She has an MFA in photography from Ohio University and a BFA in commercial art from the University of Dayton (in Ohio). She worked within the newspaper industry for 15 years, as a designer, photojournalist and picture editor. She is co-author of The Newspaper Designer's Handbook, 7th edition, with Tim Harrower (McGraw-Hill, 2012). Elman designed the New York Times best-selling photography book The Rise of Barack Obama (Triumph Books, 2008) for Pete Souza, who is the chief White House photographer. She also designed the book Stories from the Anne Grimes Collection of American Folk Music (Ohio University Press, 2010). She has been working on the Fear Project since February 2012.