Elston was raised in Aspen, and her parents, Bonnie and Tom McCloskey, have been involved with the Aspen Institute for more than 30 years. After completing her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Colorado Boulder, Elston went on to earn her MBA cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, but eventually settled in her hometown, where she and husband Ryan (also an Aspen native) gracefully carry on her parents’ philanthropic legacy.