Placecraft works on a variety of projects, from managing a startup business incubator program, facilitating accessible/inclusive community conversation around whether and where to locate a new trail, and convening/welcoming neighbors to discuss what elements of their neighborhood they wish are preserved and enhanced.

My projects share these elements in common: a challenge or opportunity to support the broader community; a motivated team of local leaders who value inclusivity and diversity; a geographic place defined by municipal, natural, or cultural boundaries; and a community of everyday people from all walks of life, who care about their place.

I am often inspired by these wise words from adrienne maree brown, “move at the speed of trust. focus on critical connections more than critical mass. build the resilience by building the relationships.”

Hi, I’m Elise (she/her), Placecraft founder.

I grew up in a two-bedroom farmhouse about four miles from the village of Paw Paw, Michigan. We were surrounded by farmland, little lakes, and a pumpkin patch ran by “Granny Goodwitch”. My lovely parents still live in our home, and remnants of the childhood I shared with my sister—the raspberry patch, chicken coop, wood burning boiler, and tree forts where we pretended to be Laura and Mary Ingalls—remain. We ran muddy and ragged over our seven acres and occasionally took the commuter train to Chicago (!) for big city escapes to take in the museums, lakefront parks, and The Magnificent Mile.

As a kid, I loved the contrast between country and city places and the relative ease with which we could transition between both. I felt most free and alive in both the wide open spaces of my country home, and also while navigating the connected and crowded sidewalk networks of Chicago.

These elements—sidewalks, open spaces, homes, parks, sunsets—and the people who use and love them—are what makes a place, and they are the foundation of my work at Placecraft. I am now more aware of how these elements come to be—via natural and human processes—and I care about them just as much as I did when I was a muddy kid picking raspberries in Paw Paw and riding the “L” line in Chicago. I am especially grateful to the Potawatomi and Anishinaabe people, the first known inhabitants and stewards of the places I’ve lived in and loved.

I am professionally certified by the American Planning Association and have a graduate degree in geography from Western Michigan University and a bachelors in geography, sociology, and writing from Aquinas College. While those degrees were awarded some time ago, I continue to seek learning around topics that are critical to my and my place’s well being, including anti-racism, equity and inclusivity in community listening/planning, and multi-modal transportation. These will be lifelong learning practices.

I’m proud to serve as a director on the boards of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation; the Garden Theatre in Frankfort, MI; and Commonplace Coworking, a tenant-owner of Commongrounds Cooperative, where my office is based. When not working with fantastic people in interesting places, I enjoy exploring local art scenes, warbling with TC Sings, and tromping around sidewalks and shores with my partner, Nick, and our pup, Jake.