Mary Ellyn is a 47 year old mother of two. Married to her husband Jim since 2000, together they own an investment, tax and finance company. A professional pole and exotic dance instructor she has never worked in a dance club or as a stripper and she has been pole dancing for her own enjoyment since 2002.

She began sharing her skills teaching pole dancing in 2005 after experiencing advanced pole dancing techniques while traveling abroad. She became hooked on learning more about pole dancing and developed the desire to teach it to others.

She started teaching beginner classes and hosting home parties. Having no resources in the Chicago area at the time, and through painstaking dedication, she learned the art of pole dancing without the benefit of a live instructor or classroom.

Since that time she has trained in London with Katie Coates of Vertical Dance,  in Las Vegas with Fawnia Mondey-Dietrich, of ExoticDanceSchool.com/Pole Fitness Studio, LLC,  and has received her master trainer certification qualifying her to present Fawnia's Pole Dance Instructor Certification course here in the Chicago area. She has also trained with Sharon Polsky of Pole Position Fitness in Long Beach California, and Jenyne Butterfly of Studio Mariposa in Las Vegas.

A master level pole dancer, she has instructed hundreds of women - and men - in several countries in the arts of pole and exotic dance. Her students have included housewives, moms, teachers, doctors, accountants, exotic dancers and a wide range of other professionals and everyday women. Ages of students have ranged from 21 to 68.

Mary Ellyn has also developed Chicago's first pole dance instructor certification program, using safe and correct techniques based on industry standards in fitness and pole dancing.

She has been featured in Time Out Chicago Magazine , The Chicago Sun Times, The Daily Southtown, The Chicago Tribune and the Tribune Redeye, has appeared on WCKG  radio and on "Sexual Healing"  with Dr. Laura Berman on the Showtime Network.