Steve Ellner (born December 21, 1946) is an American scholar who has taught economic history and political science at the Universidad de Oriente (UDO), Venezuela, since 1977.

He is the author of numerous books and journal articles on Venezuelan history, political parties, and organized labor.

Ellner was born in New York City where his paternal grandfather and grandmother arrived from Austria and Finland respectively.

[citation needed] Ellner received his BA at Goddard College in Vermont, his MA at Southern Connecticut State University and his PhD at the University of New Mexico, where his advisor was the prominent historian Edwin Lieuwen.

In the 1960s, Ellner participated in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and later the American Independent Movement (AIM) in New Haven, Connecticut and the United Farm Workers boycott committee in Albuquerque, New Mexico.