Ellen S. Woodward (1887-1971) was the director of work relief programs for women during the New Deal in the 1930s. As a leader among women's clubs and political groups in the United States, she was an effective advocate for economic security for women and children.

Ellen Sullivan Woodward was born on July 11, 1887, in Oxford, Mississippi. Her father, William Van Amberg Sullivan, was a lawyer who served briefly in the U.S. Congress both as a representative and as a senator from 1897 to 1901. Thus, young Ellen lived in Washington and developed an early interest in politics and public affairs. She went to private schools in Washington and to Sans Souci, a female seminary in Greenville, South Carolina.

In 1906, at the age of 19, Ellen Sullivan married an attorney, Albert Young Woodward, who lived in Louisville, Mississippi. Soon after she moved there, Ellen Woodward became involved in club work and civic...