Meet Elena Hendrickson, our Chief Operating Officer. Elena’s background weaves together experience in the realms of people operations, business operations, and financial analysis. She skillfully leads strategic initiatives, bridging business goals and employee experience by aligning operations, culture, and strategy to scale organizations sustainably. Her approach combines analytical thinking with a people-first mindset, which helps her ensure that operational excellence never comes at the expense of culture. Her greatest strengths lie in identifying operational gaps, designing effective solutions, removing barriers to success, and turning ambiguity into clarity.
Elena is an academic at heart, and she truly enjoys learning. She has always said that if she could afford to be a “forever student,” she would have never stopped going to school. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Denver with dual undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Spanish. After graduation, she initially intended to pursue a career in immigration law, but as is sometimes the case, life had other plans during that season. She pivoted and has since worked in several highly regulated, compliance-driven industries and is well known for her high standards, relentless pursuit of excellence, and commitment to integrity. She also holds a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification from HRCI and intends to pursue her Lean Six Sigma certification next.
When she is not puzzling over a solution to a problem at work, she enjoys puzzles at home, reading fiction, listening to true crime podcasts, trying new recipes, and weight-lifting. She comes from a long line of military service members and first responders, and as a military spouse herself, she has a deep appreciation for service, sacrifice, and the commitment of those who dedicate their lives to serving others. She is new to the Washington area and has enjoyed exploring trails and restaurants with her husband, Ryan, and their cattle dog, Kai.
