About ELLA
Our History
From enforcing the law to shaping policy to serving families directly, this is the story of how ELLA came to be.
“She left a career in policy to become the policy in practice.”
Enforcement, Education, and the ACA
The founder began her federal career as a Benefits Advisor and investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), enforcing ERISA on behalf of private sector employees across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia. She advised employers, investigated fraud and fiduciary misconduct, and educated communities on their rights under the Affordable Care Act, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and Medicare, establishing partnerships with state agencies, Congressional offices, and community organizations to bring health coverage education directly to the people who needed it most.
A Personal Loss
The founder left federal service following the loss of her son at 22 weeks gestation. Some seasons change everything.
Returning to Service
The founder returned to federal service, joining the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement (OPOLE). She worked directly with White House correspondence, advising on Health Insurance Marketplace eligibility, federal law, and enrollment, bringing complex policy into plain language for some of the highest-level inquiries in the country.
Auditing the System
The founder helped CMS establish a systematic approach to auditing the Marketplace appeals contractor, reviewing thousands of cases from intake through final decision, covering Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, Qualified Health Plan enrollment, and Special Enrollment Periods. Her contributions strengthened the integrity of the Marketplace appeals process for consumers nationwide and earned her a CMS Quality Step Increase and Special Achievement Award.
Writing Policy
The founder researched and authored approximately 60% of a landmark federal legislative proposal to expand pregnancy-related Special Enrollment Period protections for pregnant individuals and newborns, one of the first comprehensive federal efforts to close the coverage gap that left pregnant people without a clear pathway to enroll in or change health plans during pregnancy. She had just submitted the proposal. And still, within her own family, the system failed.
Fighting Fraud
The founder partnered with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to secure an Exceptional Circumstances Special Enrollment Period, restoring Marketplace access for approximately 90,000 consumers who had been fraudulently enrolled in non-comprehensive health coverage. Tens of thousands of Americans who had been deceived and left without real coverage were given a legitimate pathway back into the Marketplace.
A Humanitarian Response
The founder was selected to serve on a national team led by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Association of Refugee Health Coordinators (ARHC). She developed and drafted a strategic outreach plan, briefed CMS leadership on eligibility and coverage, and helped connect 50,000 Afghan evacuees to health coverage and services during a national humanitarian response. Her leadership was recognized personally by CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
Reaching Millions
The founder was tasked with revising and modernizing Affordable Care Act Marketplace Eligibility Determination Notices, the official documents that tell Americans whether they qualify for Marketplace coverage, Medicaid, CHIP, or financial assistance. These notices reach millions of people every year. Her work improved the consumer experience at one of the most important moments in the enrollment process: the moment a person learns whether they have access to care.
Catching People Before They Fell
The founder joined a cross-agency team developing the national Medicaid Unwinding process, helping ensure that people losing Medicaid coverage following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency had pathways to maintain health insurance and access care.
A Second Proposal
The founder authored 100% of a second federal legislative proposal: the Rental or Housing Instability Special Enrollment Period Initiative, designed to simplify health insurance enrollment and expand access to tailored health plans for individuals experiencing housing instability or homelessness, aligned with federal efforts to reduce homelessness. Two federal policy proposals in two years. Both reflecting the same conviction: people should not lose access to healthcare because they are pregnant, housing insecure, or navigating a crisis.
A Calling Confirmed
Her grandson was born. The hospital recognized the calm, knowing presence the founder brought to the bedside and offered her a role as a doula. She did not hesitate. She completed her DONA International doula certification and stepped into a role she had been preparing for her entire life, even when she did not yet have a name for it.
Boots on the Ground
Before ELLA was fully built, the founder was already in the field. She began volunteering with Operation Doula at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego, providing free birth and postpartum doula support to single active duty mothers and dual active duty Navy and Marine Corps couples.
ELLA Is Born
After more than a decade of federal service enforcing the law, shaping policy, and witnessing the gaps families face when navigating healthcare, housing, and social support systems, the founder left government to build something the system could not. Energy is Life Local Advocacy was established as a nonprofit dedicated to perinatal health, family wellness, advocacy, and housing stability for vulnerable individuals and families across Southern California.
ELLA Is Incorporated
On April 28, 2026, Energy is Life Local Advocacy was officially incorporated as a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. On May 5, 2026, ELLA received federal tax-exempt recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity from the Internal Revenue Service. The work becomes official. A new chapter begins.
The Mission Continues
The mission has always been the same: close the gap between systems and the people they are meant to serve. For more than a decade, the founder worked inside the systems responsible for health coverage, public benefits, and consumer protections. She saw where those systems succeeded. She saw where they fell short. Today, ELLA carries that work forward, helping individuals and families navigate healthcare, housing, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and life's most vulnerable transitions with advocacy, dignity, and support.
Be Part of Our Story
ELLA’s history is still being written and your involvement helps shape what comes next.