Ellis joined the Morphum Environmental Science team in 2023. He graduated from the Auckland University of Technology in 2019 with an Advance Honour's degree (1st class) in Environmental Science, after majoring in Applied Conservation and Geospatial Information Systems in his undergraduate degree. Ellis' thesis focused on developing a framework for agroecological landscapes that land owners could utilise to identify advantageous areas for ecological restoration.

Ellis is passionate about discovering (or rediscovering!) and implementing land use practices that deliver greater environmental and social outcomes for te taiao, community groups, iwi/hapū and stakeholders. He is experienced in both large and small-scale forest restoration and mitigation projects, riparian habitat enhancement, and the monitoring and control of invasive plant and animal species.

Outside of work Ellis spends much of his time tramping, running his own hobbyist native plant nursery, submitting observations to INaturalist, and contributing to community conservation projects.