staff bios
Ellen Chaffin
Individual Giving Manager
Ellen Chaffin joined the staff of Americans for the Arts in May 2012. As Individual Giving Manager, she oversees the National Patrons Council and works with the Vice President of Development and other senior staff to cultivate and steward major gift donors considering annual and planned gifts.
Prior to joining Americans for the Arts, Ellen worked in the hospitality industry and for The Philadelphia Museum of Art, initially as a Grants Associate and then as Manager of Annual Giving where she specialized in developing funding for arts education and special exhibitions. She has a strong background in event planning, cultivation, stewardship, and proposal development, as well as a passion for role of the arts and arts education in community development. A scuba diving instructor and underwater photographer, Ellen is a strong advocate for the power of images to inspire community change and awareness both in the artistic and conservation sectors and serves on the board of the Shark Research Institute.
She received her BA in the History of Art with honors from The Johns Hopkins University, and an MA in History of Art with a concentration in Medieval Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
E-mail Ellen .