Ellen Archer

Ellen Archer parlayed her success in the publishing industry and skills as a communicator and creative problem solver to raise the profile of a nonprofit. She currently serves as board president of Girls Write Now where she helped grow the board and the pipeline for board members. She initiated a partnership committee that raised four times their goal through engagement with a variety of industries. Getting to know the nonprofit sector through her volunteerism has shown her the real opportunities for those looking to change industries. She is active on several boards and is exploring different roles in nonprofit that might be a good fit for her where she can use her corporate skills in a different sector. Nonprofit job seekers, please read: Your skills are transferable, your passion and curiosity will drive you to learn the additional skills needed for success in the nonprofit sector. Ellen Archer is a business leader and media executive known for growing and transforming content businesses. She has led significant media and publishing divisions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), The Walt Disney Company, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Most recently, Ms. Archer was President of HMH Books & Media, with responsibility for driving the strategic growth and expansion of the company’s $200M consumer publishing business. Ellen has been behind bestselling authors such as John Grisham, Mitch Albom and Kwame Alexander. In 2015, Ms. Archer joined the board of Girls Write Now, a nonprofit that creates mentorship programs for underserved high school students, helping the girls who participate find their voices through the power of writing and community. In 2019 she assumed the role of board chair, working closely with the executive director on board recruitment, fundraising, and partnership programs. She is also on the board of trustees for the Katonah Museum of Art and is a member of the The Women’s Forum of New York and Chief, private clubs for women in executive leadership roles. Ms. Archer previously served on the A&E board of directors, The Foundation board of New York Women in Communications, the board of Poets & Writer’s, and NYU’s Masters in Publishing Program advisory board. She is a former managing director of Golden Seeds, an early-stage investment firm supporting women entrepreneurs. Among several awards, Ms. Archer was named by City & State as one of “The Responsible 100” honorees. Ellen holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Hamilton College. She lives in New York City with her husband Jeff Gracer. In her spare time, Ellen reads voraciously, practices yoga, and travels the world (mostly by road bike), preferably on off-the-beaten paths. An avid hiker, she and her husband submitted Mount Kilimanjaro in December 2017.