Ellen Gibson McGinnis (Yale University BA)
Chair, YaleWomen; Partner, Haynes and Boone LLP
Ellen Gibson McGinnis is the Chair of YaleWomen. Together with Nancy Stratford ’77 B.A., Ellen led the effort to focus the energy of Yale women alums to form YaleWomen, which was formally launched in December 2011. For eleven years, ending in June 2012, she served on the Board of Governors of the Yale Alumni Association (AYA) as a Board member, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chair, Chair and Immediate-Past Chair. She has also served in the past as Treasurer for the Yale Class of 1982, in various officer positions in the Yale Club of Dallas and the Yale Alumni Association of Maryland, as a delegate to the AYA Assembly and as a Class Agent for the Yale Alumni Fund. Ellen is currently a member of the Council of Women’s Health Research at Yale. Ellen received the Class of 1982 Distinguished Service Award in 1997 and the Yale Medal in November 2012.
Ellen graduated cum laude from Yale in 1982 with a degree in American Studies and earned her J.D. at New York University School of Law in 1985. She is married to her Yale classmate, David, and lives in Baltimore with their children, Anna (15) and Patrick (almost 13).
In her professional life, Ellen is a partner with Haynes and Boone, LLP, a law firm known for its culture of teamwork and client-centric focus. Ellen works with financial institutions on complex loans to private equity funds for major U.S. and foreign lenders. Her practice centers on the representation of lead agents in subscription facility lending, a practice for which the firm is recognized as an industry leader. She has served on many firm committees and is currently a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, co-chair of the Admission to Partnership Committee, and Chair of the Retirement Committee.
