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Professional Bio
Ellen Breipohl Thorp, M.A., CAE is a dynamic leader, strategic visionary, and trusted executive for trade associations and organizations in the built environment.
Ellen has spent 16 years at the intersection of roofing, building science, and public policy. She partners with manufacturers, designers, and policymakers to advance sustainability in the roofing industry in state and local government, federal agencies, and national organizations. Ellen builds high-capacity coalitions to strengthen roofing policies and has led multiple advocacy campaigns that remove unfounded market restrictions and preserve product choice. A nationally recognized expert on sustainability policies related to roofing, she has authored more than 30 articles and presentations.
Ellen is the chief staff executive of the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing (COSUR), bringing together associations and building product manufacturers to advocate for holistic roof system design and sustainable roofing assemblies. She was the inaugural staff member of National Women in Roofing (NWIR) from 2016-2023 where she served as Executive Director.
Ellen participates in ASHRAE standards and technical committees, ICC code development, and holds membership with NRCA, IIBEC, and volunteer leadership positions with ASHRAE, NAM-Council of Manufacturing Associations and the National Institute of Building Sciences. She believes transformative changes occur when people with shared interests unite for advocacy, education, and outreach.
Her career also spans higher education, workforce development, and association leadership. Her research interests include how misinformation shapes public policy, outcomes in undergraduate construction management programs, and the potential of unemployed women to address labor shortages in the skilled trades. Ellen holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in education policy, and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from ASAE.
Ellen has spent 16 years at the intersection of roofing, building science, and public policy. She partners with manufacturers, designers, and policymakers to advance sustainability in the roofing industry in state and local government, federal agencies, and national organizations. Ellen builds high-capacity coalitions to strengthen roofing policies and has led multiple advocacy campaigns that remove unfounded market restrictions and preserve product choice. A nationally recognized expert on sustainability policies related to roofing, she has authored more than 30 articles and presentations.
Ellen is the chief staff executive of the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing (COSUR), bringing together associations and building product manufacturers to advocate for holistic roof system design and sustainable roofing assemblies. She was the inaugural staff member of National Women in Roofing (NWIR) from 2016-2023 where she served as Executive Director.
Ellen participates in ASHRAE standards and technical committees, ICC code development, and holds membership with NRCA, IIBEC, and volunteer leadership positions with ASHRAE, NAM-Council of Manufacturing Associations and the National Institute of Building Sciences. She believes transformative changes occur when people with shared interests unite for advocacy, education, and outreach.
Her career also spans higher education, workforce development, and association leadership. Her research interests include how misinformation shapes public policy, outcomes in undergraduate construction management programs, and the potential of unemployed women to address labor shortages in the skilled trades. Ellen holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in education policy, and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from ASAE.
Individual Member
Organization Name
Coalition for Sustainable Roofing
Past Chair
No