Our Founder – Sarah Elliott, PCC, CPA
Sarah’s entrepreneurial journey began before she even knew it was happening. The seeds were planted when she thought she had finally “made it” as a successful partner at a CPA firm in 2013. But when she finally achieved what she had set out to do thirteen years earlier, she felt something was missing. In 2014, she took a leap of faith and walked away from the career she had worked so hard to build, so she could start a new career as an entrepreneur.
Today, Sarah is an author, speaker and instructor in coaching and leadership development. She co-founded Intend2Lead to coach leaders to access the Dimension of Possible through leadership coaching, group learning and consulting with organizations to create coaching cultures. She has been recognized by AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting since 2017.
Sarah is at her best when she dreams big, takes risks, gives of herself and collaborates with others who share her vision and values. She loves connecting people, ideas, resources and opportunities in powerful new ways.
Sarah has always enjoyed connecting with other women and supporting their growth, whether it’s through her work or volunteerism in her profession and community. She’s passionate about supporting other women because she knows that each and every woman has unlimited potential for greatness when she simply awakens to her own creative powers. When a woman uncovers more of her greatness, she is inspired to help others. Not only will she contribute more to her family, friends, organization and community…she will change the world.
Our Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board is a team of powerful women business owners dedicated to sharing their time, talents and wisdom to further the mission and vision of Ellivate Alliance.
Fatima Mann – Fatima’s life mission is to assist others in experiencing the full joy of loving and accepting themselves. Her personal experiences and continuous service in the heart of systematically oppressed communities molded her into a cultivator of social equity. Over the years, Fatima co-founded the Austin Justice Coalition to combat police brutality and Counter Balance: ATX, an Austin-based self-care and social justice organization. She has received several awards for her work in social work, community policing and equity activism. She has aided in almost every hurricane season to provide people access to culturally mindful, healing and human-centered resources and supplies since 2017. Fatima co-birthed her consulting, training and healing business, Love and Healing Work, which allows her to use her law degree, yoga, trauma conscious practices, and mindfulness to inspire others to love and accept themselves.
Mariette Martinez, EA – After 20+ years working providing accounting and tax services to small businesses, Mariette shifted her career focus and impact to financial education. She is the founder of MasterYourBooks, a learning center and collaborative community where intentional entrepreneurs become financially confident from the inside out. Mariette has also created strategic partnerships to provide learning opportunities and financial education for the rapid-growing Spanish-speaking small business community. As a mompreneur of three, Mariette believes in elevating women who are building sustainable businesses while maintaining their strong households. She is on a mission to share knowledge, tools and resources to help hard working entrepreneurs win big financially in both their business and personal lives!
Emily Soccorsy – Emily believes when emotions are translated into words, truth is born. As owner and CEO of Root + River, a brand strategy team, Emily uses her talents to help leaders uncover the foundations of their brand: message, mission and differentiators. Working with national and international clients, Emily loves to infuse emotion, challenge dogmatic thinking, add art and encourage leaders to go inward. She speaks, writes and guides on branding, language, feminine intelligence and spiritual self-awareness. She’s known for her exuberance, artful and poetic presentation style, and her relatability. A former journalist, publisher, and author, she holds a master’s degree in nonfiction writing. Emily has experience in human behavioral research and neurological studies, which she pairs with her intuition and on-the-spot artistic renderings. She’s mom to two daughters, and partner to her spouse of over 20 years.
Kristi Vitali, PT, LMT – As the founder and co-creative director of Be Well Austin, and creator of BodyMind Alchemy, Kristi believes that the body is a self correcting system that articulates deep wisdom, and that when we learn the language of this connective wisdom we can engage in healing conversations with our body, heart, mind, and soul. Kristi delights in integrating heart-centered myofascial bodywork with personal mentorship & coaching to assist in unpacking patterns that lead to pain and emotional overwhelm. She is passionate about working with wisdom-curious seekers who are willing to get a bit uncomfortable and see pain as a portal to self-discovery, who are fully committed to the adventure of lifetime learning, and who desire to take the deeper dive toward self-love and personal truth as a means to show up more fully for themselves and in the world.