Elise Vaughan is the Director of Benefits for Washington University in St. Louis.  She joined the University in April 2024 and directs the design and operations of the health, retirement, absence management, and tuition programs.  

Elise has a passion for delivering benefit programs to enhance and support the health, wellbeing, and retirement goals for employees. Before joining the University, she was AVP of HR at Cognizant Technology Solutions leading the global mergers & acquisitions (M&A) function for HR. Her experience includes more than 20 years in human resources with a focus on global benefits, compensation, talent management and M&A.

Elise has broad industry experience across tech, medical device, biopharmaceutical, media and consumer goods.  Prior roles include HR at Oracle Corporation, total rewards CareFusion Corporation, and benefits at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Viacom/CBS and Coca-Cola Enterprises. 

Elise holds an MBA in International Business from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Political Science and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis.  She served as a Corporate Board member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.