Ellen Green-Ceisler has been an attorney for 21 years. She is a 1979 graduate of Temple University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree, and a 1986 graduate of the Temple University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor Degree.
After graduating law school, Ellen served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia where she specialized in the prosecution of crimes of domestic violence and provided assistance to the victims of these crimes.
After leaving the District Attorney’s Office, Ellen became an investigative producer for WCAU-TV NEWS (CBS) in Philadelphia. In this position, Ellen produced in-depth series on subjects ranging from issues and problems in the mental health, foster care, and day care systems; to municipal mismanagement and waste; consumer fraud; and abuses of the elderly.
From 1997-2005 Ellen served as Deputy Director and then Director of the Integrity & Accountability Office for the Philadelphia Police Department. In this capacity, Ellen audited the operations, policies, and practices of the Police Department, and made recommendations to improve the Department's ability to minimize misconduct and corruption, improve the effectiveness of the Department's operations, and enhance public confidence in the Department. Ellen's studies and recommendations contributed to improvements in the quality of the Department's internal investigations into corruption, misconduct, and officer-involved shootings; the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of force reporting, tracking, and investigations; and the disciplinary system.
During 2005 Ellen served as consultant for the Philadelphia School District where she conducted an independent evaluation of the student disciplinary policies and procedures and made recommendations to improve this system. Several of her recommendations to improve the fairness, effectiveness, and transparency of the student disciplinary hearing process were adopted by the School District.
During 2006 Ellen served as the Director of the Special Investigations and Fraud Unit of the Philadelphia City Controller's Office. In this role she supervised and participated in investigations into governmental waste, mismanagement, and fraud to insure proper expenditure of taxpayer dollars and effective delivery of city services. She resigned this position to run for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the upcoming May 2007 primary election.
Ellen served as a board member and volunteer attorney for the Support Center for Child Advocates, a non-profit agency that provides legal and social services to abused and neglected children in Philadelphia. She is a graduate of the 2002 class of Leadership, Inc. - a nine month program designed to enhance knowledge of critical civic issues, and to develop and enrich leadership skills.
Ellen is currently an Executive Board Member of the Eastern Pennsylvania/Delaware region chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, a national civil rights/human relations agency that combats all forms of racism, bigotry, and prejudice, and works to insure fair and equal treatment for all people through educational, legislative, and advocacy initiatives. She also currently serves as a Hearing Committee Member in matters pertaining to disciplinary actions against attorneys for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
A resident of Philadelphia most of her life, Ellen is 49 years old and resides in the Northwest section of Philadelphia. She is the mother of two children – son Daniel (14) and daughter Hannah (11).