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Ellen was born in Spokane, Washington and spent her childhood roaming the beautiful pine-covered mountains and rolling wheat hills of Washington State, mostly on horseback. The youngest of 5 girls by several years, she endured her fair share of teasing and playing gopher. (Yes, indeed. No self-respecting fairy-tale heroine would be complete without a dash of martyrdom.) Mostly, though, childhood was an enjoyable affair full of fresh air, curiosity and wholesome country-living. Eventually, the older sisters married off and the rest of the family moved to Fort Worth, Texas: home to numerous Miss Americas and the largest honky-tonk in the grand ol’ US of A. Ellen spent her middle school and high school years there learning how to primp like a pro for a paegent, even in a wilting heat wave or a raging tornado and learning how to read, write and speak Texan (…ask her how to conjugate the verb “fixin’ to”).

Having proven her proficiency in the aforementioned "indispensable" life-skills and earned her diploma, she decided it was time for a little adventure to the wild and wooly cities of the east coast. The University of Pennsylvania thought Texans (even non-native) made a very interesting study in diversity, and was kind enough to let her in for a while. And so the little country girl ended up in the city of brotherly love… and fell in love with the city, humanity and the arts …and with dancing. Latin dancing, ballroom dancing, swing dancing, folk dancing… you name it, she danced it when she had the chance! (Along the way, she did do a bit of studying, but who wants to hear about that?!) After a couple of years, her desires and her God called her to serve an 18-month mission to the people in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was a brief and powerful time that changed her heart and her perspective forever. Upon her return to the States, Ellen quickly finished her studies at the University of Pennsylvania (…having mysteriously developed a severe allergy to textbooks just prior to graduation), and set out in pursuit of the American Dream. New York City and Washington DC were next on the list of adventures, but what better place to find the american dream than the grand old capitol itself. Ellen took a job in corporate finance in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. She immediately fell in love with the city, and two and a half years later, she fell in love with a boy…