Ms Rudolph has provided organizational, programmatic and philanthropic leadership in education and the arts on the national, regional and local levels. Her work has featured a sustained commitment to addressing the artistic and intellectual growth of young people in all sectors of the cultural community – including arts high schools, conservatories and colleges, not-for-profit organizations, and national foundations.
Since 1997, Ellen has served as Arts Program Director of the Surdna Foundation, a national family foundation based in New York City. The program focuses on arts education: specifically teens’ artistic advancement through high impact, long term experiences creating art, in all disciplines, by working with accomplished artists/teachers.
At Surdna, she has led the development of arts initiatives including the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative (TSAI); the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program (SATF); expansion of SATF in local communities; and the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project—SNAAP—a national online survey system to collect, track, and disseminate national data about the artistic lives and careers of alumni of a broad range of arts programs at all education levels.
Prior to joining Surdna, Ellen served as an arts and education consultant to cultural institutions, foundations, schools, and education and cultural policy agencies.