Ellen was raised in Pitttston, a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor's degree in English and secondary education from King's College in Wilkes-Barre and her Master's in Psychology from Marywood College in Scranton. Ellen's life was marked by tragedy early on. She was born 6 months after her dad, a Naval Air Force pilot, died on active duty in the Korean War. Ten years later, Ellen's only sibling, an older sister, died at age 12 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Her mother modeled resilience and grace in the face of tragedy as she went on to create a multi-faceted career in library science. She also credits her maternal grandparents, with whom they lived, as providing a stable, loving and secure environment which allowed Ellen to thrive despite these unsettling events.

Ellen showed an early interest in psychology and writing. She recalls her first subscription to Psychology Today in adolescence. While she was unable to grasp much of the jargon in the magazine she learned that there are issues which all people experience and that there is hope for healing with effective treatment. She also recalls submitting stories to teen magazines such as "American Girl". Dovetailing with Ellen's interest in psychology she was drawn to literature that studied human personality such as Henry James, Alfred Hitchcock, the Bronte sisters, and Jane Austen. Ellen has published a number of articles on educational psychology in various scholarly journals.

Ellen was a stay at home mom until her three children reached school age. She did substitute teaching in several school districts in Pennsylvania while her youngest was in preschool but began to teach full time after the family was transferred to Phoenix, Arizona in 1985. She was able to study at Arizona State University and completed her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 1991. The year also marked her divorce leaving her a single parent of three young teens. Happily, all three are accomplished adults, all of whom were devoted "editors" of the Take C.H.A.R.G.E. Solution manuscript.

Ellen has worked in the Paradise Valley School District in Phoenix as a School Psychologist for over 15 years. Previously, she worked in the Peoria District for 6 years. In addition she has maintained a private practice working with adults and families for much of that time. She has a special interest in adolescent, couples’ and women's issues. The basics of the Take C.H.A.R.G.E. Solution stem from her work with patients in private practice.
She realized that there are a finite set of dysfunctional processes which bring people into treatment and, while the content of their presenting
problems changed, the underlying processes remained the same. Healing these processes allowed people to move through the typical
ups and downs of life in functional, effective ways. Ellen trained with the Gestalt Institute of Phoenix for three years post graduate to work
with individuals, couples and families and feels that the Gestalt tenet of working with what is happening "now" in your life is the best way to
heal the past. Gestalt themes are woven through the book.

A desire to help others heal from personal tragedy and stress has been a guiding principle throughout Ellen's life. This desire helped create the Take C.H.A.R.G.E. Solution which she, and its co-creator Connie, hope will be the first of many books in a C.H.A.R.G.E.
Up Your Life series.

Ellen
"Luck is fascinated with those who dream and plan".
- Welsh Proverb