About Unified Ground
A sustainable planet is not possible without an equitable society.
I believe that as a technologist, with great power comes great responsibility.
When I left media to work for mission-based companies, it was because I truly believe in the impact of the work. And now, along with my brother, Jelani Ellis, we have founded Unified Ground because this is the opportunity to join our passions for social justice and fighting climate change. We have established Unified Ground together since we believe change must start locally — with family and community. Our amazing team is driven by these same ideals, and that makes me excited to get up every morning and bend the arc of history towards justice.
We look forward to working with you!
Jamil Omari Ellis (Co-Founder, CEO)
Mission
Unified Ground's technology connects ESG initiatives, government's climate policy work, and social impact dollars with a network of community based businesses and organizations to meet the end to end needs of climate and social impact investments.
Vision
Close the income and wealth gap in vulnerable communities, because a sustainable planet is not possible without an equitable society.
Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable, low-income and black and brown communities. We believe that enabling and lifting up these communities to be integral parts of the solution is imperative. Unified Ground will ensure climate and social impact investments will have deep impact by building up the foundation and resilience of these communities.
Our team
Jamil Ellis
Founder, CEO, CTO
Prior to starting Unified Ground, Jamil spent 4 years as CTO of Bright Power managing all technology and business systems and leading development of its flagship software product, EnergyScoreCards.
Before joining Bright Power, Jamil served as the first CTO at BlocPower where he managed the development of its platform, led product development, and built strategic partnerships to drive the company’s mission.
Jamil is a board member of CultureHub, a center for art and technology that connects communities around the world, and the Manufacturing & Industrial Innovation Council, a Mayoral Industry Partnership that supports the sustainability and growth of New York’s manufacturing and industrial sectors.
When he’s not rooting for the Yankees, he’s spending time with his family, writing, and producing his podcast with his father on Race, Law and History, Ellis Conversations.
He received his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Columbia.
Jelani Ellis
Founder, Product Development
Jelani Ellis is an educator, entrepreneur, consultant and investor. Prior to Unified Ground, he worked for 15 years as a classroom teacher at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to regularly participating in professional development around communication skills and curriculum development, he worked with colleagues to update the Social Studies program and lead workshops on Collaborative Communication.
In his spare time, he enjoys amateur juggling, playing and designing boardgames, and having deep conversations with his brother’s puppy, Brown Sugar. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Harvard University and his Master’s in Education from Bank Street College.
Ronald Ellis
Board Member
Ronald Ellis served twenty-four years as a United States Magistrate Judge in New York before retiring in 2017. Prior to his judicial service, Judge Ellis worked at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. for seventeen years, where he held several leadership positions, including Director of the Fund's Poverty & Justice Program, which addressed the problems of families and individuals in poverty, including cases involving access to health care, school equity, low-income housing, and environmental justice.
Judge Ellis has been an adjunct professor at multiple law schools, where his subject areas included courses concerning the intersection of race and law. Since retirement, some of his energy has been channeled into the podcast he shares with Jamil. Judge Ellis is an avid amateur photographer, and seldom goes out without one or more cameras.
Dana Archer-Rosenthal
Strategy
Dana Archer-Rosenthal has 20 years of experience supporting innovative program and financing models for poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. She has held leadership positions in leading social enterprises (Hot Bread Kitchen, BlocPower) ), community development financial institutions (NonprofitFinance Fund) and philanthropy (Robin Hood Foundation), and has managed program delivery for large-scale public-private partnerships funded by the City of New York and the federal Social Innovation Fund.
She has deep issue area expertise in workforce and economic development, social innovation financing, and nonprofit funding models. As an independent consultant for the past five years, she has provided tactical and strategic support to early- and growth-stage nonprofits and businesses in the areas of program design and evaluation, fundraising strategy and organizational growth and development. Current and past clients include Stacks+Joules, Green City Force, Food Education Fund, Drive Change, Rebuilding Together NYC, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, and Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. She also researches and writes on topics related to workforce development, job quality and outcomes-based funding, with recent publications for the Workforce Professionals Training Institute, New America and Nonprofit Finance Fund. She is a proud native New Yorker and New York City public school graduate and has degrees in urban studies and city planning from Vassar College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Partners
Unified Ground is a founder-led practice supported by a growing network of research, design, technology, civic, and community partners. These collaborations allow us to bring the right mix of strategy, facilitation, technical expertise, and community knowledge to each engagement.
3×3 is a Collaborator on Community AI and Data as Infrastructure work, including responsible AI assessment, policy design, implementation strategy, and community-centered technology governance. Together, this work explores how AI and data systems can be treated as civic infrastructure shaped by public accountability, local knowledge, and shared benefit.
Partner on AI Empower, an initiative helping community-based organizations understand and use AI safely, effectively, and responsibly. The work focuses on AI literacy, practical workflows, governance, trust, access, and equity, especially for organizations working in climate and environmental justice.
Partner on FloodChat, a renter-facing AI concept developed through the Rainproof NYC / Rebuild by Design ecosystem. FloodChat explores how AI can turn scattered flood preparedness, housing, insurance, emergency, and infrastructure information into clearer multilingual guidance for renters and residents navigating flood and stormwater risk.
Collaborator in the development of AI Empower and broader climate innovation work. CIV helped convene community-based organizations, AI experts, academics, and private-sector participants to identify the need for practical AI tools, guidance, and capacity-building for climate and environmental justice organizations.
Technical collaborator supporting responsible AI, software strategy, natural language processing, and implementation planning for mission-driven technology projects.