Ellen was born in Minneapolis and graduated from St. Scholastica in Duluth, where she spent much of her life working for institutional change in how battered women are systematically dealt with within the government and our society. Along with her activism surrounding domestic abuse, she has also been involved with anti-war, civil rights, and homelessness issues. Pence also helped design what is now considered to be one of the most effective training tools in domestic violence; the power and control wheel. Pence has written articles, manuals and criteria for effective training in dealing with domestic assault and all of the people involved, as well as co-authoring two books.

Ellen was born in Minneapolis and graduated from St. Scholastica in Duluth, where she spent much of her life working for institutional change in how battered women are systematically dealt with within the government and our society. Along with her activism surrounding domestic abuse, she has also been involved with anti-war, civil rights, and homelessness issues. Pence also helped design what is now considered to be one of the most effective training tools in domestic violence; the power and control wheel. Pence has written articles, manuals and criteria for effective training in dealing with domestic assault and all of the people involved, as well as co-authoring two books.