After graduating from ECSU, Eley was employed in two different roles prior to starting graduate school. His first job was as Assistant to the Director of Environment Education at ECSU from August to December 1995. He helped plan and coordinate the 2^nd Annual World Environmental Conference. He transitioned from this role to become a Program Coordinator at the Environmental Careers Organization in January 1996. At the Environmental Careers Organization, he created a pilot program called the Alpha Earth Initiative. This program focused on involving African American Greek Letter Organizations in environmental service projects.  

Following graduate school, Eley became an Environmental Protection Specialist for U.S. EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kansas. This role further launched his career at the EPA, where he made significant contributions to the agency. During his time in Kansas, Eley researched effective strategies for communication and outreach to immigrant and minoritized populations in the Midwest. He also conducted a spatial analysis pilot project on PM2.5 for the Air Planning and Development Branch.   

Eley worked in Kansas City for two years. In the Fall of 2000, Eley transitioned to EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation in Washington, D.C. In this Office, he chaired the Smart Growth Network Land Development Regulation Subcommittee. Eley was also involved in publication projects. He selected authors to write chapters for the book Partnership for Smart Growth: University-Community Collaboration for Better Public Places. This book grew from collaborating with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Additionally, he co-authored a report on redeveloping brownfields using federal transportation funds. 

In 2003, Eley made a massive shift in his career. He embarked on a journey to New Zealand as an Ian Axford Fellow in Public Policy, sponsored by Fulbright New Zealand. For the fellowship, Eley was on assignment to the Ministry for the Environment. His research focused on implementing smart growth in New Zealand cities and rural towns. Some fellowship findings are summarized as a chapter for the book Local Sustainable Urban Development in a Globalized World. Eley’s chapter described how Wellington was a model for smart growth planning in the Global South. Despite being on the other side of the world, Eley did not forget his U.S. EPA roots. He aided in facilitating former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman’s visit to New Zealand in July 2004. Although this visit occurred months after his fellowship ended, Eley was integral in arranging Whitman’s discussion on smart growth and economic sustainability with the Auckland Regional Council.

Eley’s return to the United States in 2004 marked the beginning of a long period of important work with the EPA that shaped his legacy as an environmental and social justice champion. Drawing from his international fellowship experience, Eley’s attention shifted to focusing on equity. He directed a smart growth implementation assistance project headed by the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This project was located in Pamlico County, North Carolina. Eley also volunteered as a member of an international delegation that was in charge of assisting a rural province in the Netherlands. As part of the delegation, he helped identify paths toward economic growth, quality environments, and community cohesion. Additionally, Eley managed EPA’s National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2006 and 2009. In doing so, Eley was responsible for adding equitable development as an award category.   

From 2009 to 2013, Eley was the Team Leader for Green Workforce Development within the Office of Strategic Environmental Management. His main accomplishment in these four years was fostering collaboration on green workforce development within the EPA. To do so, he assisted the EPA Deputy Administrator in identifying and framing needs and opportunities for green jobs. He also coordinated EPA’s comments on measuring green jobs to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This work culminated in Eley preparing a report that detailed EPA’s contributions to green workforce development.

Additionally, Eley aided in planning the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, including a conference session featuring U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, Jr. and Keith Ellison. During this time, he also participated in a panel on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and social equity, organized an EPA listening session on equitable development, and represented  EPA in a meeting for the U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination. His time as Team Leader demonstrated his commitment to collaboration between agencies and nations to ensure a strong green workforce.

Eley transitioned into a different position at the EPA for the final time in early 2013. This transition was particularly significant because he became the first urban planner hired by EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice. His time as a Senior Environmental Protection Specialist in the Office of Environmental Justice was marked by many milestones and accomplishments. Eley supported many people in his role. He aided the Deputy Associate Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to meet major outcomes for Plan EJ 2014. Named for the 20^th anniversary of Executive Order 12898, which seeks to address environmental justice (EJ), Plan EJ 2014 was foundational in building EPA’s internal capacity to integrate EJ into federal programming.

Eley also advised the EPA’s Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization. He shared his knowledge of equitable development by organizing workshops in Denver and Baltimore. During this time, Eley contributed to multiple publications. He wrote blogs for the EPA, the American Planning Association, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Additionally, he reviewed and provided feedback on federal EJ plans prepared by governmental agencies, including the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Commerce. Some of Eley’s accomplishments at the U.S. EPA were referenced in  Dr. Robert D. Bullard’s publication, “Environmental Justice Milestones and Accomplishments: 1964-2014,” and by Jill Lindsey Harrison, who interviewed Eley for her book, “From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice within Government Agencies.”

By July 2018, Eley had spent 20 years with the EPA, shaping the agency’s approach to equitable development, green jobs, and environmental justice. After his influential time with  EPA, Eley established The Eley Group LLC, which provides community planning, research, education, and facilitation services. As the President and Founder of The Eley Group LLC, Eley frequently delivers lectures and leads workshops. Notably, he briefed the staff of Mastercard in Arlington, VA, on the topic of gentrification. The Eley Group LLC served various clients, including the American Planning Association (APA) and its Social Equity Task Force, which Eley chaired. Eley supported the APA by providing a final task force report introducing 26 recommendations for inclusion in the Board of Directors’ strategic plan. He also co-wrote the APA’s Planning for Equity Policy Guide and provided recommendations for the APA Planning Magazine’s cover article on environmental justice in October 2019. The Eley Group LLC also assisted the Smithsonian in organizing the Symposium on Black Architects and Planners at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

From 2020 to 2021, Eley was the Regional Equity Initiative manager for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) in Dayton, Ohio. In this role, he collaborated with MVRPC members and their partners to advance regional equity initiatives. He represented MVRPC on a committee that brought the Undesign the Redline exhibit to Dayton. Eley interviewed notable leaders, including William M. Harris, Sr., Ph.D., FAICP, and a former Dayton resident who founded the Planning and the Black Community Division of the American Planning Association.

Eley was an advisor and interview subject for the Emmy award-winning documentary “Redlining:  Mapping Inequality in Dayton and Springfield.” At the same time, Eley was named the 2021 Sojourner Truth Fellow by the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.    

In 2021, Eley became the Senior Director for Federal Strategies at Race Forward. The Federal Strategies team coordinates the Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity (FIRE). Race Forward is a nonprofit organization focused on achieving racial justice through its conferences, multimedia projects, programs, and initiatives. FIRE, led by Eley, strives to embed racial equity in the U.S. federal government. As part of his leadership, Eley adapted existing Race Forward training materials to suit federal clients. He also co-created and facilitated equity learning labs, or trainings, for clients.

Eley’s career exemplifies that it is possible to transition as a civil servant into new sectors successfully. After 20 consecutive years with the EPA, he established his consulting firm focused on equitable planning. Currently, he leads Race Forward’s program for embedding racial equity in the U.S. federal government. Rather than leave his experiences behind, Eley expertly weaves his knowledge and background on the federal government, environmental justice, and equitable development into his current roles and responsibilities.   

Eley’s career highlights include nominating impactful projects for distinguished awards, specifically the American Planning Association (APA) National Planning Award for Advancing Diversity and Social Change (in Honor of Paul Davidoff). This award recognizes commitments to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion by addressing concerns of minoritized groups through planning. In 2014, Eley nominated EPA’s ReGenesis Project; in 2018, he nominated the Environmental Health Coalition’s Paradise Creek Planning Partnership for this award. Both projects received the National Planning Award for Advancing Diversity and Social Change. The ReGenesis Project was founded by South Carolina State Representative Harold Mithcell Jr. to clean up contamination in the Arkwright and Forest Park neighborhoods in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Not only has the ReGenesis Project met its goals by successfully cleaning up Superfund and Brownfield sites, but this project serves as a model for other communities to replicate their success.

 Similarly, the Environmental Health Coalition’s Paradise Creek Planning Partnership is a community-based National City, California project. This partnership addresses the community’s lack of affordable housing and green space. The efforts of the Paradise Creek Planning Partnership have resulted in 201 units of affordable housing. Eley’s nominations of these projects highlight his dedication to elevating planning solutions that lead with and center racial equity.

In his spare time, Eley enjoys writing, travel, and genealogy. He also received his skydiving certificate in June 2000.