Working Mom. Planner. Neighborhood Advocate. Progressive Problem Solver.
Ellen Zavisca is running for City Council because too many Knoxville families are working harder than ever and still struggling to get ahead. She believes our city works best when residents have a real voice in its future. Together, we can build a more affordable, safe, and sustainable Knoxville where every neighborhood has a voice and working families come first.
Ellen Zavisca has spent her career fighting for a safer, more affordable Knoxville.
As an urban planner, Ellen has spent two decades trying to fix the systems that impact our everyday lives: from safer streets to housing for working people to the sustainability of our city. Her professional work as a planner has included school walkability, traffic safety, and greenway planning.
Ellen’s commitment to Knoxville is personal. As a working mom, longtime North Knoxville resident, and neighborhood organizer, she knows that planning for growth is about more than roads and buildings — it’s about making it easier for families to live, work, get around, and put down roots in the neighborhoods they call home.
Ellen brings something City Council needs: a planner’s ability to understand the data, a neighbor’s perspective on how decisions affect daily life, and a mom’s determination to build a Knoxville that works for families today and for generations to come.
In The News
From safer streets to walkable neighborhoods, Ellen has spent two decades taking on broken systems to make Knoxville safer and improve quality of life for residents across our city.
Building a Knoxville
That Works for All of Us.
Ellen’s campaign is built on one goal: improving life for Knoxville’s working families.
That means smarter growth that puts residents and quality of life first, new leadership grounded in lived experience, and greater opportunity in every ZIP code.