DescriptionMae Nan (Robinson) Ellingson was born Mae Nan Windham in Mineral Wells, TX in 1947 and was the youngest delegate at the 1972 Convention. Elected as a Republican from Missoula, where she had moved in 1967, he was a young widow known by her late husband’s surname of Robinson while attending UM graduate school under the tutelage of noted Professor Ellis Waldron when he persuaded her to run for the Constitutional Convention, after she had graduated with a UM her BA in Political Science with Honors in 1970. Coming in a surprising second in the delegate competition in Missoula County she was named one of the Convention’s “Ten Outstanding Constitutional Convention Delegates,” an impressive feat at such a young age. She was one of 19 women delegates who broke the glass ceiling for women in Montana politics.
She was a member of the American Association of University Women, a Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary, and a Phi Alpha Theta historical honorary. At the Convention, she led proposals for the state's bill of rights, particularly related to equal rights for women. She and delegate Bob Campbell are credited with drafting the language in the magnificent Preamble to the Constitution. She served on the Legislative Committee which created important changes of openness, participation, accountability and transparency in the previously secretive Legislative Branch .
After the ConCon she became an attorney with a distinguished career as the most preeminent public finance attorney in Montana including many years Montana’s State Bound Counsel. She was a partner of the Dorsey Whitney law firm, where she held sway for 29 years until her retirement in 2012.
Over the years, Mae Nan participated in the drafting of legislation in Montana for state and local finance matters. She served on the Board of Directors of National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), as Chairman of its Education Committee, was elected as an initial fellow in 1995 to the American College of Bond Counsel (ACBC), and was recognized as a Super Lawyer in the Rocky Mountain West. Mae Nan was admitted to practice before the MT and US Supreme Courts, was named one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA (Rank 1), a Mountain States Super Lawyer in 2007 and is listed in Best Lawyers in America; she is a member and former Board Member of NABL, a Fellow of ACBC and a member of the Board of Visitors of the UM Law School.
Mae Nan is also a philanthropist who serves on many boards and applies her intelligence to many organizations, such as the Missoula Art Museum and the Missoula Library.
Postproduction:
Audio and video edits, Final Cut Pro Studio package deployed in the iMac system. Graphics designs and editing, Adobe Photoshop. Open animation and closing credit creation, Adobe After Effects. Transcoding, Adobe Media Encoder and Final Cut Pro.
Zoom interface capture:
Blackmagic Designs ATEM mini switcher Date Digitized2022
Helena Civic Television and Orphan Girl Production, Episode 04 - The Youngest Giant (2022). Montana History Portal, accessed 07/12/2023, https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/110611
