Authors

Image: Ellen Allerton

After graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2020 and returning home to Vermont, Ellen found that helping make the world a better place with the GE team was just where she wanted to be. You can usually find her watching television while getting crafty, on the ice as a figure skating coach for 10-14 year old's, or in her inflatable kayak named Heidi. She's quite the film nerd and quite the cook, and likes it best when those two things - movies and food - coincide.

Ellen Allerton

Chief Operating Officer

Hi! I'm Ellen, the COO of the Goodness Exchange.

Having always known I wanted to make the world a better place in my professional life, I joined the Goodness Exchange team as an intern in 2018 back when we were still Ever Widening Circles, ready to dive in and help the world see all the goodness out there. Now, three years later, I'm our Director of Operations, Head Writer & Editor, and (as the GE team would probably say) organization aficionado, keeping all cylinders firing in the same direction. 

I graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2020 with a dual degree in Performance & Communication Arts and Government amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduating in such a tumultuous time forced me and my fellow COVID-grads to enter the workforce with a unique perspective that despite the seeming dumpster-fire of the world: that there had to be some good happening... there had to be other people like me who cared about our world and were working to make it better. I was dead set on finding them, on feeling less alone in that feeling of caring so much. And I certainly did! That's why I'm here, and by nature of being here on the Goodness Exchange, I know that must be - in some part - why you're here too. 

My academic background included 6 months living and studying abroad in Dunedin, New Zealand and focused on blending my majors of government and communication to a culminating Senior Thesis on the deep importance of presidential rhetoric (and its profound impact - an interesting topic to be writing my Senior Thesis on in the spring of 2020). My other projects during my academic career included the relationship between governments (US and NZ) and the indigenous peoples whose land they exist on, and gender equity in modern day media. 

I spend my personal time as a figure skating coach for 8-12 year old's, a high school varsity softball coach, movie and tv enthusiast, and an avid cook! I hail from the far north (St. Albans, Vermont) but now find myself in Boston, enjoying all the city has to offer. 

Contact me if you…

  • Have a great short film you’d like to pitch for us to feature on the site (and maybe you’d like to write the article around it!)
  • Think your film would be a great fit for Amazing World Media
  • Find a typo! Anywhere!

Or for literally anything else. Hearing from you all is my favorite part of my day! You can find me at [email protected]

Author's Articles

Image: A rice paddy mural in Inakadate, depicting Buddhist diety Acala surrounded by clouds and lightning

How Rice Paddy Murals Saved this Japanese Village

Each year the town of Inakadate, Japan is flooded with tourists who come to see something incredibly special: their annual murals. What’s so special about these murals? They aren’t sketched or painted on a wall, they are planted in epic proportions in the town’s rice paddies. And these massive starchy masterpieces aren’t just breathtaking... over the past three decades they have revived a once struggling town!
Image: A shark swimming near the surface of the ocean, one of the many sharks who inspired the Sharklet antibacterial pattern.

The World’s First Germ Resistant Material, Inspired by… Sharks?

Taking inspiration from sharks, we now have a technology that can help prevent the spread of Staph infections, E Coli, MRSA, and other superbugs that we don’t even have antibiotics for yet! Engineers have discovered that shark skin has a unique pattern that can be duplicated and applied  to everything from door handles to medical equipment to prevent the spread of deadly diseases.
Image: A woman hanging from a slackline while slacklining

What is Slacklining? These Fearless Women Defy Gravity and Stereotypes

Have you heard of slacklining? This daredevil sport has historically been very male dominated, but things are starting to change. Walking almost on air, four fearless women have become pioneers of  the open space, finding mental calm while harnessing their physical strength. By being open and vulnerable high in the air, they display brave feats that we all might just be able to learn from.
Image: A trainer and dog from Working Dogs for Conservation standing in a field.

Giving Un-Adoptable Dogs New Life as Wildlife Crime-Stoppers

With an incredible sense of smell, natural instincts for hunting, and a trainable nature, man’s best friend might just be nature’s best friend, too. The Pooches of Working Dogs for Conservation are finding their niche in this world as anti-poaching agents, catching poachers, saving animals, and proving that when we lean into our talents, anything is paw-sible. 
Image: A woman in a white shirt looking at her phone instead of her laptop, procrastinating.

4 Strategies to Stop Procrastinating and Start Living

Are you a master procrastinator? As Tim Urban explains, chronic procrastinators have three main characters at play in our brains: the Rational-Decision Maker, the Instant-Gratification Monkey, and the Panic Monster! So how can we keep the monkey at bay to stop procrastinating and start living?

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