Ellen has more than 25 years of grant writing and nonprofit management experience. She is committed to helping mission-driven organizations create opportunities for underserved communities to thrive. Focused on building trusting relationships with clients, Ellen works with education, youth development, and social service organizations, successfully securing foundation, corporate, federal, and state funding to advance organizational goals and address community needs. 

At Pear Associates, Ellen has helped raise funds for a number of initiatives, including Youth Build Boston’s workforce development programs for the construction and design industries; Just A Start’s education and training, housing stabilization, and financial opportunity programs; and Phoenix Charter Academy Network’s student support, social-emotional learning, and therapeutic arts programs.

Before joining Pear Associates, Ellen served as Director of Foundation Relations at Bennington College, where she directed all facets of institutional support, securing six-and seven-figure grants from national foundations. Previously, she served as a development consultant for Boston-based education, arts, and cultural organizations for 18 years, writing successful foundation, corporate, and government grant proposals for small to mid-sized nonprofits, including Boston Arts Academy Foundation, Apprentice Learning, and the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, among others.

Ellen holds a Master of Science in Management degree with a specialization in Arts Administration from Lesley University, and a bachelor’s degree in History of Art from the University of Michigan. An avid knitter, she lives in MetroWest Boston with her husband and has two adult children.