James Ellis II, SM ’80, and Margaret Brady

When Jim Ellis played against MIT as a member of the US Coast Guard Academy baseball and wrestling teams, he had no idea he would return to campus as a graduate student at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the intensive one-year Sloan Fellows program. Now he and his wife, Maggie, have made a bequest to establish the Ellis/Brady Family Fund, which is intended to support the Sloan Sustainability Initiative and graduate fellowships through the Sloan Veterans Fund.

Harnessing leadership skills. Jim, who cofounded a law firm after retiring from the Coast Guard, has seen how government funding to help veterans earn advanced degrees has diminished in recent years. “Creating a fellowship through the Sloan Veterans Fund was a natural fit for us and will be a good use of our funds,” he says. “The leadership experience that veterans gain in the Coast Guard and other branches of the military translates well to the MIT Sloan Fellows program.”

Strong connections. “As a family, we’re also very aware of the need to support a sustainable future,” Jim says. “The water and air pollution issues that must be addressed to develop a sustainable future are also very important to the Coast Guard.” As a result of their academic and professional experiences, he and Maggie are strong believers in the importance of education in solving the problems that face our world. “My time at MIT was very influential in my career,” Jim says, “and the relationships that I developed there remain strong and important to me today.”

Help MIT build a better world. For more information, contact Amy Goldman: 617.253.4082; goldmana@mit.edu. Or visit giving.mit.edu/planned-giving.