Elise Ahrens is a Hudson Valley/NYC based editor. Her last project, a documentary series called Bucks County, USA, premieres at Sundance 2025. Before that she associate edited and associate produced Emmy-nominated feature Loudmouth about the Reverend Al Sharpton. Elise is currently editing an indie documentary about glass artist Sydney Cash, executive produced by Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody. She was also a Karen Schmeer Editing Fellow 2023-2024.

Elise discovered her passion for editing as an undergraduate at Emerson College. After moving to Brooklyn, she got her start in broadcast news as an AE and overnight Junior Editor at ABC and NBC before transitioning into documentary.

Her goal is to contribute to compelling storytelling that communicates underrepresented perspectives, splunk through archives, and reframe moments in history with a focus on social justice, the role of art in society, and their expression through interpersonal relationships.

She has also taught BFA editing at New York Film Academy and graduates with an MA in Biography and Memoir from CUNY Graduate Center spring 2025.