Ellen Seidman is a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, focusing on housing finance and community development. She is also a Visiting Scholar with the Community Development Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and a Research Fellow of the Filene Research Institute.

In 2012, she was appointed to the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She was the 2013-2014 NYU Stern-Citi Leadership & Ethics Distinguished Fellow. From 1997 through 2001, she was the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and concurrently served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and as Chair of the Board for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. From 2002 through 2010, Ms. Seidman held various positions at ShoreBank Corporation and its affiliates.

Ms. Seidman has also been Senior Counsel to the Democratic Staff, House Financial Services Committee (2001-02), Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1993-1997), and has held senior positions at Fannie Mae, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Transportation. She chairs the board of Aeris Insight (formerly the CDFI Assessment and Ratings System), and is a member of the boards of Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) and City First Bank of DC.

Ms. Seidman received her M.B.A. in Finance and Investments from George Washington University, her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and her A.B. from Radcliffe College.