September 9, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2025
Media Contact: Shakira Slaughter 📧 shakira@ellevategroup.us
New White Paper from The Ellevate Group Flips the Script on the "Get a Job" Debate — Urges Investment in Mid-Level Nonprofit Leaders
CHICAGO, IL — Recent commentary from public figure, Tabitha Brown, has ignited conversations about employment, entrepreneurship, and how Black women navigate leadership in today’s economy. While Brown’s remarks were directed at entrepreneurs, the ripple effects have opened up a deeper, often-overlooked question: What happens to the women who already had jobs and lost them anyway?
Over the last several months, it’s estimated that 300,000 women, many of them Black, have exited leadership roles in government, nonprofit, and DEI spaces, not by choice, but because of underinvestment, burnout, or sector-wide restructuring.
In response, The Ellevate Group, LLC is releasing a timely white paper titled Unlocking Potential: Elevating Middle Managers to Transform Organizations. This research-backed report urges leaders, funders, and policymakers to reimagine the way they develop, support, and retain mid-level professionals, especially in organizations that still have the resources to do so.
“This is about what kind of leadership infrastructure we’re building, and who gets sustained in it,” said Elle Davis, MSW, Founder and Chief Elevation Officer of The Ellevate Group. “Mid-level leaders are essential, but often invisible. This paper is about changing that.”
📊 Key findings include:
Middle managers influence up to 70% of employee engagement
Organizations that invest in this level of leadership are 1.5x more likely to outperform peers
Customized professional development can improve retention, decision-making, and equity outcomes
The white paper also introduces The Ellevate Group’s 15 Leadership Success Drivers, a framework for helping mid-level leaders build capacity in adaptive leadership, stakeholder management, data fluency, and internal influence.It includes case studies from nonprofit organizations like Illinois Action for Children and Family Focus, who have demonstrated the impact of building from within, even amid funding constraints and workforce shifts.
“The question isn’t just how individuals advocate for themselves,” Davis adds. “It’s how organizations with resources choose to invest in the people who hold everything together.”
🧭 The full white paper is now available at: www.ellevategroup.us/whitepaper
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