She has served congregations in Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa. She has taught at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana; Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. She is the author of Constructing a North American Theology through the Work of Joseph Sittler: Embodied Words (Edwin Mellen Press, 2003). Her work has been published in The Lutheran, Lutheran Partners, Dialog, and Currents in Theology and Mission. Elaine and her husband, Dennis, both originally from Chicago, Illinois, live in Rochester, Minnesota.