Ellen Schall is a Senior Presidential Fellow at New York University and Martin Cherkasky Professor of Health Policy & Management at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she served as Dean from 1992 to 2013. She chairs NYU’s affordability effort. In her role as Dean she led the school’s trajectory from an institution with a strong local and regional reputation to one that is widely recognized nationally and internationally.
Ellen began her career as a Legal Aid Society criminal defense attorney, representing young people 16-18 years old, and was Commissioner of the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice from 1983 to 1990. DJJ won an Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and Kennedy School of Government in 1986. She has extensive experience in nonprofit management and governance, including more than 30 years of active membership on the board of University Settlement House.
She received a BA from Swarthmore College and a JD (cum laude) from NYU School of Law.