An Upstate New Yorker with a long stint in the Bay Area from 1992-2005, Ellen is a lover of the untamed and weedy. A gardener, writer, meditation teacher, and parent of two young adults. She is happiest with a strong cup of tea in hand, quietly puttering in the garden, walking in the woods, or bantering with family.

25+ years of clinical experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist in community mental health clinics, hospices, and in private practice, she first came to contemplative practices and compassionate care by way of the Zen Hospice Project in her early twenties. The teaching from that time and in the decades since of professional and personal inquiry continue to shape her—intimacy with death and grief teaches that compassion is a necessary companion to suffering and the dance with delight an outgrowth of an attentive heart. Her work is centered around the messy intersection of everyday life and spiritual practice, holding space for opening to the tender places within ourselves with as much kindness and curiosity we can muster.

Do you have questions about how we might work together?