Erin Pash not only sees the big picture, she understands that truly innovating systems requires challenging the status quo and generating in-house solutions to overcome complex barriers. Like many, Erin started her therapy career as an employee of county-based and non-profit agencies. Due to the nature of publicly funded business structures relying upon tax-payer dollars/grant funding—along with the associated salary caps across employees—Erin realized that such systems are prone to rigidity and organize around a work culture that often fails to inspire disinhibited creativity and innovation. Erin’s vision started with realizing that barriers ahead would be best overcome through a nimble, private, for-profit business structure that maintains a sincere commitment to social responsibility by keeping the employee and consumer experience at the forefront of operations and growth.
It started in 2015 with the first Ellie office (St. Paul, MN) and a clear mission: to improve the lives of families by creating and delivering innovative and customized wellness solutions. Six years, 15 thriving Minnesota-based clinics, and more than 250 employees later, Erin maintained momentum by steering the company toward a franchising model stretching far beyond the borders of Minnesota. Today, Ellie Mental Health has established itself as one of the country’s fastest growing mental health companies with clinics breaking barriers nationwide.
For as much as we like to characterize Erin as a dreamer, she’s always quick to remind us that she’s not the only one. Erin attributes Ellie’s success to the wisdom of surrounding herself with the other like-minded, eager, industrious dreamers of the world as she knows that the spirit of Ellie is much larger than any single individual. With the right team on deck, Erin believes in maintaining space for the Ellie Family to collectively steer the brand into uncharted territory of national growth and innovation in all thing’s mental health—because that’s what the world needs, and Erin founded Ellie with a mission to provide. So, if you ask Erin what’s next, with a sparkle in her eye she’ll tell you that things are just getting started…And what she’ll say with unwavering certainty is that the values of creativity, authenticity, humor, compassion, acceptance, and determination that have taken Ellie this far, will continue to guide its growth long into the future…
EDUCATION:
Winona State University, Graduate Certificate, Alcohol and Drug Counseling
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Master of Arts, Marriage and Family Therapy
University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Science, Child Psychology
Hamline Law School, Family Mediation & Parent Consulting, Qualified Rule 114 Neutral
6th Judicial District, Social Early Neutral Evaluation Training, 2016
Guadalupe Alternative Programs, Clinical Supervisor Training, 2014
AAMFT, MFT Supervisor Training, 2017
PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT:
Erin presents at conferences, mental health agencies, and other businesses on several topics including: Court Involved Therapy, Divorce and Co-Parenting, Family Communication, Mindfulness, Teenage Issues, The Intersection of Therapy and Family Court and many other topics related to therapy, adolescents, and family court.
Minnesota Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Executive Board Member, Legislative Chair since 6/2016
Minnesota Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Clinical Fellow since 06/2015
Minnesota Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Pre-Clinical Fellow since 09/2009
Association for Family and Conciliation Courts, Training Committee Member since 10/2016
Association for Family and Conciliation Courts, Member since 06/2016
Family Law League, Member since 1/2016