Her first book published in 2016 is titled A Whakapapa of Tradition: One Hundred Years of Ngāti Porou Carving 1830-1930 with photography by Natalie Robertson.

Ellis is Māori and affiliates with the iwi Ngapuhi from the Bay of Islands, Northland and Ngāti Porou from the East Cape.

[1] Ellis has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Auckland, Law and Art History starting in 1988 and graduating in 1993 and being admitted to the Bar later that year.

She wrote her PhD in Art History from 1997 - 2012, with the thesis A Whakapapa of Tradition: Iwirakau Carving 1830 to 1930 which was published as a book in 2016.

[3] Her book with Deidre Brown and Jonathan Mane-Wheoki,Toi te Mana: An Indigenous History of Maori Art, (2024) creates a framework that draws upon the journey of Māori god Tāne to gain 'the three baskets of knowledge.