Ray Ellis

Since 2005, Ray Ellis has been focused on community and civic service. Ray currently serves on several Boards in San Diego, CA. These include: San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System (President and Business & Governance Committee Chair, San Diego Social Venture Partners (Board Chair & Fund Development Resource Team Chair), The Parker Foundation (Board Member), EDC Strategic Roundtable (Member) and Balboa Park Conservancy (Board Member & Development Committee Chair). Ray is also a Member of the Downtown Rotary-33.

In addition to these volunteer activities, Ray is the Principal of Ellis & Associates, LLC, an investment firm. Ray also manages the activities of the Ellis Family Foundation, which is a private foundation funding other non-profit organizations.

Prior to his current activities, Ray was the President of the Marketing Services Division of Protocol Communications, Inc. As part of the executive management team of Protocol, Ray was responsible for all activities within his Division and participated in key strategic, integration, financial and management decisions for this privately held $260 Million marketing services enterprise.

Prior to joining Protocol through an acquisition of Ray’s firm in June 2001, he was the Founder, Principal Shareholder, and Chief Executive Officer of MC Direct. After founding MC Direct in 1987, Ray and his team grew the firm to become one of the largest full-service direct response advertising agencies on the West Coast. Major clients included: Intuit, Microsoft, Cisco, The Smithsonian, Bank of America, Farmers Insurance, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, American Express and many others. Ray has extensive experience in a wide range of direct response programs, with an emphasis on direct mail and interactive programs.

Ray received his BA in History from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia and his MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Ray and his wife Gina live in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego with their 9 year old Jake. He also has a 25 year old son, Matt working and living in Los Angeles and a 21 year old daughter, Jessica who is a junior at Texas Christian University (Rose Bowl Champions) in Fort Worth, TX.