About Ellen

Ellen Poole is an attorney, government relations professional, and relationship architect with 20+ years of experience as a multi-state government relations executive for a Fortune 100 company, as a trade association CEO, and as legislative staff.

She offers consulting services in the areas of relationship development strategies, government relations, and public affairs. Her clients have included major corporations in the banking, technology, health care, capital investment and insurance industries, as well as trade and professional associations.  In addition to lobbying, corporate relations and public affairs, her work includes coaching and speaking on building effective personal and professional networks.

For almost fifteen years Ellen was an executive at financial services giant USAA, acting as the face of the company to government officials throughout the southwestern United States, including Hawaii.  When not traveling the region, she served on the company’s executive leadership team at its 5000-employee Phoenix campus.  Prior to her work for USAA, she led the Arizona Bankers Association, after being selected for the position of CEO by its board of directors over the competing candidate, the sitting Arizona Speaker of the House.

Ellen’s professional background also includes stints as state legislative staff and as a practicing attorney, a fast food server, and a radio station receptionist.  She is an honors graduate of the George Washington University Law School and holds two bachelors degrees from Virginia Tech. Ellen also served as an adjunct instructor at the Arizona State University College of Law.

Ellen’s career has included service on government boards and at many nonprofit organizations.  She was recently appointed by the Arizona Supreme Court to the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance Review. She has been a mayor-appointed member of her city’s Aviation Commission and was a gubernatorial appointee to the board of the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority.  Ellen previously served on the boards of directors for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the Hawaii Insurance Guaranty Association, the New Mexico Insurers Council, and the Skating Club of Phoenix.

Ellen was named a 2019 Woman Achiever by the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper, and has received a Phoenix Business Journal “Reader’s Choice” award as someone readers would most like to have on their company board of directors.  While in her thirties she was named by the Phoenix Business Journal to its list of the ten most influential people under 40.  Ellen also has received an award from the FBI for her efforts to combat bank fraud.

In her spare time Ellen enjoys hiking, travel, reading, following NASA’s space program, and attempting to learn Italian.