Elana Wien, CAP®
Vice President of Client Engagement
Ventura, CA
Elana brings over two decades of experience across the philanthropic sector, partnering with changemakers and social impact leaders to advance their philanthropic strategies and impact. She is especially good at drawing out what matters most to the leaders and families she works with, and turning that clarity into the strategy, relationships, and resources that move their work forward.
Elana has served as advisor to individual philanthropies, nonprofit executive director, and vice president at a West Coast community foundation with $1 billion under management, where she oversaw $20M in annual grantmaking and developed tailored strategies for major donors and families. Her work has spanned institutional and planned giving, board governance, and organizational strategy. As inaugural executive director, she grew a public awareness campaign into a formal network of over 175 nonprofit organizations across North America and led it to mezzanine stage. Along the way, she designed and hired its staffing structure, built out its board, and led the organization through its first strategic plan and a full rebrand. She has also guided boards and multigenerational families through strategic planning and leadership transitions.
At Stott, Elana draws on her deep expertise in organizational strategy and revenue development to strengthen our client partners’ fundraising efforts and lead strategic engagements across our portfolio.
Elana is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) and holds certificates in Impact Investing and Behavioral Philanthropy from Daylight Advisors. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and earned her M.A. in Anthropology at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla in Mexico as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. She is a Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies Fellow and an alumna of Coro Southern California’s Women in Leadership program, and she is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.
A West Coast native, Elana lives in Ventura, California, with her wife and twin daughters. In her free time, you’ll find her outdoors gardening or sitting with a hot cup of coffee, watching the birds.
Why I Do This Work
I’ve believed since I was young that a more just and healthier world is possible. Having sat on both sides of the table, as a nonprofit leader and as a grantmaker and foundation advisor, I bring that perspective to helping our clients unlock their greatest potential for good.