Ellen R. Tise is Senior Director, Library and Information Services at Stellenbosch University in South Africa since January 2006. She is a Past-President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) https://www.ifla.org/ (2009-2011) and of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) (1998-2002). She is the current Chair of the  IFLA Advisory Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression, and Chairperson of the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC)  Board of Directors https://sanlic.org.za/

She served on other major library and information bodies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award Advisory Committee in 2007, OCLC Members Council Delegate 2005-2008 and Director of the Sabinet Online Board since 2003. Ms Tise was appointed to the UNESCO International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World for a four year period from 2011-2015. She served as Chairman of the Board of the National Library of South Africa from 2012-2015.

Tise also served as a member of the International Advisory Board of Beacon of Freedom of Expression of the National Library of Norway, Qatar National Library Board in 2013-2014, OCLC Board of Trustees since November 2014 to 2018 and the IFLA Cultural Heritage Programme Advisory Committee since August 2015 to 2017. She is a recipient of several awards for distinguished leadership and outstanding contributions to librarianship, including honorary membership in LIASA and an honorary IFLA fellowship. She has published various articles in professional journals and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences, seminars, symposia, etc.