Elyse is an established leader in global health care communications, with a career spanning nearly 30 years serving clients across the health care ecosystem. Her journey in health care began with a foundation in medical anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which provided her with a unique, on-the-ground humanistic perspective on global health challenges. This perspective was further shaped by her early career experiences with the World Health Organization, where she worked on grassroots projects across West Africa and Indonesia, focusing on maternal health and infectious diseases.
Elyse joined her current firm, Real Chemistry, nearly 10 years ago. Her initial focus was to continue to build the firm’s integrated communications work as the head of WCG, one of the firm’s three business units. She currently serves as Group President, Business Development and Integrated Growth. In this role, she partners across the nearly 2,000-person global firm and works in close partnership with her integrated team of over 150 professionals. Her tenure at Real Chemistry has been marked by significant achievements, including the development of the innovative Real Chemistry Experience (RCX) program. This initiative, which organizes fully integrated account and operations teams around top-tier clients, has resulted in double-digit year-over-year growth.
One of Elyse’s most notable strengths is her ability to drive business growth through strategic innovation and cross-functional collaboration. She has played a crucial role in shaping industry responses to global health crises, including leading her agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work in supporting Pfizer’s communications for their COVID-19 vaccine rollout, including the design and deployment of the first-of-its-kind industry-wide “Pharma Pledge” to #standwithscience, exemplifies her vision and passion for breaking the rules in the interest of the greater good.
Throughout her career, Elyse has been recognized for her innovative campaigns. The “Protecting our Tomorrows” campaign is a testament to her creative approach to addressing global health issues. This campaign, which aimed to raise awareness about childhood meningococcal disease, earned accolades including the coveted Cannes Lions Health award for global health care campaign of the year.
Passionate about local community health and safety, Elyse was recently appointed a taskforce member on the Westchester County Taskforce on the Prevention of Gun Violence. She and her family are active volunteers with Feed Westchester and Elyse serves as a mentor as part of her work with the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.