In the past five years, Minzner and her team of Outreach coaches have pioneered a model for serving people with disabilities, military veterans, and underserved youth that has become the national standard. She has a master's degree in Urban Planning from Tufts University, studying the role of Sport in Community Development---a course she now teaches at CRI's Institute of Rowing Leadership. A former World Champion (LW2-) and with over 25 years of coaching experience at the high school, college, and national team levels, she has led the US Paralympic LTA 4+ to a silver medal in Rio in 2016, and also serves on the FISA Para Working Group to address the future of para rowing. Ellen is USRowing’s High Performance Director for Para Rowing, overseeing national team development.