As CEO for South Coast Community Services (SCCS), Ms. McGuirk serves 383 employees so that they can serve over 8,000 children and adults in 17 locations across Southern California that need Mental and Behavioral Health services for the most severe levels of mental illness. The impact to the community is over 32,000 people each year who have improved jobs, emergency room mitigation, reduced foster care placements, reduced homelessness, and more stable educational outcomes. Ellen overseas all aspects of the company, such as contract development, client care teams, metrics, P&L, clinical operations, revenue cycle management, performance improvement and information technology and support.
Ellen is an empathetic servant leader, who consistently engages with teams to grow programs, improve operational metrics and improve client outcomes.
Throughout her career, Ellen is known for developing values centered strategies, new product development and improved client experiences across the industries in which she has contributed. Leading new product launches are an area of particular expertise. Ellen’s product development teams have created world-leading positions in flexible laminates to develop the first airbag tapes, the first vertically integrated DARPA contracts for early semiconductor flexible chip packaging and mergers for 532 nanometer lasers for bio-medical applications.
Ellen’s additional experience as a VP of a $500M division for Allied Signal, leading worldwide marketing, sales, new product development and customer service, gave her a solid background for her next role at Allied Signals Electronics Materials group, as a leader to run the M&A team resulting in a $655M acquisition for a $1B division.
Ellen ran her own consulting business redefining strategies, improving customer experiences, assessing new business models and doing product development work with companies such as: Astronics, Concordia University, Alcoa, Nikon, Fairmont Education Group, Intermec, House of Batteries, Thoro Packaging, Washington Mutual, and others.
Ellen led the turnaround for SCCS and Concept 7 as interim CEO, resulting in successful separation of the two entities, improving client and customer satisfaction, bringing South Coast to a point of financial stability for a solvent turn around. She left to take the V.P worldwide marketing role with Newport Corporation until the SCCS board asked her to come back to the agency in a Chief Performance Officer role which encompassed Quality and Performance metrics under the previous CEO.
Ellen has previously served on privately held for-profit company and non-profit agency boards. (Concordia University Business Advisory Board, Concept 7, R.W. Lyall & Co., Irvine Chamber of Commerce, Faith and Work Life, and Western Family Flooring).
Ellen has been asked to be a keynote speaker at NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners), spoken to various groups such as: Business Women Rising, International Printed Circuit Association, Photonics West through SPIE.org and has published articles in the Orange County Business journal on strategy. She has either authored/co-authored articles on materials and design in technical journals.
Ellen co-founded the African Ministry at Mariners Church in 2002, which sponsored over 900 children in the first sponsorship drive. She has also served as Sunday school teacher to preschool and elementary children in the churches she has attended, been a member of the Bonner Singers singing group that recorded an album in Prague, led prayer ministry for St. Margaret’s school in San Juan Capistrano for three years, and organized and led women’s retreats for Mariner’s church, among other volunteer activities.
Ellen loves to play tennis and currently plays on a local women’s team, enjoys bike rides and creating new experiences with her son and extended family.
A native of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, Ellen earned her BS Degree, from Michigan State University. She completed an Executive MBA from University of Minnesota and has done graduate work at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.
Ms. McGuirk currently resides in Colleyville, Texas with her son Matthew.