Ed and Ellen Goss have spent much of their lives building, creating, advocating and giving back. Their individual careers took them in different directions, but together, they have raised a family, supported their community and devoted nearly four decades to Elwyn, where their commitment has made a lasting difference in the lives of countless individuals and families.
Their story began much earlier than either could have imagined. Ed and Ellen met when they were just 13 years old and living in the same neighborhood in Havertown. They fell in love and got married. But sometimes life doesn’t always go as planned. You see, Ed and Ellen got married, then divorced and found other people. Those relationships didn’t work out, and in a story that seems meant to come full circle, Ed and Ellen found their way back to one another thirty-three years ago and married each other again!
That reunion became the beginning of a life together that has now spanned decades, filled with family, professional accomplishments, challenges, community involvement and an enduring commitment to helping others.
Ed grew up in the area and attended Overbrook Elementary School before graduating from Haverford High School. He later attended Drexel University and graduated from Temple University’s School of Business in 1968.
His professional career spanned approximately 40 years in healthcare, an industry where he found opportunities to combine business leadership with improving healthcare delivery. Before re- tiring in 2017, Ed served as a Director at Bryn Mawr Hospital from 2006 to 2017. During that time, one of his responsibilities was developing and operationalizing the Main Line Health Center on the Ellis Preserve, a location that would later become especially meaningful to him and Ellen.
Eds medical administration career began at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with subsequent positions at Jefferson Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital in Reading and Taylor Hospital. Whether developing programs, expanding services or helping organizations grow, he brought a practical and strategic approach to his work.
Retirement did not mean stepping away from the things he enjoyed or the causes that mattered to him. Throughout his career and beyond, Ed has remained active in volunteer and community service. He continues to serve on several committees at Bryn Mawr and Riddle Hospitals and has served on numerous committees at Elwyn. His other involvement has included serving as a former board member of the Newtown Square Business Association, former chair of Family Support Line in Media, involvement with the American Heart Association in Berks County, former chair of Life Guidance Services in Broomall and member of the teaching faculty of the Main Line Health Education Department.
When he has time to relax, Ed enjoys reading, walking, sports cars and traveling. He and Ellen also spend part of the winter in Sarasota, Florida, although Newtown Square remains the place they proudly call home. They are longtime fans of the Eagles and Phillies, and were Eagles season ticket holders for many years.
Ellen’s career followed a different path, but one that was equally focused on healthcare and improving the lives of others. She holds a master’s degree in healthcare and, over the years, has developed a remarkable professional resume defined by leadership, innovation and a willingness to take on difficult challenges.
In 1978, Ellen developed the region’s first alternative birthing facility. More than a decade later, in 1989, she ran Philadelphia’s largest men’s homeless shelter. In 1992, she created an addiction treatment program that allowed women to remain with their children while receiving treatment. The program reflected her understanding that recovery could be made even more difficult when mothers were separated from their children during one of the most challenging periods of their lives.
Throughout her career, Ellen secured and managed more than $25 million in federal grants and contracts. Her work often involved identifying needs that were not being adequately addressed and creating programs and opportunities to help fill those gaps.
That willingness to step forward and take action has remained a defining part of Ellen’s life. Her professional accomplishments have been significant, but her commitment to service has extended well beyond her career. While they both worked in the field, Ed focused on the medical side, and Ellen on the behavioral side.
Ed and Ellen’s family has always been central to their lives. They have two children, Steven and Jennifer, and two grandchildren, Ryan and Allie. Today, their family remains closely connected even as its members live in different places. Their son Steven lives at Elwyn’s main campus in Media, while their daughter, Jennifer Gaier, lives in Conshohocken with her husband, Michael. Their granddaughter, Allie Cohen, lives in Center City, and their grandson, Ryan Cohen, lives in Tampa, Florida.
The anticipation of becoming grandparents first brought Ed and Ellen to Newtown Square. Before moving to the area, they lived in Wayne, but they wanted a home with plenty of room for family gatherings and visits with their growing family.
“We were welcoming our first grandchild and we wanted a house with plenty of ground and a swimming pool,” Ellen shared. “We found a perfect spot on Woolman Drive in Echo Valley and lived there for 20 years, making amazing memories with our family, friends, and our two grandchildren.”
Ed and Ellen have since downsized and now live on the Ellis Preserve. For Ed, returning to Ellis Preserve carried a special connection to his professional life. Years earlier, he had been involved in the development and operationalization of the Main Line Health Center there. Now, the community has become home.
They enjoy their neighbors and the convenience and walkability of Ellis Preserve. “We wanted to stay in Newtown Square,” Ed said. “We have some great neighbors and love being able to walk to Ellis Preserve.”
Their connection to Newtown Square is only part of the story, however. For nearly four decades, Elwyn has been an important part of the Goss family’s life. Located in Middletown Township, Elwyn’s main campus provides programs and residential housing for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as physical, medical, emotional and behavioral health challenges in eight states.
Ed and Ellen first became involved with Elwyn in 1987 through their son, Steven, who has lived on campus for most of his life. What began with their family’s connection to the organization grew into a lifelong commitment that would involve not only Ed and Ellen, but their entire family. Their daughter Jennifer also works at Elwyn.
Over the years, Ed and Ellen have become deeply involved in many aspects of the organization. They have given financially, volunteered their time, served on committees and boards, helped raise funds and advocated for individuals and families.
Ed brought his extensive healthcare and business experience to his work with Elwyn. He served on the Foundation’s Board of Advisors, the Development Committee, the Elwyn First Committee and the Strategic Steering Committee. He also met regularly with Elwyn leadership to discuss the changing healthcare landscape and strategic opportunities for the organization.
Ellen’s involvement has focused heavily on advocacy and protecting the rights and dignity of individuals. She currently serves on the Elwyn Board of Directors and has served on the Human Rights Committee. She helped create Elwyn’s current human rights policies and was involved in developing end-of-life policies for residents.
Perhaps one of the most meaningful aspects of Ellen’s work with Elwyn has been her role as a designated alternative healthcare decision-maker for 18 residents who do not have family members available to make medical decisions on their behalf.
For those individuals, Ellen has volunteered to serve as an advocate during some of life’s most difficult moments. She has been called upon to help make healthcare decisions, choose medical facilities and ensure that someone is looking out for the best interests of people who might otherwise have no one available to speak on their behalf.
Ed and Ellen have supported Elwyn since 1987. Their contributions have included significant dollars, but their impact reaches far beyond financial support. They have given their time, professional knowledge, judgment and personal commitment to an organization that has become part of their family’s story.
For Ed and Ellen, their involvement has never simply been about serving on a committee or attending an event. It has been about investing in people. Their commitment to helping others has also extended into their Newtown Square community.
Ellen served as an elected official as the Minority Inspector for her district on election days for approximately 20 years. She also became active with the Newtown Township Environmental Advisory Committee after her friend and fellow community advocate, Paul Seligson, invited her to join. Her involvement with the committee included helping develop an avenue for community donations to support the hanging baskets that bring color and beauty to Newtown Square.
The hanging basket project became a community effort to maintain and expand the floral displays that help make the township an attractive place to live, work and visit. Ellen and Paul worked together to encourage community support for the project, which began with support from Mostardi Nursery.
Ellen also documented the Environmental Advisory Committee’s work and its efforts to improve local green spaces. One of those projects focused on Drexel Lodge Park, where the EAC worked to address environmental concerns around the ponds and improve the surrounding landscape.
In one community planting effort, 28 volunteers gathered at Drexel Lodge Park and planted 28 trees and seven shrubs in just 90 minutes. The volunteers included EAC members, local residents, township officials, Scouts and others who simply wanted to help. Additional volunteers from local businesses later planted 30 more trees and shrubs, bringing the total to 65.
In an article she wrote about the project, Ellen wrote, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” This sentiment seems especially fitting for Ed and Ellen and how they have approached their own lives.
They have built successful careers, but they have also understood the importance of using their experience to benefit others. They have faced challenges as a family, but those experiences have given them greater compassion and understanding for other families facing their own difficult circumstances.
Ellen summed up an important part of their perspective when she wrote this about Ed. “Good character is not given to us. It is built by thought, by choice, by courage and by determination. We have learned that although we don’t have the power to make life fair, we can and we have made it joyful.” That philosophy can be seen throughout their lives.
It can be found in Ellen’s willingness to create programs that had never existed before, advocate for individuals who needed someone to speak for them and address difficult issues involving human rights and dignity.
It can be found in Ed’s leadership throughout his healthcare career and in the many organizations and committees where he has shared his knowledge and experience.
It shows in their commitment to their children and grandchildren and in their decision to stay connected to an organization that has been so important to their family for nearly 40 years.
And it can be found right here in Newtown Square, where they have spent more than two decades building friendships, supporting community projects and continuing to find new ways to stay involved.
Though now well into retirement, Ed and Ellen remain connected to the people and causes that matter most to them. They enjoy time with family, traveling, and spending winters in Florida, but their lives still reflect the same values that have guided them for decades.
Their story is ultimately one of partnership. They found their way back to one another and then built a life that has been richer because of the people they have met, the challenges they have faced and the opportunities they have had to make a difference.
For nearly four decades, their involvement with Elwyn has touched the lives of individuals and families. Their professional careers have improved healthcare and created new opportunities. Their community service has helped strengthen the places where they live.
But perhaps their greatest legacy is the example they have set.
Ed and Ellen Goss have shown that a meaningful life is not measured only by personal accomplishments. It is also measured by the people you help, the causes you support, the time you give and the willingness to step forward when someone needs you.
For Ed and Ellen, that willingness has never been a single chapter in their lives. It has been the thread connecting them all.