Ellen R. Port­noy is an active mem­ber of the Jew­ish Book Fair com­mit­tee at JCC of Greater Kansas City in Over­land Park, KS. She co-chaired this event for three years. She has a BA in Eng­lish lit­er­a­ture from Drew Uni­ver­si­ty and an MA in jour­nal­ism from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Missouri-Columbia.