Mr. Ellison was raised in Columbus, Ohio, the ninth of eleven children. Upon high school graduation he relocated to San Antonio, Texas to work as a mason. During an economic downturn, Scott joined the Marine Corps in 1982, where he served four years in the infantry. After discharge from the military in 1986, Scott began college at the University of Texas, San Antonio, graduating with honors in 1989. He then attended Texas Tech University Law School. After law school, Scott moved to Corpus Christi where he began working as a criminal defense attorney in 1993.
Mr. Ellison has been married to Monica Escobar Ellison for twenty-nine years. They have three children: Belize, a chemical engineer at The Wood Group; Remy, a Junior at the University of Texas, Austin; and Jacobe, a Junior in the WB Ray High School International Baccalaureate Programme.