Colorado Mass Timber Coalition Welcomes Inaugural Director

Will Lepry, Ph.D., will lead the newly formed 45+member coalition
that connects forest health, sustainable building products, and climate solutions

The Colorado Mass Timber Coalition is pleased to introduce its inaugural director, Will Lepry.

Will brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at McKinsey & Company, where he demonstrated leadership and vision in the sustainable development sector, serving a broad range of clients from Fortune 100 companies to local organizations.

His cross-cutting expertise will bolster the Colorado Mass Timber Coalition’s mission to accelerate the adoption of mass timber products and technology in Colorado’s next generation of buildings, and to create a future for mass timber products that are made in Colorado using local timber, including timber from efforts to improve forests and watersheds.

Housed within the National Forest Foundation, the Colorado Mass Timber Coalition consists of 46 member organizations (as of April 1) all committed to finding innovative avenues connecting forest health, building products, and climate solutions. (A list of coalition members is below.)

“Forests are a key part of our identity in Colorado, not to mention essential to our economy and way of life,” said Will. “I can’t wait to get to work helping the Coalition find creative ways to ensure those forests thrive and create a climate-smart forest economy.”

While at McKinsey, Will led the value chain research that catalyzed the Coalition, by investigating a series of questions, including: Could small-diameter trees harvested from Colorado forests for fire mitigation and through sustainable planting and harvesting be turned into mass timber — a family of new, beautiful construction materials that provide extraordinary strength, stability, fire resistance, and carbon mitigation? And if — instead of importing this material from thousands of miles away — Colorado cultivated its own mass timber manufacturing ecosystem, could we create new local jobs and reduce the carbon footprint of new building construction?

“The Colorado Mass Timber Coalition is in a unique position to lead the creation of a market for material that might otherwise remain in the forests and provide added fuel for wildfire,” said Tom Fry, Senior Advisor for Wildfire Strategies at the National Forest Foundation. “Will’s leadership comes at a great time to accelerate this work, both better managing forests and supporting Colorado’s economy.”

In his new role leading the coalition, Will will provide strategic leadership, foster partnerships, advocate for policy changes that support mass timber adoption, and promote awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of timber construction.

Colorado Mass Timber Coalition Executive Committee members applauded the appointment, recognizing it as a milestone for Colorado sustainability and resiliency efforts:

“Mass timber has the potential to be an important part of Colorado’s strategies to improve forest health and decarbonize the built environment. We are all very excited to have Will step into this leadership role, to lead this essential work forward,” said Gates Family Foundation President Tom Gougeon.

“Will brings passion and a love of Colorado to this leadership position, backed by a ready wealth of knowledge about our forests, our people, and our built environment,” said Greg Kingsley, President and CEO of KL&A Engineers and Builders.

Will holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from McGill University and brings a unique blend of academic rigor and practical experience to his new role. His appointment marks a significant milestone for the Colorado Mass Timber Coalition, as it continues to foster cross-industry collaboration in research and promotion of the use of mass timber across the state.

Colorado Mass Timber Coalition Members (as of April 1, 2024)