Elona is a native Oregonian, meaning she thrives in the rain and lives in her Birkenstocks. She found her passion in education at an early age, teaching her siblings how to read. As soon as she discovered her patience for teaching, development and empowerment, she was hooked. In her early years, she moved schools constantly due to her mother’s evictions, homelessness and eventually was taken in by a family in southeast Portland. She attended Franklin high school and was an Advanced Scholars mentor, 3-sport varsity athlete, an AP student and involved whenever she had a spare moment. Her senior year she was awarded the Black United Fund of Oregon leadership scholarship, became a Ford Family Foundation Scholar, and was fortunate enough to attend Pacific University. She went on to be the first in her family to graduate from college and she was blessed to do so without incurring debt. In her years at Pacific, she became the youngest ever elected student body president, lived and studied in Barcelona Spain, changed her major 11 times, joined the Rowing, Rugby and Handball teams and discovered her calling. She initially wanted to become an elementary school teacher, but through research and a better understanding of the US public school system, she realized the corruption that is at play. She was always told that if she had a problem or complaint, she had to be a part of the solution, so she decided that she would pursue policy and business to one day be a part of the change that needs to happen in Washington DC. Her goal would be to work with the Secretary of Education, advocating for our students and making change to education at a national level because she truly believes that students are our future and thus they are the thing most worth investing in. She wrote an editorial that the Oregonian published titled “Students need support to thrive” highlighting the need for more support schools.
Listed skills include Public Speaking, Team Building, Leadership Development, Community Outreach, and 6 others.