MEET ELLEN
NEIGHBORHOOD LEADER,
CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE, MOM
Ellen Evans is a neighborhood leader, civil rights advocate, and mom dedicated to serving her community and delivering common-sense solutions to California’s biggest challenges.
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The daughter of an economist and a scientist, Ellen’s parents taught her the values of hard work and service to others at an early age. She attended a public elementary school and a Jewish day school before going on to Brown University, where she majored in public policy. In college, Ellen became an activist for women’s rights and LGBTQ+ equality. It was the height of the AIDS Crisis, and after a friend was diagnosed with HIV, Ellen began protesting against the Reagan Administration’s inaction.
Ellen met her wife Laura Brill in college at the campus women’s center. After graduation, they moved to California, where Ellen joined the Carpenters Union and worked on large building projects as a union carpenter. Later, she worked in film production, training as a union apprentice film editor, and earned her M.F.A. in screenwriting from Columbia University.
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When Ellen and Laura had kids, Ellen became a stay-at-home mom. They rushed to marry in the short window in which marriage equality was legal in California before Proposition 8 passed in 2008. Ellen continued her civil rights activism, joining the board of Equality California Institute in 2009 and helping the organization navigate challenging years in the wake of the marriage ban’s passage.
When Ellen’s neighborhood was facing challenges and lacked a voice in City Hall, she stepped up again for her community and co-founded the Doheny Sunset Plaza Neighborhood Association in 2017, taking on the responsibility of advocating for 2,000 households.
Under Ellen’s leadership, the Neighborhood Association has grown into a powerful voice for the community and secured numerous victories, including a security patrol program serving 400 homes, and a construction monitoring program that ensures developers follow safety rules and regulations. She also serves as Vice President of her local Neighborhood Council, where she has led key initiatives on land use, wildfire preparedness, protections for biodiversity, and local governance.
Now, Ellen is running for California State Senate to bring her experience, common-sense leadership, and tenacious passion for problem-solving to Sacramento. She is committed to strengthening public safety, investing in emergency preparedness and fire prevention, solving California’s housing crisis responsibly, and building an economy that works for working families and small business owners.
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Ellen and Laura have lived in Senate District 24 since 1997, where they’ve raised their two children and an energetic dog named Miso and belong to Temple Israel of Hollywood.
