Colorado Open Lands
Who We Are
Colorado Open Lands' Board of Directors:
Charles Russell, C/A Russell Partners LLP (Chairman)
Russell B. Caldwell, D.A. Davidson & Co.
Robert H. Deline, Monaghan Management Corp.
Rebecca Frank
Larry J. Hauserman, FirstBank
Honorable Scott McInnis, Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
Wes Segelke, Wes Segelke & Co.
Tim Schultz, Boettcher Foundation
Rodney E. Slifer, Slifer, Smith & Frampton/Vail Associates
William B. Vollbracht, Land Title Guarantee
Ruth Wright, Attorney
Colorado Open Lands' Staff
Daniel E. Pike, President
Dieter Erdmann, Director of Conservation Operations
Cheryl Fox, Director of Development & Administration
Cheryl Wagner, Director of Land Stewardship
Juniper Katz, Program Area Manager
Brian Ocepek, Land Protection Specialist
Christine Strickland, Development Coordinator
Sarah McDonald, Land Protection Fellow
Chris Yuan-Farrell, Land Protection Fellow
Cecelia Thomas, Office Manager & Website & Systems Administrator
Teresa Amos, Bookkeeper
Volunteers
Tessa Goldhamer, Volunteer Land Protection Assistant
Elizabeth H. Richardson, Stewardship Volunteer
Colorado Open Lands' Staff Bios
Daniel E. Pike, President,
joined Colorado Open Lands after 20 years in conservation real estate in Colorado. Dan came to Colorado in 1975 as Director of the Rocky Mountain Field Office of the Nature Conservancy managing programs in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. A founder and principal in the Western Land Group, he specialized in completing land exchanges with government agencies from 1981 to 1996. Most recently, Dan has served as a Board member of the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy, a non-profit agricultural land preservation group in Gunnison County, and the Mountain Area Land Trust in Evergreen, Colorado. He also served on Governor Owens Commission on Saving Open Spaces, Farms and Ranches and is a Board member of the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts.
E-mail address: dpike (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Dieter Erdmann, Director of Conservation Operations,
is formerly Colorado Open Lands’ Land Stewardship Director and a Colorado Open Lands Fellow. Dieter now directs Colorado Open Lands’ water and land conservation programs. His conservation experience in the American West began in 1993 as a preserve intern for The Nature Conservancy of Idaho. Since then his interests have led him to positions in Arizona, Vermont, Montana, and Washington State. A native of New York’s Adirondack Mountains, Dieter received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College in Vermont and attended graduate school at Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources.
E-mail address: derdmann (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Cheryl Fox, Director of Development & Administration,
has worked in fundraising for the past sixteen years. Formerly, she worked as the Director of Foundations with the Land Trust Alliance, the national organization of land trusts, and as the Development Coordinator for The Conservation Fund, a national land trust. A graduate of the University of Colorado and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Cheryl has her Masters degree in Philanthropy and Development.
E-mail address: cfox (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Cheryl Wagner, Director of Land Stewardship,
joined Colorado Open Lands as a Land Steward with over 9 years experience with Geographic Information Systems and having worked previously as a rangeland consultant and GIS specialist. Growing up on a small farm in Wisconsin, Cheryl moved to Colorado in 1996 and fell in love with its short-grass prairies. Cheryl has a M.S. in Rangeland Ecosystem Science from Colorado State University and a B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado. Her graduate research at CSU focused on investigating community-based collaborative resource management processes in northwest Colorado. Her interest in rangeland ecology has also led her to the semi-arid Chaco ecosystem of Argentina where she worked with ecologists and ranchers in developing improved range management strategies for subsistence ranching.
Email address: cwagner (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Juniper Katz , Program Area Manager,
has a M.S. in Resource Management and Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School and a B.A. in Biology from Marlboro College. Juniper sits on the Citizens Advisory Group for the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District and spends most of her time working in the Peak to Prairie landscape raising funds for conservation and completing conservation easement projects. Juniper is also a mediator with court experience and has a background in agriculture from her time growing up in southern Oregon tending to the family owned vineyards.
E-mail address: jkatz (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Brian Ocepek, Land Protection Specialist,
has ten years of experience working in the field of land and wildlife conservation in Colorado and the greater Intermountain West region. Brian started as a Fellow at COL in 2004 and is now a full-time staff member of our Land Protection Program. Brian’s primary focus area is our South Platte River Community Conservation Area in northeast Colorado, and he spends most of his time working with farmers and ranchers in Morgan and Logan Counties. Before coming to COL, Brian worked for the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project in Denver as their private lands coordinator, and for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Denver and Washington, D.C. as their senior grants manager for western projects. In addition to a law degree, Brian has a Master's degree in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School. When not protecting land, Brian enjoys playing sports and recreating in the great outdoors.
Email address: briano (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Christine Strickland, Development Coordinator,
is both a former Land Protection Fellow and Land Protection Specialist. She has worked in the non-profit environmental field for over fifteen years on issues ranging from public lands management, grazing impacts, and wilderness user management to private land conservation, corporate sustainable development, and land re-acquisition for conservation purposes. A graduate from the College of Wooster and the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Christine has a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Land Use Planning.
Email address: cstrickland (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Sarah McDonald, Land Protection Fellow,
recently completed her M.S. in Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of Arizona where she conducted research on land and wildlife issues, especially on the law of conservation easements. A graduate fellowship gave her the opportunity to work with communities and policymakers on proactive land use planning measures in Arizona and an internship with the African Conservation Centre in Nairobi enabled her to work on conservation and property rights issues with pastoral communities in Kenya. Her passion for Western land protection stems from her background growing up as the fifth generation on a cattle ranch in Southeastern Arizona, where her parents and their ranching community established the Malpai Borderlands Group, a collaborative conservation organization.
Email address: smcdonald (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Chris Yuan-Farrell, Land Protection Fellow,
joins Colorado Open Lands with an adventurous spirit and an empty wallet, having exhausted the pennies in his piggy bank to obtain a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University. Before attending graduate school, Chris worked as a landscape ecologist with The Nature Conservancy and a Data Analyst at Santa Clara University where he received a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science. He has an extensive research background in land conservation that has led him to seek a position where his knowledge will be more applied. A native of the Front Range, Chris returns to Colorado eager to protect the landscapes he has grown to love. When not at work, you may find him on a bike or in running shoes trying to keep up with Coloradoans who haven’t spent the last 10 years at sea-level.
Email address: cyuanfarrell (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Cecelia Thomas, Office Manager, Website & Systems Administrator,
has has over 15 years experience with office management, 10 of those dealing specifically with non-profit management. She also has more than 12 years experience in computer systems & network administration. A graduate from the University of Maryland at Munich, her skills in English, computers, and graphic design are constantly being utilized to encompass website management & design. When not at work, she volunteers in the community and sings with the Denver Women's Chorus. She is currently the vice-president of the Denver Women’s Chorus.
E-mail address: cthomas (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Teresa Amos, Bookkeeper,
has over 25 years experience in financial data compliance and record keeping. She is a small business owner for the past 8 years specializing in independent bookkeeper services for a wide range of businesses and non-profit organizations. Teresa is a graduate of Arapahoe Community College with a Bachelor degree in Computer Science and Associate degrees in Accounting and Business Management.
E-mail address: tgoldhamer (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Tessa Goldhamer, Volunteer Land Protection Assistant,
has volunteered for Colorado Open Lands for more than 5 year. She is a former Partner at the Denver law firm of Holland & Hart where she practiced real estate law for 18 years. She worked as the Planning Director for Greenwood Village in the early 1970's and served on several committees at the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Her undergraduate studies were in architecture and urban planning. Her knowledge and skills are an incredible asset to Colorado Open Lands.
Elizabeth H. Richardson, Stewardship Volunteer,
worked for Colorado Open Lands for 11 years before retiring early in 2002. She was the Government Affairs Coordinator at Rocky Mountain Energy Company (formerly a subsidiary of Union Pacific), and Administrative Assistant to Governor Richard D. Lamm. A graduate of Radcliffe College, Elizabeth has Masters Degrees in both Public and Business Administration. She continues to be a valuable asset to Colorado Open Lands.