Ellen concentrates her law practice on assisting faith-based organizations navigate New York religious corporation law and non-profit corporation law in the finance and development of affordable housing transactions. She is passionate about helping congregations and denominations maximize their real estate assets in service to their sense of mission. As churches re-size and re-assess their needs for physical space, they can find new ways to help communities by making their real estate and improvements available to others through new construction of affordable housing units, conference centers, modified worship space, and food distribution areas.

Ellen has practiced law for over 20 years with developed expertise in joint ventures, real estate partnerships, corporate finance, and private equity investments. She worked for several years as a corporate transactional attorney for major New York-based law firms in London and Paris before returning to New York City to continue a transactional practice in structured finance, including asset-backed and mortgage-backed securitization and derivative products. 

Ellen is also an ordained Presbyterian minister, having taken some time away from the law to serve congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA) as a Senior Pastor and Head of Staff for over 12 years. She teaches church governance at Princeton Theological Seminary as an adjunct professor and can still occasionally be found in the pulpit on Sunday mornings as a guest preacher. Ellen speaks regularly on the housing crisis facing the unhoused migrant and the refugee. Her award-winning book, Discerning Welcome – (Cascade 2022), addresses asylum legislation in the United States as informed by principles of ethics and the Reformed faith tradition.

Ellen is a graduate of NYU Law School where she was an articles editor for the Annual Survey of American Law, and received her bachelor of arts degree from Brown University, magna cum laude. Subsequently, she earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Duke University after graduating with an M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary as part of her preparation for ordained ministry.

Ellen loves to cook, write, and find ways to help churches thrive. She and her husband André enjoy playing squash together, visiting U.S. national parks, and following the exploits of the French National Rugby team. They have two daughters: Annabelle, who is a construction engineer in the New York metro area, and Amélie, who lives in Paris and works for environmental justice.