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Martha is a
seasoned executive search professional who brings an in-depth knowledge
and a sophisticated understanding of the field garnered through
more than 25 years in global leadership roles as a senior staff
person and consultant in corporate and foundation environments.
Martha began her search practice in 1994 as an outgrowth of a foundation
and corporate community affairs consulting practice. Martha Montag
Brown & Associates has grown to include more than 25
clients in the corporate, foundation and non-profit sectors.
It is a nationally respected search practice, and one of the few
with a unique focus on corporate community affairs, philanthropy,
and corporate responsibility.
Martha’s professional background prepared her well for developing
this highly specialized search practice. In 1980, after spending
two years with United Way of America, Martha joined Levi Strauss
& Co. and served in a variety of positions in the Community
Affairs and Foundation functions in both the domestic and international
arenas.
She served as Regional Manager for Asia Pacific for Community Affairs
and International Giving, Executive Director of the widely respected
Levi Strauss Foundation and the Director of the Community Affairs
Department until 1990. She was honored in 1989 as Corporate Woman
of the Year by the Bay Area YWCA.
At Levi Strauss & Co., while a Director, Martha led a staff
of 25, managed an annual giving program of more than $20 million,
and had responsibility for seven offices in the United States, Asia,
Europe and Canada. She had lead responsibility for all of Levi Strauss
& Co.’s many philanthropic and charitable functions, as
well as local government and community relations efforts.
In addition, Martha spearheaded the development of the company’s
AIDS funding program, initiated the Foundation’s Project Change
anti-racism initiative, led international giving and community relations
programs in Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines, developed the
company’s Work/Family programs and Child Care Fund, facilitated
publicly supported literacy and citizenship classes for employees,
and managed state and local government and community relations during
plant closings.
Martha holds a degree from Georgetown University. She has served
on numerous non-profit boards, and is very active in a variety of
board and volunteer roles with her children’s schools. She
has donated many hours, and the resources of her practice, to numerous
pro bono searches for a variety of non-profit organizations. She
is the mother of three middle school and high school-age children
and lives in La Cañada, CA.
Elissa has
nearly 20 years experience working in senior positions and consulting
to corporations, foundations and non-profit organizations. She is
a corporate responsibility (CR) expert who has worked across the
full spectrum of CR issues. She has recently expanded her focus
to include executive search-related work in the field.
Since joining
Martha Montag Brown and Associates, Elissa has worked on dozens
of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy searches for
leading companies and foundations. Corporate clients have included
Disney, Kraft, Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
and Washington Mutual. Foundation and non-profit clients have included
the Blue Shield of California Foundation, Business for Social Responsibility,
The California Endowment, Casey Family Programs, James Irvine Foundation,
New Field Foundation, Stuart Foundation, and the Walter and Elise
Haas Sr. Fund.
Elissa also has significant experience working directly in the field
of corporate responsibility. As a Vice President with Business for
Social Responsibility she led a $5 million initiative to develop
and launch the Global Responsibility Resource Center, and was integrally
involved in strategic planning and leadership efforts during a critical
period of growth for the organization. She has also served as a
CSR consultant with a special focus on reporting and transparency.
Working through BSR, she provided strategic counsel on CR reporting
to companies such as Chevron, Home Depot, HP and IBM. She wrote
and edited Chiquita’s 2001 CSR Report and served as a final
reader/editor on their 2002 report.
Prior to this, Elissa spent five years in Corporate Affairs at Levi
Strauss & Co. where she worked on a variety of corporate social
responsibility initiatives including the development and roll-out
of global sourcing guidelines, business decisions regarding entry
into China, South Africa, and other major sourcing locations, environmental
policy, and philanthropic programs. Previously, she spent three
years as the Director of Planning and Development at the Community
Action Commission in Santa Barbara County.
Elissa is a graduate of Brown University and has a M.A. in Organizational
Development from City University. She is the mother
of two young children and lives in Berkeley, CA.
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