Ms. Ebbs was born in Newport, Rhode Island. Her higher education includes attendance at both the University of Rhode Island and the University of Chicago. Her civil service began in 1942 with the Department of Agriculture in the Bureau of Home Economics.

Her affiliation with the United States Army also began in 1942 as the Nutrition Advisor to the Chief of Subsistence Division in the Office of the Quartermaster General. She later held this same position in the Department of Defense. Over the next 33 years, she served in a number of positions for the military and the Quartermaster Corps, including Dietary Consultant to General Lucius Clay, the Military Governor of Occupied Germany; Special Feeding and Nutrition Advisor, Office of the Quartermaster General; Leader of the Food Utilization Mission to Germany for the Under Secretary of the Army; and Liaison Officer for the Office of the Quartermaster General to the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense.

She most significantly contributed to the Quartermaster Corps as the Dietary Consultant to General Clay. She played a key role in the Allied efforts to feed liberated Europe, occupied Germany and Austria during and immediately after World War II. Her civil affairs, relief and rehabilitation activities as a Quartermaster employee/special advisor can be credited with saving millions of lives in war-torn Europe.

Her awards and commendations include the War Department Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Sustained Superior Performance Award, the Commendation for Meritorious Civilian Service, and the Department of Defense Certificate of Commendation. She has also been honored with numerous fellowships, to include the American Public Health Association and the Royal Society of Health. She has been widely published. Her most recent work is The Hidden War, which documents her efforts in wartime Europe.