Buford Barr

COO — New Day Hydrogen

Buford Barr is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and co-founder of New Day Hydrogen, a hydrogen project development company that is focused on developing the hydrogen fueling infrastructure to support the transition of fleets and transit agencies to zero-emission.  In this role, he is responsible for project development, design, construction, and operations.  Buford is the technical interface with the customer, addressing their infrastructure and vehicle needs.

Before founding New Day Hydrogen, Buford spent his career in the energy industry, managing Commercial, Engineering, and Purchasing organizations.  Buford holds a BS in Engineering from THE University of Texas.

Frank Bruno

CEO — Via Mobility

Frank’s professional and public service experience has been focused in the areas of general management, transformational leadership, and strategic planning. Born in New York City, Frank earned a B.A in Environmental Studies from St. John’s University and a M.S. in Labor Relations from New York Institute of Technology. He served as Assistant Vice President for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation before moving to Colorado in 1989. He concluded a 14-year tenure as Assistant City Manager for the City of Ft. Collins when he was selected to serve as Boulder’s 18^th City Manager in 2002. He then served as Vice Chancellor of Administration at CU Boulder, with a focus on capital construction and campus sustainability, and was eventually recruited to become President and CEO of the Boulder-based Western Disposal. Switching gears, Frank was asked to take the reins as CEO of Via Mobility Services in 2016 after serving for seven years as board member and Board President. Frank was appointed by Governor Hickenlooper and re-appointed by Governor Polis to the Regional Air Quality Council. He was also recently appointed to the DRCOG Transportation Advisory Committee.Frank also has extensive experience in the not-for-profit arena, serving and chairing several entities in the region. This includes Chairing the Boulder Valley School District Foundation (Impact on Education), the Executive Committee of the Boulder Economic Council, and was a founding member of the Boulder Innovation Center. Frank has also chaired United Way, and served on the board of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.

Caitlin Casassa

Director of Sustainability — State of Colorado, Office of Sustainability in the Department of Personnel and Administration

Caitlin Casassa is originally from Virginia Beach and now calls Denver, Colorado her home. Caitlin currently works as the Director of Sustainability in Colorado’s Office of Sustainability in the Department of Personnel and Administration, a role and an office she helped create. She holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Virginia and a MPP from the University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Caitlin served as an English Teacher in Peace Corps Madagascar, an internal government auditor for the City and County of Denver, and an Operations Advisor for the Colorado Governor’s Office. She found her passion for sustainability while witnessing a critical and necessary circular economy in Madagascar.

Sean Chambers

Director of Water & Sewer — City of Greeley

Sean Chambers is director of water & sewer for the city of Greeley and leads a dynamic team of water and wastewater planning, engineering and operations professionals.  Sean joined the city in 2018 and brings a vision for increased collaboration, regional resiliency through planning and demand management.  Greeley has one of the most robust and resilient surface water-collection systems in the West, with resources from four major river basins and balance between trans-mountain and native Poudre and Big Thompson water resources. Sean is passionate about leadership, change management, takes great pride in the stewardship of a proud organization with more than 125 years of service. Sean is experienced in water-resource development, applied natural resource economics, strategic planning, infrastructure project financing, executive team building, collaborative partnership development, and water resource and contract litigation. He has a bachelor of science degree from Colorado State University in agriculture and natural-resource economics, and is an alumnus of the Water Education Colorado Water Leaders program.

Sadie Cline

Principal — ZGF Architects

ZGF Architects is an international leader in designing low- and zero-carbon buildings. As the project executive overseeing the Denver office, Sadie continues to successfully manage the design of numerous projects in Colorado that are setting a new standard for embodied carbon in the built environment and introduce new innovating biogenic and sustainable building materials to the local market. Outside of the office, Sadie spends time connecting and volunteering with groups including CREW Denver, ULI Colorado, Women in Healthcare Denver, and Downtown Denver Partnership to make positive impacts and promote activities that get people outside.

Kristin Colaur

LEED Green Associate, Sustainability Manage — Turner Construction Company

Kristin Colaur is a dedicated sustainability professional with a strong background in integrating environmental responsibility into large-scale construction projects. As a Sustainability Manager at Turner Construction, she leverages her expertise in sustainable building practices, resiliency planning, and rating system compliance to support project teams in achieving ambitious environmental goals. With experience spanning across multiple markets, Kristin has played a key role in connecting Turner’s 46 offices with sustainability resources, ensuring that best practices and innovative solutions are effectively implemented across diverse project portfolios. She works closely with teams to provide guidance on LEED certification, net-zero strategies, and embodied carbon reduction, bringing in subject matter experts to enhance knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

Kristin’s commitment to environmental stewardship extends beyond Turner, as she remains actively engaged in industry sustainability discussions and advocacy efforts. She holds a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts and Sciences from Wellesley College.

Her expertise in sustainable construction, net-zero initiatives, and high-performance building strategies positions her as a valuable leader in advancing sustainability across the built environment.

Amanda Countryman

Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Resource and Economics — Colorado State University

Amanda Countryman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University. Her research examines the economic implications of international trade, focusing specifically on the impacts of trade reform on agriculture. Dr. Countryman investigates issues related to trade policy, bilateral and multilateral trade partnerships, nontariff barriers to trade, trade issues related to the livestock and meat sectors, as well as trade and the environment. She teaches undergraduate, graduate, and professional courses in international trade, agribusiness, and agricultural economics, and serves as the CSU Collegiate Farm Bureau advisor. Dr. Countryman completed her B.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics and B.A. in Spanish at the University of Arizona, M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University, and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Prior to joining the faculty at CSU, she was an Agricultural Economist at the USDA Economic Research Service. Dr. Countryman grew up on a cotton, cattle, and alfalfa farm in Buckeye, Arizona.

Sean Cronin

Executive Director — St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy District

Sean is the Executive Director for the St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District. He has 20 plus years experience in water resource planning and policy. Sean earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and spent two years as a Natural Resources Agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service before moving to Colorado. Prior to joining the District, Sean spent 13 years with the City of Greeley, including the last six as their Water Resources Manager.

Sean serves on the Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC), is the past chair of the South Platte Basin Roundtable, and serves on the Loveland Utilities Commission. Sean is a recipient of the Colorado Foundation for Water Education – Emerging Leader Award, Colorado Water Congress POND Leader of the Year Award, and under Sean’s direction his District received a Collaboration Award from the Special District Association.

Brian Dunbar

Executive Director — Institute for the Built Environment

Brian Dunbar, Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, has taught Construction Management, Interior Architecture, and Sustainability courses. He has created a graduate emphasis in sustainable building, professional green building certification courses, and sustainable design courses in Costa Rica and on St. John, USVI. Brian has educated more than 10,000 on sustainability, including more than 3,500 students. His research and teaching emphasizes synergistic teamwork along with the promise of healthy, regenerative development. Brian has been instrumental in the development of LENSES, the recognized guiding framework for regenerative design.

Through IBE, Brian directs and guides integrative design and strategic planning project work. As the consummate team leader, Brian has facilitated project teams for organizations such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, American Institute of Architects, the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office, cities, and school districts. He has guided more than 70 projects to LEED or other green building certifications. The U.S. Green Building Council has recognized Brian as one of the first LEED Fellows (2012) and with its national Leadership Award (2022).

Maria Eisemann

Advanced Clean Energy Advisor — Colorado Energy Office

Maria DiBiase Eisemann is the Advanced Clean Energy Advisor at the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) where she conducts and manages research and analysis on clean energy. Maria served as office lead for the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub application to US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2024, the development of Colorado’s 2021 Low Carbon Hydrogen Roadmap and the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Colorado Electric Vehicle Plans. Maria has been with CEO since 2016 representing the office in developing analysis, policy and planning on transportation electrification, clean fuels and advanced clean energy initiatives. Prior to this Maria was a Coordinator for DOE’s Northern Colorado Clean Cities Coalition. She also spent 7 years in the U.S. Environment Protection Agency Headquarters Office of Air Quality, Planning and Standards and Office of Compliance working on air regulatory issues, rulemakings and voluntary compliance programs, primarily with stationary sources. Maria volunteered for the US Peace Corps in the Philippines for 2.5 years with her husband John. She and John have raised 3 amazing children, Alana, Leif and Josie, and reside in Fort Collins, CO.

James Eklund

Member — Sherman & Howard

James Eklund leads the Water & Natural Resources practice where he is a strong advocate for smart water infrastructure and a recognized authority on water management in the American West.

James works with sovereign governments, multi-state authorities, state agencies, and private interests to deliver critical water infrastructure projects and to design policy regarding water law, natural resources, infrastructure, and environmental protection. He uses his depth of policy-making experience and notable connections with federal, state, and local decision makers to assist clients on a wide variety of matters including environmental, regulatory and legislative issues, and matters involving the use of public-private partnerships.

James served as served as Colorado’s lead negotiator and signatory on the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan and as Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board where he built a reputation as a leader in negotiation and diplomacy. He is recognized for bringing together numerous stakeholders with opposing goals to collaboratively craft binding solutions to common problems. James was the architect of Colorado’s Water Plan, the largest civic engagement process in state history, and served as legal counsel to Colorado’s Governor.

James teaches at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs, and the University of Denver.

Jason Frisbie

CEO — Platte River Power Authority

Jason Frisbie joined Platte River in 1982 as a college intern and upon graduating began a full-time career at the Rawhide Energy Station. Jason held various positions in facilities, maintenance, fuel handling and power production before becoming plant manager in 1999. He transitioned to division manager of power production in 2001 and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2010, overseeing generation and transmission assets, power sales, fuel, water and system engineering. Jason became general manager/chief executive officer of Platte River in 2016 and is committed to leading the organization during a transformational time in the utility industry.

Jason is a tireless advocate of public power and of transitioning to a new energy future while maintaining system reliability and financial sustainability. He represents Platte River’s interests on a regional basis and serves on the Trapper Mine Board of Directors, chairs the Trapper Compensation Committee and is a member of the Yampa Coordinating Committee. As an industry leader, Jason is a sought-after panelist and public speaker on the topics of transitioning energy portfolios from fossil fuels to noncarbon resources; the value of joining an organized market; and the benefits of public power and local community control. Jason also contributes his industry and leadership expertise to the American Public Power Association and the Large Public Power Council.

Jason earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial technology from Colorado State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Chris Goemans

Professor, Agriculture and Resource Economics Department — Colorado State University

Christopher Goemans is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University. Dr. Goemans holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado. His past academic experience includes serving as a visiting scholar at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, as an adjunct instructor for the University of Colorado at Denver, and working on a variety of consulting projects. Dr. Goemans’ research has centered around the following topic areas: the economic role of water in regional economies; the relationship between climatic variability, population growth, and the effectiveness of various water management schemes; identifying optimal water demand management strategies; municipal water rate setting, and estimating the impact of drought on various economic outcomes. Recent publications include “Impacts of Block‐Rate Energy Pricing on Groundwater Demand in Irrigated Agriculture”; “Complements of the House: Estimating Demand-side Linkages Between Residential Water and Electricity”; “Public Opinion on ColoradoWater Rights Transfers: Are Policy Preferences Consistent with Concerns over Impacts?”; and “Modeling Commercial Demand for Water: Exploring Alternative Prices, Instrumental Variables, and Heterogeneity”. Dr. Goemans non academic experience includes expert testimony regarding the use of econometric and statistical techniques; conducting a cost-benefit analysis study of a major water pipeline project; forecasting water demand for municipal water providers; and conducting a water rights valuation for a large commercial water user.

Alex Hager

Reporter — KUNC

Alex Hager covers the Colorado River basin and water in the West for KUNC public radio in Northern Colorado and a network of 20+ NPR stations throughout the Southwest. He previously covered environmental issues and the resort economy for Aspen Public Radio in Colorado, and reported on the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG public radio in Alaska. He is a graduate of Elon University who enjoys skiing and mountain biking.

Dan Haley

Executive Director — Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development

Mr. Dan Haley is an advocate for American energy and Colorado oil and natural gas development. He serves as the Executive Director for Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development. Previously, he was President & Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, where he was responsible for leading the industry in Colorado legislative, regulatory, and public relations matters.
Prior to joining COGA, Mr. Haley was Vice President of Communications, Development and Strategy at EIS Solutions, a public affairs firm where he served numerous corporate and political clients, including oil and gas interests. Mr. Haley also spent more than 20 years in communications, including 13 years at The Denver Post, where was the Editorial Page Editor. A Colorado native, Haley graduated from the University of Wyoming and sits on the Colorado Advisory Committee for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

Lucy Harrington

Senior Regulatory Specialist and Project Manager — GEI Consultants

Lucy is a Senior Regulatory Specialist in GEI’s Denver, CO office. She has 19 years of experience in permitting, restoration, and regulatory compliance throughout Colorado and the Western United States in both the public and private sectors. This includes overseeing federally-funded restoration projects, developing biological opinions and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) under the Endangered Species Act, and implementing wetland mitigation to comply with Clean Water Act regulations under mitigation banking, In-Lieu Fee (ILF), and Permittee Responsible Mitigation (PRM) programs. In her various roles, Lucy has developed and approved Mitigation Banking Instruments, assessed restoration designs, issued and obtained numerous permits, and participated in land acquisition, conservation easement, and water right negotiations.

Lucy is focused on building positive and durable relationships with various stakeholders and regulatory staff, bridging the gap between oversight organizations and private and public sector entities to find pragmatic solutions. Lucy consistently strives to make regulatory compliance dovetail with project planning to allow for client and environmental goals to be achieved in an efficient and collaborative manner.

Lucy has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and a B.A. in Spanish Literature & Language from Colorado State University.

Adam Jokerst

Rocky Mountain Regional Director — WestWater Research LLC

Adam Jokerst is the Rocky Mountain regional director for WestWater Research LLC and leads the Colorado office in Fort Collins. Adam brings over 15 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. He has overseen long-range water supply planning, water acquisition, water rights protection, and water conservation programs.  He has also led the development of large-scale dam and reservoir projects and underground storage projects, including acting as program manager for federal permitting processes. Prior to joining WestWater, he served as Deputy Director for Water Resources at the City of Greeley, where he led a multidisciplinary team that plans, develops, and operates water supplies serving 150,000 residents.  At WestWater, Adam assists clients to optimize water resource management and pursue and protect water rights through a variety of economic and engineering analyses.  Adam holds a B.S. in biological engineering from the University of Arkansas and an M.S. in civil engineering from Colorado State University and is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado. He is passionate about finding innovative solutions to solve complex water problems.

Amber Kauffman

District Manager — Little Thompson Water District

Ms. Kauffman is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado with over 20 years of experience including in water systems and water resources projects including management of capital projects, water system analysis, master planning, and drainage studies and designs. She has extensive experience in master planning and hydraulic analysis for utility districts including water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities. Ms. Kauffman’s projects include pump and pipeline design, hydrology and drainage design, road and stormwater improvement design, and floodplain analysis.

Will Lepry

Director — Colorado Mass Timber Coalition

Will Lepry is the Director of the Colorado Mass Timber Coalition where he leads over 350 members across 150+ organizations to help support healthy, resilient forests and encourage a thriving forest products economy through mass timber in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. He has a background in materials engineering and management consulting.

Matt Lerman

Infrastructure Program Manager — Colorado Energy Office

Matt Lerman is an Infrastructure Program Manager on the Transportation team at the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) where he works to advance the goals of the Colorado Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Pollution Reduction Roadmap, Electric Vehicle (EV) Plan, and Clean Truck Strategy. In his role at CEO, Matt supports management of the State’s EV charging programs, advises on transportation policy and analysis, and leads ongoing development and administration of the Fleet-ZERO grant program, one of the only state-run fleet charging incentive programs in the country. He specializes in applying policy, program management, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven analysis to drive accelerated zero-emission vehicle adoption. Prior to joining CEO, Matt served as a Clean Cities Coordinator and ReCharge Coach at Drive Clean Colorado and previously worked in the utility consulting, entrepreneurship, and real estate investment sectors.

Robin Lunt

Chief Commercial Officer — Guzman Energy

Robin is an accomplished executive in the energy sector with deep policy, regulatory and commercial experience. She joined Guzman Energy in 2018 and works across the business developing wholesale power solutions for distribution utilities and facilitating energy expansion in the U.S. while empowering local communities.
Robin spent almost a decade in Washington, DC where she worked state and federal energy policy, and advised a commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on legal and policy matters in the western electric grid, RTO development, and oil and gas dockets. Her experience in shaping power generation and delivery solutions and validating them against commercial and regulatory frameworks serves her well in her work today as a strategic advisor to wholesale customers seeking better economic and sustainable power solutions.
In addition to her time in DC, Robin previously worked as an attorney in private practice and as the general counsel of a demand side management company in Colorado.
Robin is a graduate of Brigham Young University Law School and Pomona College. She resides in Denver with her husband and two children, and enjoys being an active member of her community.

Matt Machado

Partner — Lyons Gaddis

Matt Machado is an expert on surface water and groundwater rights, ditches, real property and water district law. For over 20 years, Matt has assisted special districts, municipalities, farmers, ranchers, landowners, mutual ditch companies, developers, investors, banks, private ditch and lateral owners, well user groups, and hunting clubs in acquiring, selling, developing and protecting interests in land and water rights throughout Colorado. Matt is an accomplished author and speaker on water rights issues.

Matt strives to achieve desirable outcomes for all of his clients given their goals, needs, and budget.  In addition to his experience and legal skills, Matt employs a high degree of creativity to problems that often leads to a best fit solution.

Chris Matkins

Owner — Ally Utility Consulting

When it comes to the design, implementation and optimization of water utility enterprises, Chris Matkins taps into over 25 years of experience. As the owner of Ally Utility Consulting, Matkins has a unique skillset and deep understanding of public utilities to provide expert consulting services. Since graduating from the South Dakota School of Mines with an M.S. in Civil Engineering, Matkins has dedicated his career to water engineering and water business management. Matkins has extensive experience running water utilities in Northern Colorado having worked with the City of Loveland Water + Power and most recently as the General Manager at the Fort Collins – Loveland Water and South Fort Collins Sanitation Districts.

Julie Murphy

Director, Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission

Julie Murphy was appointed as the ECMC Director on July 1, 2020, from her position as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor. Murphy’s strong oil and gas regulatory expertise draws from 7 years of service with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Murphy has knowledge of the complex issues, including conflicts, facing natural resource management from the policy, technical and legal perspectives and works with Colorado’s diverse oil and gas stakeholders to find common sense, consensus solutions. 

Julie Pasillas

Director of Water and Community Resources — Town of Firestone

Julie Pasillas brings a wealth of expertise and leadership experience in water resources, public works and community services. With 23 years of service to the Town of Firestone, she has played a critical role in managing various divisions that are essential to the community’s infrastructure and resources. As the director of water and community resources, a role she assumed in 2024, Pasillas oversees a broad portfolio, including water management, utility services and public works. She oversees Firestone’s water portfolio, which includes more than 5,360 acre-feet of water shares. She also ensures the operation and maintenance of the Firestone Reservoir No. 1, Alluvial Well Field No. 1, two ditch diversion structures, and five pump stations.

Dan Powers

Executive Director — CO-LABS

Dan Powers is the Executive Director of CO-LABS, a non-profit consortium of more than 30 federally-funded research laboratories & joint university institutes, and a broad ecosystem of technology-oriented companies and economic development organizations in Colorado.

Nurturing an informed evolution of society is his mission; the spectrum of brilliant scientists and technologists in the CO-LABS network are a huge national asset he works to engage in crucial projects to benefit humanity.

Since joining CO-LABS in 2016 he’s brought together thousands of people with an interest in scientific discovery and technology commercialization via lab tours, awards events, workshops, conference calls and other relevant gatherings. He now champions how taxpayer-funded scientific research is the taproot of innovation necessary to address America’s national challenges and maintain global leadership. He is always looking to create situations where people get to say “wow, I never thought of that before”.

A University of Colorado-Boulder alum, he has 25 years’ experience in policy assessment and public engagement for both government agencies and economic development organizations.

Lauren Quillian

Director of Energy and Environmental Policy — Xcel Energy

Lauren is an energy industry professional, working as the Director of Energy & Environmental Policy in the Customer and Utility Innovation organization at Xcel Energy. In her role, her team creates and executes on leading environmental strategies for the Company and works collaboratively with external partners to develop robust and supportive public policy. Lauren works on our sustainability and ESG strategy, with a focus on developing and executing Xcel Energy’s net-zero vision to reduce emissions for our natural gas customers.
Lauren has a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. She also has four years of experience working for a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. She spent time abroad in Africa and Latin America. In 2009, she lived in Equatorial Guinea, where she was helping the government set up a Social Needs Fund to provide more services to their citizens.
In 2005, Lauren biked across the United States with a non-profit called Bike and Build. They spent 10 weeks of biking and built houses for the local Habitat for Humanity on their days off. This bike ride is also where she fell in love with Colorado and what brought her back to Denver 6 years later to start her career in energy policy.

Kate Ryan

Executive Director — Colorado Water Trust

Kate Ryan joined the Water Trust in 2019, with over a decade of experience practicing Colorado Water law. Her past clients included farmers, ranchers, municipalities, landowners, the CWCB and the Water Trust itself. Kate has been a member of the Senate Bill 48 Committee authoring a study to Strengthen Anti-Speculation Law and the City of Boulder’s Water Resources Advisory Board. Before going to Berkeley Law she obtained a master’s degree in geography at the University of Colorado and worked as an associate scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. During her free time Kate loves skiing big mountains and exploring with her kids.

Robert Sakata

Ag Water Policy Advisor — Colorado Department of Agriculture

Robert Sakata is the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Ag Water Policy Advisor, a new position approved by the 2023 legislative session. He began his new position in January 2024. He will serve as a dedicated liaison between CDA and other state agencies who work with agricultural stakeholders and will focus on building relationships with water organizations around the state while still acting as president of Sakata Farms in Brighton, Colorado.
Robert was born and raised in Colorado and grew up on his family farm. In addition to his lifelong farming experience, Robert has served in a wide range of agricultural and water focused positions beyond his farm. He currently serves on the Fulton ditch board of directors. one of the mutual irrigation ditches that his farm gets water from. He was appointed to serve on the Agriculture Groundwater Advisory Board, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, the InterBasin Compact Committee, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (where he will remain active as the Agricultural Commissioner’s proxy when needed). He has also served on the Metro Basin Roundtable, Colorado Foundation for Water Education Board of Directors (now known as Water Education Colorado), and Colorado Water Congress Board of Directors. He has been active and served in leadership positions in numerous farm organizations, and he helped form both the Colorado Ag Water Alliance and the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, where he served as the founding president.
Having grown up on the family farm, Robert attributes his hard work ethic and desire to serve the community from the inspirational example that his parents set as well as motivation to become involved in other areas. Robert is thrilled to be able to apply his farming experience in this new role with the Department of Agriculture, especially since food and water connect us all.

Karen Schlatter

Interim Director — Colorado Water Center

Karen Schlatter is the interim director of the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University, joining the Center as associate director in January 2023. Schlatter brings academic, nonprofit, and public sector experiences in managing complex water challenges with a deep commitment to building partnerships with diverse stakeholder groups. Before coming to CSU, she facilitated multi-stakeholder/academic teams at the University of Florida Water Institute to achieve shared goals around water management through collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Schlatter also previously led landscape-scale ecological restoration in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico and co-chaired the Binational Science Team under Minutes 319 and 323 for nearly a decade. At the Colorado Water Center, Schlatter is focused on expanding water education, workforce development, community engagement, and transdisciplinary research initiatives to promote sustainable water management for the benefit of Colorado communities. Schlatter has a BS in biology from McGill University and an MS in environmental studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. She served as an agricultural extension volunteer in the Peace Corps in South America.

Ian Shelledy

Program Officer — Colorado River Initiative Environment

Ian serves as a Program Officer for the Walton Family Foundation’s Colorado River initiative. His work focuses on furthering innovative watershed management solutions and broadening community engagement across the Colorado River Basin.

Prior to joining the Walton Family Foundation, Ian served as Chief Operating Officer of the Community Foundation of Utah, where he oversaw the deployment of collective philanthropic resources across diverse issues from nonprofit leadership to watershed health and affordable housing.

Earlier in his career, Ian co-founded and led Sustainable Startups, a nonprofit supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs tackling complex environmental and community challenges.

Ian holds a Master of Arts from Colorado State University centered in collaborative decision-making and sustainable development.

Sandra Hagen Solin

Founder — Capitol Solutions

Sandra Hagen Solin guides clients in navigating the intersection of politics and business as the founder and head of Capitol Solutions, a government affairs, strategic communications and lobbying firm.

Sandra founded Capitol Solutions in 1993 at the age of 23 and quickly built a successful firm solving complex public affairs challenges at local, state, and federal levels for exceptional clients, including Colorado’s top corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and trade associations.  

Joe Taddeucci

Director of public works — City of Boulder

Joe Taddeucci, P.E., is the director of public works for utilities. Taddeucci joined the city of Boulder in 2005 as an engineering project manager and was promoted to Water Resources manager in 2012. Prior to joining the city, he was an engineering consultant for 15 years. Taddeucci holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University. During Taddeucci’s tenure with the city, he led the development of the 2009 Source Water Master Plan, project-managed numerous capital improvement projects including the Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Modernization Project, Carter Lake Pipeline and several source water dam and pipeline projects. As Water Resources Manager, Taddeucci oversaw the work group that manages the city’s source water supply, hydroelectric program and instream flow program.

Kristin Todd

President and CEO — NoCo Foundation

Kristin leads the NoCo Foundation and guides our efforts as a service provider to philanthropists while helping to inspire impactful community projects. She is a lifelong proponent of philanthropy, and throughout her 29-year career, she’s experienced its ability to have a lasting – and meaningful – impact on communities. She previously served as executive vice president for the Daniels Fund, grew up in New Orleans (Geaux Saints), and earned her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado. Her family relocated from Denver in 2021, and they have fallen in love with the beauty and magic of Northern Colorado.

Will Toor

Executive Director — Colorado Energy Office

In January 2019, Will Toor joined the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) as its Executive Director appointed by Governor Jared Polis. Will’s background spans transportation electrification, sustainable transportation, smart growth, electric vehicle policy, clean energy finance, green building policy, local government policy and regional planning. Prior to his post at the CEO, Will was Transportation Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). Before SWEEP, Will served as Boulder County Commissioner for eight years. where he led the effort to create and adopt a countywide Sustainable Energy Plan, the BuildSmart green building code, the EnergySmart program, and the ClimateSmart Loan Program. Prior to being elected Boulder County Commissioner, Will served as Mayor of Boulder for six years where he developed Boulder’s community transit network, EcoPass unlimited access transit pass programs, and policies for denser, mixed-use urban infill development as an alternative to sprawl.

Grant Tupper

Director of operations and business development, Rocky Mountain Region — Select Water Solutions

Grant Tupper has been in the industrial water space in Colorado for the past 12 years. As the Rocky Mountain Region business development and operations director with Select Water Solutions, Tupper procures water sources for developing needs in the oil and gas space and designs and orchestrates the construction of innovative produced water recycling facilities. Grant has recently been charged with forecasting infrastructure needs throughout the region and creating a symbiotic relationship among major O&G organizations for build-out in preparation for Colorado’s long-term energy needs. Appointed to the Colorado Produced Water Consortium in 2023, Tupper aspires to be a resource that allows for increased sustainability in the energy industry while protecting Colorado’s environment for generations to come.

Kamala Vanderkolk

Business Development — National Car Charging (NCC) – Colorado & Virginia

Kamala has been excited about electric vehicles for the past decade. That excitement turned to passion when she took delivery of her first EV in 2016. Since then, she has racked up 275,000+ EV miles, taken her children all over the United States and Canada (47 states and 2 provinces and counting) via EV.

Her passion for EVs carried over into legislation. In 2019, she penned a bill (HB19-1298) that was approved and signed into law in an effort to protect charging station-outfitted EV parking spaces and electric fueling access in Colorado.

Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Kamala is a graduate of James Madison University where she majored in Media Arts & Design.

She’s lived in Colorado since 2011, and is mom to two kids, revolving exchange students, and a dog named Lucy. She loves skiing in the winter, paddleboarding in the summer, baking, and traveling.

Brent Waller

President and Partner — FrontRange H2O

The past twenty-five years Mr. Waller has invested, developed, and owned projects that include industrial wastewater and municipal water projects, as well as water rights and water pipeline development. He spent the previous nine years as an executive with a Forbes 100 private family investment office of AG Hill-Hunt, investing more than $800 million in oil and gas projects, water technologies and real estate. He is currently President and partner of Front Range H2O, a water development company with positions in Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming. He is also an investing partner in water treatment and technology companies focused on industrial and municipal solutions for beneficial reuse. B.S Business, Texas Tech University. 

Patrick Wells

Water Strategy Specialist — Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District

Patrick Wells is an engineer with over 25 years of experience in the water resources, utilities, and environmental professions.  Mr. Wells joined Northern Water in February 2023 as a Water Strategy Specialist where he currently works on a wide range of projects and initiatives involving water policy and strategy, water rights protection, resource management, and regional water negotiations and collaborations.  Prior to joining Northern Water, Mr. Wells served as the General Manager of Water Resources & Demand Management for Colorado Springs Utilities, where he oversaw a department of over 30 employees responsible for integrated water resource planning, water rights protection and development, water conservation, watershed health, and related water resource management activities for the State’s second largest municipal water provider.  He has been actively involved in the Basin Roundtable process since its inception under House Bill 1177 in 2005 and currently serves as a Governor’s Appointee to the Interbasin Compact Committee.   Mr. Wells holds a B.S. in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.  

Nicholas Wharton

Town Manager — Town of Severance

 Nicholas J. Wharton earned a graduate certificate in Historic Preservation, an MA in Public History, and an MPA with a concentration in local government from the University of Colorado at Denver. Nicholas started his career in local government as a DOLA Best and Brightest Intern for the Town of Severance in January 2014 and was promoted to Assistant Town Administrator in June of 2014. In June of 2018, he was given the opportunity to become Town Manager for Severance where he is currently employed.

Cassidy White

Senior Associate — WestWater Research

Cassidy White is a Senior Associate at WestWater Research’s Fort Collins, CO office and one of the company’s strategy development leads. Cassidy started her career with WestWater as an intern in 2021 and has been a full-time member of the Colorado team since 2022. Ms. White’s expertise includes water supply strategy development as well as providing financial and economic insights on the value of water, water risk, and water market dynamics. Cassidy’s portfolio includes water supply and acquisition strategy development, providing market consultation services, leading water asset valuation analyses, and contributing to water right transaction research in the Rocky Mountain region.

Cassidy brings experience working with municipalities, multi-billion dollar energy and mining clients, state agencies, investors, Native American tribes, and farmers. Her skillset includes working with complex data sets, performing statistical analyses, and utilizing programs including Microsoft Office, R, and GIS platforms as well as professional writing and public speaking. Cassidy has been directly involved with initiating water deals including buyer representation, outreach to sellers, and presenting offers. She is increasingly recognized as a regional water expert in Colorado and has been invited to speak on water and economics at conferences and to graduate classes.

Cassidy holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University where she specialized in Water Resource Management. Prior to her graduate studies, Cassidy worked in corporate water sustainability where she developed water stewardship strategies for Fortune 500 companies. Cassidy graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Montana.