Ellen Clippinger is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of AYS, Inc., a not-for-profit youth-serving agency operating over 50 programs in a four-county area in the Indianapolis community. Ellen has been instrumental in piloting various types of programs to meet the needs of working parents—early childhood programs housed in schools, wrap-around kindergarten programs within the school, as well as winter and spring breaks and summer camps. A summer camp devoted to arts education with a culminating final performance by youth from the camp is now in its sixth season.

In addition to operating programs, Ellen has developed a Professional Development Center (PDC) that trains workers in the after-school field throughout central Indiana. 3,300 workers completed more than 6,234 hours of training during the last school year. College-bearing classes are offered each semester through the PDC. Resource and referral services for corporate sponsors complements the range of services offered by AYS.

Ellen is the past president of the Indiana School-Age Consortium (ISAC), an affiliate of the National AfterSchool Association, formerly the National School Age Care Alliance (NSACA), for which she served as president. During her four-year tenure, NSACA adopted national standards and implemented an accreditation system for after-school programs. Her contribution as a national leader was recognized through her planning and participation at the White House Conference on Child Care, hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton, in October 1997. In 2000, the first AYS program became accredited. Today, AYS has the only accredited after-school programs in Indiana.

Ellen founded Voices for Children, a statewide organization encouraging partnerships and collaborations for developing quality care and education for all children and families in Indiana. She currently serves on the board of the Children’s Coalition of Indiana, an advocacy coalition that works with state legislators to formulate policy on children’s issues and make recommendations to the Indiana State Legislature. Ellen was instrumental in passing the Step Ahead legislation in 1990 and served as president of the Marion County Step Ahead Council for two years. In addition, Ellen has served on the Indiana Child Care Fund Board, the Indiana Professional Development System board, the Vivian Smith Teen Pregnancy board, the Indianapolis Council of Preschool Cooperatives board as its president, and the Board for Coordination of Child Care Regulation, a state appointed position she held for six years.

Ellen has been highlighted in articles in Indiana Business Journal, The Indianapolis Star, The Daily Ledger, and Child Care Information Exchange, as well as writing articles for School-Age Notes, School-Age Review, and SCAC Newsletter. She has received service awards from Parent Cooperatives Preschool International (PCPI), a leadership award from ISAC and the Outstanding Kappa of the Indianapolis Area Award. In 2005, Ellen received a NUVO Cultural Vision Award and was a finalist in iWoman Visionary Awards.

Ellen is an Education and Training Associate for the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. In this capacity, she has traveled nationwide to lead specialized training sessions.

Having taught high school English for eight years, Ellen also served as a faculty member at Ivy Tech State College for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in English literature from DePauw University and a Master of Arts in Education from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota.