Ellen Yount has served as a MSI Vice President since 2007, overseeing the firm’s strategic communications activities and focusing on the intersection of good governance and transparency.

She spent close to a decade working in the U.S. political arena, in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After serving as a legislative aide and spokesperson for then-Congressman Tom Ridge, Ellen joined his gubernatorial campaign staff of three and later served as his first Director of Communications. In that role, she interfaced with statewide media and devised statewide communications strategies to champion his reform agenda.

After nearly a decade in politics, she embarked on a career in international development which took her to Eastern Europe at a time of historic change in the aftermath of the Balkans war.  As the country director for the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) offices in Serbia and later Croatia, she advised and trained pro-European and democratic political party candidates in the aftermath of a bloody civil war which resulted in the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

In 2022, she set up and led a Tetra Tech initiative focused on Ukraine recovery and reconstruction. Relocating to Warsaw, Poland, she launched an ambitious program, collaborating with seven operating units and experts across multiple divisions focused on energy, infrastructure, humanitarian de-mining and governance. She remains an outspoken advocate for aid to Ukraine and speaks often on the topic. She is also a frequent social media contributor on anti-corruption, gender empowerment and good governance.

Ellen has served as a board member at the Society for International Development’s Washington, D.C. chapter; and is currently a board member of the Vermont Council of World Affairs. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, Allegheny College, and is a global ambassador for Nairobi-based RefuSHE. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.