Ellen Flynn received her Bachelor 's degree in Elementary Education in 1994, followed by her Master's in 1995, from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She has been a classroom teacher since 1994 at Chelwood Elementary School in the Albuquerque Public School District. She has served as a consultant with both the University of New Mexico and the College of Santa Fe regarding teaching with rubrics, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, and teaching thematically.