Ella Dennis

About Ella Dennis

Ella is an emerging nonprofit leader whose work centers on anti-sexual violence advocacy and includes the intersecting fields of public health, criminal justice reform, and economic justice. Her work spans local and global contexts, from Chicagoland to Dakar, Senegal, to Quito, Ecuador. A recipient of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, Ella is energized by cross-disciplinary organizing for human rights, and is always happy to collaborate on projects ranging from survivor support to queer rights to labor organizing!

Experience

1. Director of Policy

   Alliance For Civic Engagement

   Sep 2024 — Present

   Managing a cross-functional team of 45+ Policy Fellows, Editorial Fellows, Current Events Interns, and graduate-level Research Associates, enabling students to deliver over 200 published policy briefs annually• Redefining and advancing ACE’s nonpartisan research agenda across multiple policy domains—including democratic governance, immigration, public health, and environmental policy—via structured mentorship, individualized feedback, and copy editing• Increased fellow retention by over 60% in first 6 months by implementing program redesign based on employee feedback• Proposed and executed Sub-Saharan Africa day of the world’s first Conference on Climate Migration, including roundtable with 15 climate activists, research symposium, and joint report for The World Today magazine• Spearheaded redesign of Student Fellow experience, introducing a team-based joint report project that increased publication output by 30%

Education

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Bachelor's degree

• Washington University in St. Louis

  Master of Social Work - MSW

• West African Research Center

  Certificate