Fostering a culture where all flourish

By Jenny Yu.  

Raincoat Roofing invests in its crew by providing opportunities for mentorship and ongoing education.  

In this Roofing Road Trips® episode, Heidi J. Ellsworth spoke with the 2025 National Women in Roofing (NWIR) World Rising Star Award winner, Sarah Sutton-Shouse of Raincoat Roofing, about Raincoat’s culture of innovation and investments in the future.  

“Culture is very important, and it definitely sets the tone for how the rest of the business operates,” Sarah stated. “Our core values dictate everything we do in our business, from the culture, the processes and the people that we're willing to work with.” 

One foundational building block of the Raincoat culture is its robust mentorship program. This starts from the bottom up, with all Raincoat technicians in the field going out in pairs. Mentorship was essential for Sarah to grow into the leader she is today. 

“I started as a service coordinator, and Eric has nurtured and mentored me in the best way,” Sarah shared. “He’s given me every opportunity I can ask for: the freedom to attend NWIR days, IRE and meet all these people. Everybody here has the opportunity to take the additional education, take the trips, get their face out there and make those connections.” 

Now, Sarah is continuing the cycle, guiding her own coordinator through the roofing landscape. “It's just trying to give them a little piece of everything you do; that's what mentorship is, right?” Sarah said. “You're helping them get to where they're going. Everything Raincoat does is to teach somebody else something.” 

One demographic Raincoat is trying to bolster is women in roofing. “There's a misconception that women are less capable in these departments than men,” Sarah stated. “If we can show them that you can 100% do this, there's no reason you can't do this, here's the tool, here's the know-how and we will show you and teach you — that's what Raincoat is all about.” 

For Raincoat, investing in women in the workforce is more than just talk. Raincoat funds opportunities for its employees to enroll in training courses and attend conferences. “If we invest in you, you're going to give more back to us. And we take that focus really seriously, especially with women,” Sarah expressed. “They're being given those bigger opportunities, and they're flourishing.” 

Read the first article in this series, Listen to the podcast or Watch the recording to learn more about how Raincoat Roofing invests in women and the next generations.