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Ellis Joel Katsof (born October 14, 1951) is a Canadian Author, Entrepreneur and Public Speaker who has worked predominantly in and with the Non-profit Sector.

Qualifications & Awards
Ellis’ qualifications include a Master of Social Work (MSW) in Social Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Toronto; a Graduate & Fellow of the CommunityShift™ program at the Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario; a graduate of the Organization Development & Change Program at the Schulich School of Business, York University; and a recipient of the Brande Foundation Scholarship for 12 months of leadership coaching. This scholarship was presented to 25 individuals worldwide on an annual basis. The scholarship was offered to individuals who worked in the not-for-profit sector and exhibit innovative, visionary leadership. He was also a recipient of the Halton Achievement Award.

Career
Katsof is a highly accomplished visionary leader with over 35 years of experience. After graduating with his MSW, Ellis worked in the non-profit sector and for provincial and regional governments for 15 years. He then began his consulting career and for 10 years consulted in both the non-profit and for profit sectors. The past 10 years, prior to returning to consulting, Ellis has provided strategic leadership as a CEO for Pathstone Mental Health and Transitions for Youth. Throughout his diverse career Ellis has had the opportunity to develop expertise in strategic visioning and business planning, enhancing organizational effectiveness, developing social enterprise initiatives, fund development, branding and marketing. He is results-oriented with proven success in strategic thinking and innovation.

Ellis has worked with disenfranchised populations throughout his career and became an supporter of the Community health centres in Canada (CHC) model when he had a joint appointment as Director of Planning and Evaluation for Halton Region’s Department of Health and Department of Social Services. In 1992 Ellis published an article titled: Healthy Communities: Integrating Land Use and Human Services Planning - SCAN, Summer 1992, Volume 4, Number 1. Using the principles of Community Development and Determinants of Health, Ellis developed a framework to integrate land use and human services planning. Ellis was invited to present this framework at a World Health Organization (WHO) conference in San Francisco (1993) and at an environmental conference in Australia (1994).

As CEO of Pathstone Mental Health, Ellis worked closely with the four CHC’s in the Niagara Region. Henri-Louis St. Martin, Executive Director of the Niagara Falls CHC, has worked closely with Ellis and states: ''“As CEO of Pathstone Mental Health Ellis was always a willing partner with the four CHC's in Niagara. Ellis understands and appreciates the CHC model of service and worked as an active partner with the CHC's during his tenure with Pathstone.”''

Ellis is currently Managing Director with Leading Edge Outcomes Inc. (LEO) a consultancy focused on providing strategic advice and guidance to non-profit and for-profit leaders and decision makers.

Life 3.0: Protirement, not Retirement
In 2017 Katsof will publish his first book, Life 3.0: Protirement, not Retirement. In it Katsof explores three stages that people go through once they decide to retire, starting with the Retirement Stage, then moving onto the Unknown Stage and ending with the Protirement Stage. Protirement, the Boomers NEW way to retire, is defined as “The pursuit of fulfilling activities after retirement”.

Katsof says, "We are living in a unique century. Over four million North Americans will turn 65 every year, between 2011 and 2030. Our generation is healthy and living longer than ever before. We will live healthy lives for 10, 15, 20 or more years beyond our retirement, and we are asking ourselves, 'What am I going to do with myself for the next 20 years?', 'I can’t golf, travel and sit at home for 20 years!'. We shun the idea of being labelled as “retired”. We want to stay engaged with life and are eager to find new meaning in our later years."

The book explores Protirement, or life after retirement, through the eyes of 120 North Americans whom Ellis has interviewed, including financial analysts, automotive assembly workers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, politicians, athletes, spiritual leaders, a newspaper publisher, administrative assistants, psychologists, a sociologist, a coal miner, a fire fighter and more.

Some well known North Americans interviewed include, among others, the Honourable Paul Martin, Ken Dryden, Liona Boyd, Anna Porter, Ronnie Hawkins, Lloyd Robertson, Michael Adams, Senator Anne Cools, the Honourable Roy McMurtry, Gil Amelio, the Honorable Tim Ridge, Dr. George Wood and Ken Goldman.

Personal life
Katsof was born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents in Montréal, Quebec.

Katsof has been married once. His wife was Janice May, whom he married in 1975. The two divorced in 2002. They have three children: Zachary, Brynne and Devan. Since 2004, Katsof has lived with his common-law partner, Coletta McGrath, in Port Dalhousie, a lakeside neighbourhood of St. Catharines, Ontario.

Other activities and interests

 * Ellis is an active member of the Rotary International club of St. Catharines.