Elisa is a culture critic and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. She received B.A. in English from Illinois State University, where she minored in Women and Gender Studies and Spanish. Currently, she teaches English to high schoolers on Chicago’s North Side. She refers to herself as a 20+ year case-study on being Black in white spaces. Her work centers the stories of Black folks in the USA.
Her career began as an English Teacher to high schoolers on Chicago’s North Side. Through this position she served a uniquely diverse student population while refining her understanding of bringing literacy, stories, and media into the hands of students at varying levels of English comprehension. Additionally, she helped to re-institute the Black Student Union involving coordinating the annual Black History Month Assembly from 2019-2024.
Elisa is passionate about cultivating accessible and communal learning experiences, community-based partnerships, and accessible critical literacy. She continues to be a lover of all things storytelling: spontaneous discussions about literature, classroom discussions, podcasts, good TV shows, documentaries, kitchen-table conversations, Youtube videos, teach-in’s, and so much more.