Elise Traub

Elise Traub serves as Best Friends Animal Society's Chief External Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff. In this capacity, she leads Best Friends' legislative advocacy, grassroots and volunteer engagement, external partnerships, and government affairs. She leads Best Friends' Office of the CEO and organizational strategic planning. She oversees a diverse team of attorneys, animal welfare policy experts, and advocacy professionals who are working to achieve Best Friends' goal to make the country no-kill by 2025.

Prior to joining Best Friends in 2019, Elise served as an advisor to the State and Community Engagement Division of AARP, which conducts advocacy and community outreach work on behalf of Americans age 50-plus and their families.

Previously, Elise led international legislative campaigns for the Global Shark Conservation campaign of the Pew Charitable Trusts and served as the Director of Wildlife Protection Policy for the Humane Society of the United States. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in the passage and successful defense of many local, state, federal and international laws to benefit animals.