Previously, Ellen was the director of planning and land use for a large US law firm. Prior to that, she served as the director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, where she managed a 65-person team in providing a wide range of services for District of Columbia citizens. Her projects included completing the preparation and obtaining unanimous city council adoption of the first new Comprehensive Plan in 20 years, the re-engineering of the development review function, and the crafting of a strategy to revitalize dilapidated affordable housing projects into lively, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods while retaining existing low-income residents. She also directed the integration of the Historic Preservation Office into the Office of Planning from the permitting department, revamping its financial accountability system, and oversaw planning efforts for the Anacostia Transit Station Area, Northeast Gateway, Shaw/Convention Center Area, NoMA, and Georgia Avenue, along with completion of new zoning for the Anacostia waterfront district, Mt. Vernon Triangle, H Street, and numerous large development projects.

Ellen has been involved in several civic and professional organizations. She currently serves on the board of directors of Cultural Tourism DC, an umbrella organization of more than 200 arts and cultural organizations as well as many embassies. She also serves on the Zoning Revision Task Force, advising the Office of Planning on its ongoing total overhaul of the DC Zoning Regulations, and is co-facilitator of the Working Group on the Built Environment for the Mayor’s City-Wide Sustainability Initiative. She is a member of the Local Advisory Council of the Washington office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). In addition, she co-chairs the Task Force on Public Policy and Regulatory Reform for the Washington effort of the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Workforce Housing Initiative. Ellen served on the boards of directors of the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (low-income housing finance organization)  the Housing Council of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, the DC Preservation League, and the Washington Architectural Foundation, as well as the Board of Trustees of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, and she was active in the Citizens Planning Coalition. She was elected president of the National Capital Area Chapter, American Planning Association, and co-chair of the Coalition for a Living Downtown. She also currently serves on the Steering Committee of Ward 3 Vision, a local organization organized to advocate for smart growth in upper northwest, DC.

• “Revitalizing Downtown DC,” Real Estate Review. Winter, 2009
• “Center Cities,” Land Use in Transition, co-written with Richard H. Bradley and Gayle L. Berens
• “The Management and Organization of Ridesharing Programs,” Transportation Research Board Special Report, co-written with Richard Bradley, 1985
• “The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities,” National Academy Press, l997
• “Integration of Paratransit with Conventional Transit Systems,” Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.
• “Institutional Framework for Integrated Transportation Planning,” Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.
• “Transportation Planning and Impact Forecasting Tools,” Information Bulletin, The Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.
• Manual for Planning and Implementing Priority Treatments for High-Occupancy Vehicles, co-written with Gary Hebert, Urban Consortium, Public Technology, Inc.

For the American Public Transit Association:

• “An Analysis of the US Department of Transportation's National Transportation Policy,” 1975

For the World Congress on Transport Research for Social and Economic Progress:

• “A New Role of Transportation System Managers: Public Entrepreneurs,” Proceedings, World Congress on Transport Research for Social and Economic Progress, 1980
• ULI Conference on Anchor Institutions as Catalysts for Urban Reinvestment – “Win-Win Approaches to University Development: a George Washington University Case Study
• ULI District Council
  • Presenter – Urban Marketplace Conference
  • Organizer – Session on Economic Development for Land Use Leadership Institute
• Society for College and University Planning – “A Case Study of the George Washington University Campus Plan Process”
• DC Building Industry Association
  • “Repositioning Older Assets – Cost Effective Approaches to Adding Value”
  • “Development Activity East of the River”
  • “Trends in Retail”
• Bisnow – Moderator on panel on real estate issues
• Lectured for Classes at GU Law School, GU, GWU Real Estate Program, U MD Real Estate Program
• Cincinnati Town Hall Meeting – Presentation on the DC Comprehensive Plan Process
• National Building Museum – presentations for various programs including a forum on planning commissions and a session on Comprehensive Planning in the US
• Numerous presentations to smaller groups including the League of Women Voters, various community organizations, Leadership Washington, a private equity fund and others.

Ellen has been recognized with an Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award by the Partners for Livable Communities, a national organization which promotes healthy, vibrant cities and towns; an Outstanding Performance Award from  the US Department of Transportation;  a Chapter Service Award from the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association; and was awarded a Fannie Mae Housing Fellowship to attend  the John F. Kennedy School Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University.

Ellen is an active volunteer in community efforts, and enjoys biking with her husband, reading, gardening, and knitting. She especially enjoys visiting her two children at college.