Lisa Ellman, '05, Is Shaping the Nation's Policy on Drones

When Lisa Ellman was eight years old, she drafted a policy document for her family. She called it her Magna Carta—and it was primarily designed to keep her two annoying younger brothers in check. Ellman’s document levied a fine for saying mean words like “dummy” and for engaging in wild behavior like “pinching your older sister.”

“It was pretty effective,” Ellman says with a laugh. “My parents were responsible for implementing it and they did a great job.”

The Ellman household’s Magna Carta is no longer in effect, but its creator remains a policymaking junky. Now 36, Ellman has spent the past ten years working for Barack Obama. As a co-chair of Washington-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Practice Group, she’s currently working with the Obama Administration to encourage policymaking efforts that will allow commercial drones to be flown in U.S. airspace.