Ellen M. Bloom, of Silver Spring, died on Feb. 4.
Ellen’s four-decade career included 18 years on the senior staff of Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio); within the Clinton administration, where she helped set national telecommunications policy and later served as deputy chief of staff for Commerce Secretary William Daley; and led the federal policy office of Consumer Reports.
She graduated from the University of Maryland-College Park, and earned her master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University.
But Ellen’s most cherished position was as the gravitational center of her family. With her husband of 33 years, David Bushnell, she raised two children, Michael W. Bushnell and Jenna L. Bushnell.
Among her surviving family is her brother, Alan (Miriam) Bloom; eight nieces and nephews; and two grand-nephews who knew her as Aunt Ellen. She was the daughter of the late William and Sydelle Bloom.
Ellen’s untimely death followed a three-decade battle against two blood disorders, and a recent stem cell transplant at Johns Hopkins.
