Ellen Braune

Ellen Braune

Ellen Braune is Vice President of Communications at the Ms. Foundation.

Ellen Braune has an MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research.

TV career

For 11 years Ellen worked in network television where she was an editor, writer and producer of such television programs as CBS’s 60 Minutes, NBC’s Today Show, and PBS’s Frontline.

She left television to provide affordable and much-needed strategic communications planning and public relations support to social change organizations. Prior to her position as Vice President of Communications at the Foundation, Ellen was a communications consultant for a range of social justice organizations. She worked with her clients to develop strategic communications plans and framing strategies.

"Social Justice"

Since the 1980’s Ellen Braune has built communications departments for three national "social justice" organizations.

Braune has served as Communications Director for Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, a public policy, research and advocacy organization focusing on democracy and economic opportunity.

Prior to her position at Demos Ellen was a Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications, where she worked extensively with the DC-based Justice Project’s death penalty project and led “Civil Active” an award-winning national environmental campaign.

Before joining Fenton, Ellen was Communications Director for the National Labor Committee where she designed high profile public education and advocacy campaigns focusing on sweatshop conditions in factories producing for the Gap, Disney, Nike, and Wal- Mart’s Kathie Lee Gifford signature line of clothing.

In 1990 Ellen co-founded and directed the non-profit PR firm New Channels Communications, which specialized in US foreign policy issues, after five years as the Communications Director for CISPES (The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador.

Teaching/activism

Ellen Braune has taught both graduate and undergraduate classes in public relations; media and ideology; media analysis and propaganda; and television production. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Media and Democracy, and is a lead communications trainer for GROW, (Grassroots Organizing Works) a new capacity building organization that supports grassroots community-based organizations in Massachusetts.

Communist "Manifestivity"

On October 30 and 31, 1998 the Brecht Forum presented the "Communist Manifestivity -150th Anniversary of the Communist Manifesto" at at Cooper Union's Great Hall, New York.

One of the many workshops at the Manifestivity was;

The Ruling Ideas: Media and Ideology; with Ellen Braune Alexander Cockburn, Janine Jackson, Dred Scott Keyes, Samori Marksman, Andrea Lockett and Dee Dee Hallek. Moderator was Steve Brier.

Center for Media & Democracy

In 2006 the Center for Media & Democracy board consisted of 2006;

Ellen Braune, Joseph Mendelson, David Merritt, John Stauber and Inger Stole.