Ellen is a School Design Services Fellow at Transcend. Prior to joining Transcend, Ellen spent two decades working in schools as both a teacher and a leader.

Ellen began her career as an elementary teacher on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. She then joined the teaching faculty at KIPP SHINE Prep in Houston as a pre-kindergarten teacher and then served as the Dean of Early Childhood Education. In 2010, she founded KIPP Ascend Primary in Chicago where she had the privilege of serving as the school leader for six years. In 2016, she transitioned back to Texas to join the team at KIPP Texas – Austin. There she was the Head of Schools and then the Deputy Chief of Academics, driving academic strategy for the region. 

Ellen earned an AB from Smith College, a Masters in Education from Arizona State University, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership from National Louis University in Chicago. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and their three children.