City of Montclair Township

Ellen (on the left), JoAnn McCullough of Imani in the center, and Gabe Rembert, who is a senior at MHS. They’re working on Gabe’s college application essays at the Imani College Advocacy Center.

What is your age and where were you born?  I was born 79 years ago in Washington, DC.

When did you move to Montclair and why?  June 1974.  We had two children and not enough space in our Manhattan apartment; also, we had visited Montclair and fallen in love with the look of the town, the closeness to NY, and the fact that there were bookstores in addition to two libraries.

Are you currently employed?  If so, doing what?  If you had a career, what was it?  Starting in 1969, after a few years working in educational publishing, I became a free-lance editor/writer. I worked primarily for publishers of educational materials but also wrote advertising copy and technical manuals for Exxon and AT&T. In 1992, Sheila Crowell and I started a program in the Montclair schools called The Writers Room that ran until 2010. We taught volunteers to coach student writers and helped teachers focus instruction on the process of writing.  In September the last book I co-authored with Sheila – In Your Own Voice: Writing Successful College Application Essays – was published. It draws on the work we did in the Writers Room Program at Montclair High School and is available on Amazon.

What organizations or clubs are you affiliated with or a member of?  I’m a member of Bnai Keshet in Montclair and have been a member of a number of professional organizations for teachers of writing and reading. I’m also in two book clubs in town.

Have you done any volunteer work? If so what type and with what organization?  I’ve worked as a volunteer in the Montclair schools for many years and currently work with Imani’s College Advocacy Center, helping students with their college application essays. I also volunteer with the Interfaith Hospitality Network.

What are some of the most important lessons you feel you have learned throughout your life?  My father taught me my most important lesson—not to panic when work piles up or try to figure out what order to do things in, but just to do the first task on the top of the pile, then the next, and so on.

What is your mantra or words you live by?  As a free-lancer, I learned never to turn down a job but just to say yes and assume I could figure out how to do it.

What are your plans for the future? How does Montclair fit into these plans?  Now that we’ve downsized, I plan to just stay here and keep on doing what I’m doing.