Elyse Waterhouse is a Consultant in the Development & Finance Practice of our Search & Consulting Group.

Elyse offers an exceptional background in finance and operations at a variety of educational organizations. Most recently, Elyse served as Director of Finance and Operations for The Spence School (NY) for 11 years. At Spence, Elyse maintained an active role in senior leadership and was responsible for all institution financial functions, transactions and strategic planning. She maintained oversight over eight departments, including the Business Office, Facilities, HR, Food Service, Student Health, IT, Campus Safety, and Events Management. Her decade+ with The Spence School included overseeing major construction projects totaling $200M, managing a $150M endowment, refinancing a $40M tax-exempt loan, and coordinating internal teams on facility, campus safety and infrastructure upgrades, resulting in significant cost savings and operational optimization.

Before The Spence School, Elyse spent four years as Chief Financial Officer for The Forman School (CT). In addition to overseeing all the school’s financial affairs and operations departments, Elyse also led efforts for real estate acquisitions and risk management assessments. In her role at Forman, she worked closely with the head of school, academic deans, and department chairs regarding program development and evaluation.

Earlier in her career, Elyse held the position of Executive Director/CEO at Gesell at Yale – Program in Early Childhood (CT), Director of Finance and Operations at Green Meadow Waldorf School (NY), and Administrative Coordinator at Dayspring Community School (NY).

Elyse holds an MBA in Finance and Administration from Long Island University in Brookville, NY, and earned her undergraduate from the University of Rhode Island.