Our Team | Office of Communications and Marketing

Ellen Moran, Vice President for Communications and Marketing

Ellen Moran is vice president for communications and marketing at the George Washington University. She is an executive leader and communications strategist with three decades of experience working in the highest levels of government and politics before entering higher education. Before joining GW, she served for four years as vice chancellor for communications and marketing at the University of Pittsburgh, where she initiated and led the university’s first branding effort.

Ellen’s career in government includes service as President Obama’s White House communications director in 2009, and as chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. Prior to joining the Obama administration, she was executive director of EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for Democratic women candidates. Her storied political career highlights also include work managing campaigns for U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates, as well as leading the country’s largest Democratic political advertising campaigns: In 2004 she designed and managed the advertising program of the Democratic National Committee, and in 2000 she ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s $50 million issue advocacy campaign.