Elisa Charters is a passionate advocate for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), community and small business development. In 2014, Elisa co-founded Latina Surge National, a 501c3 start-up with a mission to educate and advocate for D&I and gender parity on executive boards in government, corporate America, and higher education. In 2017 and 2018, Latina Surge National was one of seventy-five leading networks from a pool of 47,000 globally, recognized by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and Co-Founder of the Lean In organization.
Professionally, Elisa is an entrepreneur and consultant, having
conducted international trade, and wholesale and retail apparel sourcing from
South America. She is a seasoned
executive strategist with extensive public-sector finance and transactional
experience. She negotiated major economic development, infrastructure and
transportation initiatives throughout the NY/NJ region.
In 2012, Gov. Christie appointed Elisa to the New Jersey Health
Care Facilities Financing Authority (NJHCFFA), where she served as Vice Chair
for four years. During her tenure,
NJHCFFA approved over $2.6 billion in financing for hospital expansions and
health care entities, and achieved 21% MWBE participation among co-leads in the
State. Prior to this appointment, she
was commissioned by Rutgers University student organizations and statewide
Latino community organizations to lead the #MP4RBOG coalition supporting inclusion. It succeeded with Gov. Christie’s appointment
and confirmation of Martin Perez, Esq., a civil rights activist, who is the
second Latino ever confirmed to serve the university’s board in its 240+ year
history.
In 2008, Gov. Corzine appointed Elisa to the State of Jersey’s
Minority and Women Business Development Advisory Council where she served for
four years to address disparities in the State’s procurement pipeline. Prior to
this gubnatorial appointment, Elisa served as President of the Port Authority
Hispanic Society (PAHS) employee resource group, where she represented
Latino/a/x employees from a total base of 8,000 employees. She pioneered inclusion efforts, successfully
negotiating staff promotions with Port Authority of NY & NJ’s (PANYNJ)
C-suite Diversity Council, including the PANYNJ’s promotion of its first Latino
Chief of Police.
Her achievements include being the GM/Assistant Comptroller of
the Port Commerce business at PANYNJ, an agency she served for 14 years. As a survivor of 9/11, she served as Lead Negotiator
of Acquisitions and Operations for the WTC Redevelopment effort post 9/11, developing
key strategies for the Master Lease Agreement and relevant sub-agreements on
behalf of PANYNJ ($11.6 billion project cost).
She continues to serve in higher education as an Advisory Board
Member of New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Martin Tuchman School of
Management focusing on the inclusion of women in business and in STEM fields; as
President of the Latino Alumni Association of Columbia University (LAACU), and
most recently, as an Advisory Member of Montclair State University’s Feliciano
School of Business.
Elisa is a certified Cornell University/ILR D&I Management
professional. She is a graduate of New
Jersey Institute of Technology, New York University and Columbia University
with advanced degrees in Environmental Science, Real Estate Finance and
International Finance and Business, respectively. Elisa resides with her
husband, Brian, and two children, Remy and Lucian, and elder cousin, Manuela,
in Short Hills, New Jersey. As a family,
they are committed to WE.org helping to bring clean water and education to
children of the Masai Mara of Kenya, Africa.
