Ellen Snortland grew up in Colorado and South Dakota, and set out early in life to be a Renaissance Woman. She made her way to California by the time she was 17 and has never looked back. And she's made good on the Renaissance Woman concept, by getting a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School, founding the first all-female theater company in the early 70s, acting in and directing several TV shows during the 80s, attending United Nations world conferences and annual UN meetings as an NGO delegate and journalist, becoming a Goodwill Ambassador for the National Women's History Project, and much more.
Ellen's work as an author, self-defense advocate and instructor has been featured on Dateline NBC with her book, Beauty Bites Beast. A regular columnist for the Pasadena Weekly and the Huffington Post, she's a tireless advocate for women and girls and physical safety for all. Her acclaimed one woman show, Now That She's Gone, is a comic memoir about growing up Norwegian American; it has been performed all over the world. She is currently focused on raising funds for, and directing, Beauty Bites Beast: The Documentary, based on her ground-breaking book.
Ellen serves on several boards, including Consumer Watchdog, IMPACT Personal Safety, and 50-50 Leadership, a non-profit that envisions more women and girls in leadership positions. Her newest book, The Safety Godmothers: the ABCs of Awareness, Boundaries and Confidence for Teens co-written with Lisa Gaeta and featuring special contributions by Gift of Fear author Gavin de Becker.
