Elyse Jardine serves as Senior Director of Community Outreach for United Arts of Central Florida, where she leads the organization’s community investment and outreach strategy. She oversees a $17 million annual portfolio of grants, programs, and initiatives designed to strengthen the region’s arts and culture ecosystem while advancing broader community priorities across Central Florida. Her work focuses on leveraging arts and culture as essential community infrastructure to support health, education, economic vitality, civic engagement, and quality of life.
Since joining United Arts in 2021, Elyse has led the transformation of the organization’s grantmaking and community investment portfolio to better align with the evolving needs of Central Florida’s arts and culture sector. Her work has strengthened participatory grantmaking practices, expanded investments that support artists and cultural organizations, and advanced strategies that position arts and culture as a catalyst for community wellbeing. She has championed innovative approaches at the intersection of arts and health, including leading the launch of one of Florida’s first arts prescription programs, while also advancing initiatives in creative aging, arts-integrated learning through teaching artist residencies, and creative placemaking. Elyse led the development of the Eight Indicators for a Thriving Arts & Culture Sector, a framework that defines what a thriving arts ecosystem looks like and provides a holistic approach to measuring the health, sustainability, and vitality of Central Florida’s arts and culture sector.
Prior to joining United Arts, Elyse spent five years working across the Dan River Region of Virginia and North Carolina, advancing initiatives focused on community revitalization, health equity, and cross-sector collaboration. Her work brought together philanthropy, government, healthcare providers, nonprofits, and community stakeholders to address complex community challenges through long-range planning, partnership development, and systems-level strategies. She led strategy and operations for The Health Collaborative, directed the region’s participation in the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge, and led development of the region’s first comprehensive health equity report.
Elyse holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Training Development from Western Carolina University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Administration from Duke University.
Outside of work, Elyse enjoys traveling and woodworking, with a particular interest in woodturning. Prior to the pandemic, she volunteered internationally with Habitat for Humanity, helping build homes in Romania and Northern Ireland.