At age 5, Miss Ella started Kindergarten at the French American School in Portland, Oregon. She continued to take French classes in middle and high school.
In 2001, Miss Ella volunteered abroad for three years. Of the many countries she lived and worked in she spent 11 months in Epernay, France as a nanny. In 2004 she lived in Mexico City with French roomates and nannied for a French family.
After returning to the United States, Miss Ella has continued taking French classes in college. During her master's program in dance ethnology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, she began tutoring elementary school children in French.
On a daily basis, Miss Ella teaches her 3 year old daughter French through conversation, movies, games and books.