Ellie grew up in Colorado and New Mexico, walking desert arroyos, hiking mountains, and enjoying the big Western skies. As a middle school student, her family lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she attended a language institute and then regular school. That created the foundation for her Spanish skills and future travels, including a high school semester abroad in Sevilla, Spain.
She attended Middlebury College in Vermont, graduating with degrees in Psychology and Religion, with a focus on Hinduism. She has lived and traveled extensively in Mexico and backpacked through Southeast Asia and India. She has also worked with kids in various capacities, including a summer with Girls Inc. to address issues such as self-esteem, media literacy, and society’s influences on gender. She also helped the girls in developing wilderness skills for hiking and camping in the high desert mountains.
Ellie’s passions include spending time outdoors, playing music, and learning about how people and cultures interpret the world spiritually. Other favorite things include eating spicy food, carrying rocks in her pockets, discussing religion and politics, writing poems, and wading in rivers.
She aims to use her skills in order to help the world in some way, through deliberate community service, activism, and education. In addition to her year-round role as Outreach Coordinator at the VISIONS office, Ellie was a leader on the 2017 Peru program. She looks forward to continuing her journey with VISIONS!
