Bulk steers local united way chapter down new road.

THE United Way of Greater Los Angeles has handed its leadership to its first woman president.

The non-profit organization recently promoted Elise Bulk to chief executive and president. Previously, she was acting president and chief operating officer.

"United Way traditionally has been a fundraising organization, but we're really now looking at how we can have an impact on the community," Bulk said.

Among her successes, she cited the 2000 report titled "A Tale of Two Cities," which portrayed Los Angeles as a community divided among "haves" and "have-nots." The report was used to show donors a targeted problem they could work toward solving by contributing to the Bridge the Gap Fund.

"We have to show people how things are interrelated," she said, noting that the chapter is completing a report on "The State of Black Los Angeles" in association with the Urban League.

A native of Atlanta, Bulk graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens in 1986 with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

She got a job as a marketing associate at a communications firm, then worked at a medical software business that was bought out by a North Carolina company after she had been transferred to Torrance.

"To move up, I'd have to move and that wasn't on my radar," Bulk said.

At United Way, she has worked in the marketing, community investment and gift processing departments before becoming acting president. "I learned every part of the organization and I think that there were always new challenges and that's way kept me here," she said.

She lives in Los Feliz with her husband and two young sons. In her rare moments of free time, she tries to squeeze in some yoga, hiking and trips to Griffith Park.