Dr Ellen van Nierop is a Dutch veterinarian. She qualified from Ghent University in Belgium and now lives and works in Ecuador where she runs a small animal clinic in partnership with her husband who is also a veterinarian. In addition to her veterinary qualifications, Dr van Nierop has studied accounting and auditing and, in 2016, achieve a degree as an Engineer in Accounting and Auditing from the Ecuadorian Universidad Particular de Loja.

Dr van Nierop has been the Ecuadorian representative of the WSAVA for AMVEPE since 2009 and joined the WSAVA Executive Board, initially as Seventh Board Member and later as Treasurer.