ELISE BERNARDONI

Director of Engagement, Canopy Strategic Partners

lise Bernardoni is currently the Director of Engagement at Canopy Strategic
Partners. In this role she helps mission-driven organizations, including zoos,
aquariums, botanical gardens, conservation organizations, and other public green
spaces, to create a better future for the planet. Elise was the Assistant Director for
Education Programs at Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), the non-profit support
organization for Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC. Elise began her
career at FONZ in 2006 as an intern and has been with the education department
for 14 years. She and her team oversaw a large education portfolio including
school programs, camps, children’s classes, overnights, birthday parties, and a
teen volunteer program. She also managed several special programs and projects
including strategic leadership for education and learning, an internal conservation
grant that distributes $100,000 annually to the National Zoo’s keepers and
scientists, and the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment’s National Zoo Day.


Elise is an active advocate for zoos-based conservation organizations. She is an instructor for two professional development courses offered through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA): Conservation Education:
Effective Program Design and Managing for Success: Career Development. Elise is a member of the National Capital Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, and served as chapter president from 2013 – 2017.
She is currently the national education co-advisor for the Felid Taxonomic Advisory Group, which manages all populations of cat species in AZA accredited zoos’ care.


Elise holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Arts in Teaching; Museum Education from The George Washington University. She is passionate about helping young people see their role in conservation and at conservation organizations no matter their personal or professional background. Elise is a native of Connecticut, where she spent a lot of time camping, playing outdoors, and tending to her menagerie of pets. Elise enjoys traveling, kayaking, and spotting wildlife before her partner when out in nature.