Elissa Kohel
Elissa Kohel’s connection to Johns Hopkins began very early (she was born at Johns Hopkins Hospital!), but it wasn’t until years later — after leaving her native Maryland for college and some years spent working in New York City — that she returned.
Elissa began her DAR career in the Wilmer Eye Institute but now spends her time and efforts overseeing all of the development activities for The Brady Urological Institute. She also manages a portfolio of 90 donors and prospects and staffs the institute’s chairman, vice-chairman, director of research, and advisory board. She balances communications, staff management, and campaign planning with building relationships and stewarding donors.
Elissa grew up in Baltimore and Howard counties and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Michigan.
What brought you to Johns Hopkins?
In early 2013, my husband — a native New Yorker and practicing attorney — and I decided it was time to leave New York City with our then 3-year-old daughter for a suburban life. Baltimore made sense, since it is where I am from and where my parents were.
How did you get into the development and alumni relations field?
It was honestly by accident. I was nearing graduation from the University of Michigan with a major in sociology, specializing in race, class, and ethnicity. I had no clue what I wanted to do except, at some point in time, pursue a social work degree. My sister had moved to New York City two years prior and it seemed like a good place to start my adult life, so towards the end of college I contacted a few family friends in the area.
One of those friends ran a prominent NYC family foundation and served on the board of a small, but growing, non-profit — an international development organization called American Jewish World Service. The day I wrote to her, she also received an announcement from the non-profit’s executive director that she was searching for a new executive assistant. I applied, flew to NYC to interview, was offered the job, and started a few days after graduation.
Seven months later, the Asian tsunami hit and ravaged so many areas, including many of the places our grantees worked. In only a couple months, our organization received — without solicitation — over $25 million in emergency relief funds, so my role abruptly transitioned from executive assistant to gift officer. It was a wild moment for my career but something I feel fortunate to have experienced. From that moment forward, my love for fundraising continued to grow.
What do you like most about your job?
My favorite thing about development is the interaction with people — whether it’s colleagues, patients, donors, or complete strangers — and working together to realize purpose and create impact.
Tell us something we don’t know about you.
When I was younger, I was an avid soccer player. I started at the age of four and joined a travel team when I was six. Seven years later, I spent two summers training in Bolivia, where for three days each week we would have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to run the sand dunes for two hours! It was intense, but taught me a lot about dedication and perseverance.