Ms. Elise has been the featured speaker at numerous American Legions, VFW Posts, Elks Clubs, Veterans' events, universities and many other venues. She is also regularly interviewed on TV (Good Day LA, Fox News, ABC News, Time Warner, Charter Cable, The Young Turks, Armed Forces Network, Iowa's KCRG) and on radio (KNX, Kevin & Bean/KROQ, Clear Channel). Her unique story has also been featured in print media (LA Times, Boston Herald, American Legion Magazine, Stars & Stripes, Washington Times). Formerly a successful Corporate Sales Manager in the hospitality industry, she left her position to dedicate herself full-time to her non-profit organization and her first love. By combining her entrepreneurial skills with her healthcare activism, she created a one-of-a kind project that raises money for VA and Military hospitals nationwide. The organization also ships care packages to deployed service members across the globe, and Ms. Elise also has made thousands of personal bedside visits to ill and injured Veterans and recovering troops, as the 21st Century pin-up girl featured in the WWII-style Pin-Ups For Vets calendar. She is currently in the middle of a 50-state VA and Military hospital tour to boost morale and show appreciation to our Nation's heroes. She has completed visits to 29 VA and Military hospitals in 18 different states. She speaks to audiences about how she built Pin-Ups For Vets from the ground up, and why it was important to her to support this particular cause. She talks about how she was inspired by her grandfather Lou's WWII military service. She tells many heart-warming stories about her hospital visits, including her bedside visit to a Veteran who spoke for the first time in a month after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Many hospitalized Veterans comment that Ms. Elise's surprise visits, dressed as a 1940's pin-up girl, provide such a morale boost that many have proclaimed "This is the best thing that has happened to me all day!" and "Am I dreaming?" Ms. Elise's talks are both inspirational and informational. She speaks about her first attempts at starting this unique project in the face of criticisms and naysayers, and how she was able to establish Pin-Ups For Vets as a national non-profit organization. Because of her activism, Ms. Elise was selected to be on Oprah's final "Favorite Things" episode which aired in November of 2010, where she was presented with a brand new 2012 VW Beatle. Her poster was featured in a scene with Bruce Willis in the 2010 summer blockbuster "Red," and her calendar was also featured on the Discovery Channel's "Desert Car Kings." Ms. Elise's project, "Pin-Ups For Vets" will be featured in two books being released in the next 6 months. There have been 8 American flags flown over military bases in Iraq & Afghanistan in honor of her project. She has been presented with the "Outstanding Young Californian Award" by the California Jaycees Foundation and the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and has been selected as "Volunteer of the Year" by the LA Business Journal's Women Making a Difference Awards. She has also been honored by the Daily Points of Light Foundation in Washington D.C., and was also selected as a Finalist in the "Best Young Entrepreneur" category by the Stevie Awards. Her pin-up image has been painted on a military base in Iraq as a morale booster for the troops. Returning Veterans who have been inspired by her project have painted her image on their motorcycles. In January of 2011, Ms. Elise partnered with another non-profit organization, "Cooking With the Troops" and made a visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to do a calendar signing and prepare a gourmet meal for our Wounded Warriors being treated there. All of the proceeds from the sales of the Pin-Ups For Vets calendars are donated yearly to different VA and Military hospitals to help expand their cognitive, occupational and physical rehabilitation programs. Pin-Ups For Vets has donated $50,000 to date. Clips from her television appearances can be seen here: http://www.pinupsforvets.com/inthenews.html

Activists