Ellison graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1996 with high honors, and was accepted by Harvard. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a bachelor of science in cognitive neuroscience in 2000, and a master"s degree in public policy from Harvard"s Kennedy School of Government in 2004.
In 2000, she was selected by her fellow students to speak at the University"s commencement ceremonies. Ellison was struck by a car in 1990 while crossing the street on her first day of middle school, resulting in her being paralyzed from the neck down. In 2011 Rutgers University awarded Brooke Ellison with an honorary doctorate in humane letters.
Ellison completed her Doctor of Philosophy in 2012 from Stony Brook University.
In 2009, Ellison teamed up with director James Siegel to create the winning documentary "Hope Deferred", which aims to educate the general public about embryonic stem cell research. Ellison is portrayed by Lacey Chabert and Vanessa Marano in The 2004 television film was directed by fellow quadriplegic Christopher Reeve, star of Superman.
lieutenant is also notable for being Reeve"s final directing project The film aired after Reeve"s death.
Brooke Ellison ran for State Senate in 2006 but was defeated by the Republican incumbent, John Flanagan.
Ellison has not commented on whether or not she intends to run for office again. One of Ellison"s principal issues is her support for embryonic stem cell research. She serves on the advisory board of the Genetics Policy Institute.
