Ellen I. Goldberg has a broad background in business, healthcare, education, photojournalism, and creative endeavors—a good foundation for global projects in both professional and volunteer capacities. She is passionate about connecting multi-ethnic groups for mutual understanding and has more than 40 years of experience in citizen diplomacy through a variety of local, national, and international activities.

Her articles as a writer are varied and far reaching. They include a series on Muslims in South Africa when Apartheid was beginning to crumble, a feature about Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi’s first ashram near Durban where he developed his philosophy of non-violence, blogs concerning projects in Tanzania including the African launch of the International Year of Planet Earth, and Ellen even wrote lyrics for music that Indian superstar Sonu Nigam composed for his English-language album Spirit Unfolding.

She has been involved in the sister cities movement since the late 1990s, holding positions of President, Vice President, Director Emeritus, and Founding President of the Houston-Abu Dhabi Sister City Association. In addition, she was the Co-Vice Chair of the Sister Cities International Conference in Houston, as well as the Co-Chair of the Africa Forum in 2019.

Ellen is a widow with two married children and three grandchildren. She values family, and many people in the US and abroad call her their “Jewish Mother.”