At the University of Houston she serves as a resource to the undergraduate majors in the department of English, and to graduate students pursuing a PhD in Contemporary American literature. Her innovative courses are cross-listed with the Center for Mexican American Studies and with Women Gender and Sexuality Studies and they draw students from the entire campus.

In all of her course Ellis pushes against the passive consumption of knowledge, by animating all of her students to share in the production of knowledge, by critically engaging each other, and the course material. Beyond the classroom Ellis is committed to mentorship. She mentors first-generation Latinx students formally and informally through the Las Comadres organization at the University of Houston, and Graduate Students beyond the University of Houston through the Inter-University Program for Latino Research Mellon Fellows Program. 

Prior to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level at the University of Houston, Ellis who is a fully certified bilingual educator, taught as a teacher of record for the Houston Independent School District and Katy Independent School district where she met the needs of students in grades K-12 as both a reading/ELA teacher and reading interventionist for a decade.

During this time, she honed her commitment to forging and sustaining relationships with her students as a pedagogical non-negotiable and she cultivates genuine connections with her students through a commitment to fostering reciprocal respect and care by centering their voices in the production of knowledge.