Anne Evens, M.Sc., Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of Elevate, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Elevate works to promote equitable access to clean, healthy, safe, and affordable heat, power, and water for people in their homes and communities — no matter who they are, or where they live. Elevate designs and implements housing upgrade programs that reduce costs, protect people from the health effects of climate change, and ensure that the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who are most in need. In doing this work, we create revenue for diverse small businesses and jobs for people in their communities.

Dr. Evens has worked for more than thirty years in both the nonprofit and governmental sectors to advance public health and economic development in the United States and southern Africa. She acted as lead researcher of the Chicago Climate Action Plan and the Regional Energy Plan for the Chicago Metro Agency for Planning (CMAP). She also is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health.

Dr. Evens holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, Master of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is an alumna of the Harvard Business School’s program in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management, and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program.

She serves on the boards of Health Alliance International and the Rebuilding Exchange. She also is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Illinois, Chicago School of Public Health. Dr. Evens is a winner of the 2022 Health & Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2022 Heinz Award for the Environment.