Rachel Ellis is the Communications Associate for Smart Growth America. In this role, she uplifts SGA’s impact work through compelling storytelling, social media, and publication efforts.

Prior to Smart Growth America, Rachel served as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow for a Colorado-based nonprofit, SWEEP, where she drove the uptake of electrification incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and put a human face on decisions that millions of U.S. residents and businesses are making to help solve the climate crisis. She was also an advocate for The Colorado Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Coalition, where she devoted her spare time to advocate for environmental justice in communities impacted by the fossil fuel industry.

Rachel is an award-winning photojournalist, who worked at media outlets including The Denver Post, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and MLive Media Group. She continues her journalistic pursuits through photography and videography. You can see her work in publications like Bloomberg and The Washington Post.

Rachel received a B.A. in photojournalism and a minor in French from Ball State University. She recently did a semester at The Danish School of Media and Journalism, where she refined her ability to research and craft independent multimedia stories on social and environmental issues.

You can reach Rachel at rellis [at] smartgrowthamerica [dot] org.