Ellen Harnick ‌ ‌

Ellen Harnick is an executive vice president and director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. Based in Oakland, California, Ellen leads CRL’s state-level policy work across the United States. She works with diverse stake-holders, state legislators, and Attorneys General from both parties to curtail lending abuses and advance reasonable consumer protections. At the federal level, Ellen has testified on mortgage and consumer protection matters at congressional hearings on interventions needed to mitigate the impacts of the foreclosure crisis, and maintaining access to responsible credit for low-income families.

Before joining CRL, Ellen was a partner in the New York law firm of Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, where she represented corporate clients. During 2001-2002, she served in the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, focused on developing market economic laws and the transition to democracy. Ellen graduated from Brandeis University and the Georgetown University Law Center.