JIM PETTERSON, Chair

Trust for Public Land, Vice President, Mountain West Region

Jim is Trust for Public Land’s Mountain West Region vice president. He leads teams across the Intermountain West and Texas working to connect everyone to the outdoors. Prior to his current role, Jim spent nearly 17 years at The Nature Conservancy in several senior positions, including chief communications and senior advisor to the CEO. Prior to joining TNC, Jim spent 10 years working in Washington, D.C., as a communications director and legislative assistant for a senior member of Congress and as a press secretary for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Read his full biography here. | Read Jim’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

JEFFREY BORING, Vice Chair

Estes Valley Land Trust, Executive Director

Prior to joining the Estes Valley Land Trust, Jeffrey worked with the Larimer County Natural Resources Department and the Big Thompson Watershed Forum in Loveland. Jeffrey also worked as a conservation director for the Athens Land Trust in Athens, Georgia, and began his conservation career in the Atlanta office of The Nature Conservancy. See Jeffrey’s full biography here. | Read Jeffrey’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

TONY CALIGIURI, Treasurer

Colorado Open Lands, Executive Director

Prior to joining Colorado Open Lands, Tony served as senior vice president for Conservation and Education at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). He joined NWF in 2008 to launch its first Mid-Atlantic Regional Center and the multi-organization Choose Clean Water Coalition, which advocates for the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. He also served for 18 years as chief of staff for U.S. Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest of Maryland and has extensive political and campaign management experience. Tony grew up on a farm in southeastern Pennsylvania, and is an avid hiker, birder and lover of the outdoors. He received his B.A. in science from Washington College in Maryland. See Tony's full biography here. | Read Tony’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

JESSICA FOULIS, Secretary

Eagle Valley Land Trust, Executive Director

Jessica became executive director in 2020 after a four-year tenure as EVLT’s stewardship and outreach manager. Previously, she worked for conservation organizations including American Rivers and Walking Mountains Science Center. She also has professional trail crew training and was lead horticulturist for Red Sky Ranch Golf Course. Jessica holds an MS in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from Colorado State University and a BS in Wildlife Sciences from Virginia Tech. She lives in Edwards with her husband, and is likely to be seen walking to work, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, floating down the Colorado River or enjoying live music. Read her full biography here. | Read Jessica’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

ROB BLEIBERG, Programs Committee Chair

Colorado West Land Trust, Executive Director

Rob joined Mesa Land Trust in 1996 and has led the organization through a significant period of growth and transformation - including a merger with Black Canyon Land Trust to form Colorado West Land Trust. He has been involved in hundreds of conservation transactions and has established strategic partnerships with local governments, the Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust and other private and public entities. Rob is a community volunteer, serving on the boards of local and statewide nonprofits. Rob has a Master of Science in natural resource policy and a Bachelor of Arts in American studies. See Rob’s full biography here.

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ, Development Committee Chair

The Nature Conservancy, Colorado State Director

Working with partner organizations, government agencies, elected officials and other key decision makers, Carlos and his team strive to build alliances that advance conservation outcomes both in Colorado and around the world. Carlos previously served the Conservancy as the Southern Andes conservation strategies manager and the Patagonia program manager. He joined the Conservancy in January 2003. Earlier in his career, Carlos worked for international law firms in Washington, DC and Buenos Aires, Argentina. See Carlos’s full biography here.| Read Carlos’ Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

ERIK GLENN, Policy Committee and Governance Committee Chair

Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Executive Director

Since 1995, Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust has partnered with landowners across the state to protect Colorado's productive agricultural land, heritage and families for future generations by conserving working rural landscapes. Erik holds a Bachelor of Science in natural resources management, a Master of resource law studies and an Executive MBA. Erik is the president of the Partnership of Rangeland Trusts and is a trustee of the Western Stock Show Association. See Erik’s full biography here. | Read Erik’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

LAURA SANFORD, DEIJ Committee Chair

Douglas Land Conservancy, Executive Director

Laura has over 20 years of conservation experience, having worked for Adkins Arboretum, a native ecosystems arboretum; The Chesapeake Bay Foundation; the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy; and The Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In 2015, her family visited Colorado for the first time and fell in love. They decided to relocate, and the stars aligned for Laura when she started the executive director position at Douglas Land Conservancy. Laura holds a Master of Science in GIS management from Salisbury University. Her undergraduate work included botany and history. She and her husband enjoy hiking in Colorado with dogs Max and Ace. See her full biography here. | Read Laura’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

Marcie Demmy Bidwell, ex officio

Land Trust Alliance, Southwest Program Manager

Marcie works to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of land trusts in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Based in Durango, Colorado, Marcie works closely with Keep It Colorado and state associations in Texas and partners in seven states to advance mutual conservation goals to achieve large landscape conservation goals. Before joining the Alliance in 2022, Marcie supported community-driven, science-based collaborations at Mountain Studies Institute in southwest Colorado, partnering with landowners, land trusts, natural resource managers, and open space programs to innovate best practices and advance conservation. Marcie has 20 years of experience leading strategic planning processes for watershed restoration, climate adaptation, wildfire preparedness and response, organizational development, and collaborative action. See her full biography here. | Read Marcie’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

REBECCA JEWETT

Palmer Land Conservancy, President & CEO

A 5th-generation Coloradan, Rebecca Jewett has been the president and CEO of Palmer Land Conservancy since 2014. With over 15 years of experience in the conservation and outdoor fields, she has guided and overseen significant regional planning initiatives and the strategic implementation of complex water and land conservation initiatives. She serves on the Land Trust Alliance's National Land Trust Leadership Council and is the recipient of the 2022 City of Colorado Springs Mayor's Young Leader Award. See her full biography here. | Read Rebecca’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

SUZANNE STEPHENS

Aspen Valley Land Trust, Executive Director

Suzanne’s career has been dedicated to land conservation since her childhood growing up in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley. With a background in biology, she got her start working for local nonprofits including Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Roaring Fork Conservancy, and the Western Colorado Agricultural Heritage Fund. She has worked for Aspen Valley Land Trust since 2003. She also serves on the board of the Watershed Biodiversity Initiative and has volunteered extensively for the Kenya-based nonprofit Space for Giants. See her full biography here. | Read Suzanne’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

Jessica Jay

Conservation Law, P.C., Principal

Jessica is the founder and principal attorney of Conservation Law, P.C., a law firm devoted to ensuring the permanence of land conservation through sound transactions. She represents easement holders and landowners conserving working landscapes and environmentally significant land in the Rocky Mountain West. Jessica guides easement holders, professionals, and landowners in educational workshops, and the next generation of land conservationists in her Land Conservation Law courses at Vermont Law School and Denver University Law School. Read more here. | Read Jessica’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.

JAKE JONES

Crested Butte Land Trust, Executive Director

Jake has been a resident of the Gunnison Valley since the early 1990s, starting with a “year off” from college at CU to ski in Crested Butte. The year off became a life and career in the valley where he earned a degree in biology from Western Colorado University, and built a family, career, and home in the community. Jake became the executive director of the Crested Butte Land Trust in 2020 after a diverse career in nonprofit, private and local government leadership roles. In addition to Jake’s professional endeavors, he’s served on several nonprofit and government advisory boards including the Gunnison County Trails Commission, Crested Butte Nordic and Junior Achievement. Jake is currently the chair of Gunnison County’s Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee. See his full biography here. | Read Jake’s Q&A with Keep It Colorado.