Ellen Kern -- President

A lawyer licensed to practice in Colorado, New York and Washington, D.C., Ellen Kern has worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the past 16 years.  She advises on legislative drafting in the areas of FAO’s expertise:  environment, forests, wildlife, fisheries, and agricultural matters related to privatization and decentralization especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union.  Prior to joining FAO, Ellen worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia, an environmental legal advocacy NGO in Washington, D.C. and the law firm of Chadbourne & Parke in New York City.

Ellen holds a J.D. and a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service (M.S.F.S.) from Georgetown University’s Law School and School of Foreign Service, respectively, and a B.A. from Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.  She is a native of St. Louis, Missouri who spent her childhood in South America and has traveled and worked extensively in Asia, Europe and Africa.  Literate in Spanish, French, Russian and English, Ellen attended public and private schools in the U.S. and overseas

In Denver, Ellen’s community service has focused on supporting international education in Denver and on creating partnerships with Spanish-speaking communities.  She actively supports research into macular degeneration.

Ellen has four children in grades 12, 10, 7 and 5.  Her oldest children attend public high schools in Denver in an integrated arts magnet program and a pre-IB diploma program.  Her two youngest children attend Colorado International School.  Her children speak French and Spanish and have studied Mandarin, Farsi, Japanese, Russian, German and Arabic.

Ellen believes strongly that Colorado’s unique educational, geographic, economic and social conditions provide its residents with an ideal opportunity to raise, educate and prepare their children for higher education and global citizenship through the highest-quality American education with an international perspective.