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
Bayard "Mo" Ewing, Director of Land Stewardship
Juniper Katz, Land Protection Specialist
Brian Ocepek, Land Protection Specialist
Christine Strickland, Land Protection Specialist & Fundraising Assistant
Cheryl Wagner, Land Stewardship Assistant
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's work now focuses on conservation easement acquisitions and GIS mapping and analysis. He has over a decade of conservation experience in the west with organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Middle Park Land Trust, and Round River Conservation Studies. Dieter holds a B.A. in Geography from Middlebury College and is pursuing a M.S. in Forest Sciences from Colorado State University.
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
Mo Ewing, Director of Land Stewardship,
has held this position since May, 2003. Prior to that, he completed an M.S. in Conservation Biology from Antioch New England Graduate School. His work experience includes conducting water quality assessments in the St. John River in Northern Maine for The Nature Conservancy, a 3-year invasive plant species survey in the White Mountain National Forest, and work with the New England Wild Flower Society surveying and managing rare plant populations in New England. Previous to his conservation work, Mo was a hospital administrator for 14 years and owned a corporate travel business for another 14 years. He also holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Cornell University.
E-mail address: mewing (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Juniper Katz , Land Protection Specialist,
has a M.S. in Resource Management and Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School and a B.A. in Biology from Marlboro College. After graduating, she partnered with a Professor of Biology at Marlboro College and the New England Wildflower Society to co-author a protection plan for the plant L polycarpa. She interned with the Monadnock Conservancy Land Trust in Keene, NH where she created a stewardship database. Juniper is also a mediator with court experience and has three years of sales experience in the wine distribution industry. Juniper brings a lifetime of family farming experience to Colorado Open Lands.
E-mail address: jkatz (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Brian Ocepek, Land Protection Specialist,
has eight years of experience working in the field of land and wildlife conservation in Colorado and the greater Intermountain West region. In June, 2006, he completed his two year Fellowship at COL 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, Land Protection Specialist & Fundraising Assistant,
is a former Land Protection Fellow. 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
Cheryl Wagner, Land Stewardship Assistant,
has worked as a GIS specialist and as a rangeland consultant, developing vegetation monitoring projects and facilitating cooperation between landowners and agencies. Most recently, she worked in Argentina where she collaborated with ecologists and landowners in developing improved vegetation management techniques for subsistence ranching operations in the semi-arid Chaco ecosystem. Cheryl has an 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.
Email address: cwagner (at) coloradoopenlands.org
Cecelia Thomas, Office Manager, Website & Systems Administrator,
has over 15 years experience with office management and more than 10 in computer system and network administration. A graduate from the University of Maryland at Munich, her skills in English Language and Literature as well as her experience in computers are constantly being utilized to encompass website and graphic design.
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.
Tessa Goldhamer, Volunteer Land Protection Assistant,
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.
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.