and sees therapy as one step that can help young people move toward achieving their goals. In her free time, Elise likes to adventure. She enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, backpacking, biking, and sailing.