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Elisabeth Preisinger originates from Glenville, New York - a town just north of Albany. After high school, she moved to a small, farm-town in Minnesota, by the name of Northfield, to attend St. Olaf College.  There she completed a bachelor’s degree in social work. Her interest in community organizing for social justice was piqued during college through her social work classes and an internship she completed working closely with ISAIAH -- a Minnesota-based affiliate of GAMALIEL. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she moved to Washington, D.C., to complete a year-long internship with Sojourners, Inc., a faith-based social justice advocacy organization. Working with the development team and living in intentional community gave her a wide range of experiences, honing her mediation and communication skills, broadening her understandings of social injustices, and creating a foundation of advocacy skills and techniques. Shortly after the internship, she returned to upstate New York and eventually landed in Buffalo and enrolled in the University at Buffalo, School of Social Work.  As a part of her Masters education, she completed an internship with Partnership for the Public Good.  She graduated with her Masters of Social Work in May of 2015, right before joining the Open Buffalo team.