Ellen McLaughlin

Ellen McLaughlin was raised in the Chicago area and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa, followed by a Master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her professional career has focused on market research and product development, including inventing educational toys, launching new service businesses, working at an advertising agency, and developing insurance products. After her corporate career, she started her own business moderating focus groups. She and her family moved to Weddington, North Carolina, after her husband's employer, Allstate, shifted its operational hubs.