Eleanor (Ella) Hartley (She/Her)

Serving as a Consultant for And Still We Rise, Ella works at the intersection of racial justice and liberation, and outdoor education and access. Ella began her career as an outdoor experiential educator and staff trainer for the Colorado Outward Bound School, where she taught mountaineering, leadership, and community-building skills to youth and adults. She now serves as a consultant, trainer, facilitator, and coach for organizations and individuals moving towards racial justice and liberation. Ella is also a wilderness medicine instructor for outdoor enthusiasts and professionals.

Ella earned a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Religious Studies from Indiana University, and a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in Racial Justice & Healing and Spiritual Care & Counseling. Her graduate thesis focused on the role of antiracist white affinity groups addressing internalized white supremacy within the larger matrix of racial justice work.

Ella approaches her work with a balance of head and heart, centering authenticity, connection, and intellectual rigor. Her work is driven by the understanding that everyone suffers in dehumanizing systems and that breaking these cycles is too heavy a lift to do on our own—everyone is needed; we cannot go it alone. Ella is responsible to her related and chosen families, the next generations, and the lands of the Ute, Canarsie, and Munsee Lenape peoples on which and from which she currently lives.

When not working, Ella is outside.

Ella is fluent in English.