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Deb Overn, President
Deb has worked as a teacher and as Volunteer Coordinator for the Denver Audubon Society’s Urban Education Project. After receiving her J.D., Order of St. Ives, she undertook a federal judicial clerkship and worked with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (n/k/a Earth Justice). She entered private practice but continued to do environmental pro-bono work, including as a member of CLEAN-IT!, a group advocating better clean up of the Shattuck Radium Site. Deb currently works in the Denver City Attorney’s Office where she represents the Dept. of Aviation in environmental issues, economic development, real estate transactions, and remediation and land disposition at the former Stapleton International Airport. A mapper and hike leader for Wild Connections, she joined the Board in 2005. Deb can be reached at deb@wildconnections.org
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Tod Bacigalupi - Vice-president
Tod has been with Wild Connections since 1995 as a mapper, part of the team that crafted the Wild Connections Conservation Plan and on the Board of Directors. He is the author of Ecosytem Services: Their Economic Value and Place in Land Use Planning. He retired from Metropolitan State College in Denver where he taught courses in research, statistics, society and the environment. He is on the Executive Committee of the Mount Evans Group of the Sierra Club and the Board of Directors of the South Platte Enhancement Board. Tod lives in Conifer and can be reached at treeshed@earthlink.net
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Alison Gallensky, Secretary/Treasurer
Alison joined Wild Connections soon after it was formed in 1995 and was a field volunteer for several seasons of inventory work in the Browns Canyon and Aspen Ridge areas between Buena Vista and Salida. The detailed mapping work being done by Wild Connections and other groups prompted a career change for her. She completed a Certificate program in Geographic Information Systems in 2003 from the University of Denver. She now provides mapping and GIS services for the environmental community at the Center for Native Ecosystems. She can be reached at alison@wildconnections.org.
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| Eric Dec
Eric has been associated with Wild Connections for many years and was part of the team of mappers who documented the boundaries of roadless areas in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. He particularly enjoys taking his young children out to investigate bugs, birds and other critters of this world. He is a product manager with special skills in non-profit organization technology and support. He lives in Boulder and can be reached at ericdec@hotmail.com
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Claude Neumann
Claude has been involved with Wild Connections since its early years doing field work, leading conservation hikes and later as a board member. He is a member of the Colorado Mountain Club, involved with the club's conservation and policy efforts, and is chairman of the club's Denver Group Conservation committee. His currently coordinates a protective effort for the 30,000 acre Front Range roadless area near Denver, a citizen proposed wilderness area. Claude has gained a working knowledge of government and regulatory processes as an Engineer in building code enforcement for the City of Denver. He can be reached at claudeneumann@earthlink.net.
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| Lee Patton
Lee joined the Board in 2005, having done volunteer mapping for Wild Connections since 1996. After working for over twenty years as a high school teacher and instructional coach for Douglas County Schools, he’s now a full-time freelance writer. He has published fiction, poetry, op-ed journalism, travel writing, as well as general nonfiction, and has had several plays showcased nationwide, including the environmental comedy, "Coyotes: An Invasion in Fifteen Scenes," produced Off-Off Broadway in 1997. He lives in Denver’s West Washington Park and can be reached at lee_patton@hotmail.com.
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| Jim Lockhart
Jim has been with Wild Connections since 1995 as a mapper, and later as a Board member and one of the compilers of the Wild Connections Conservation Plan. He has mapped areas in Arkansas River canyons and Sangre de Cristo range. He is active in the Pikes Peak Sierra Club Group as part of their Executive Committee and leader fo many outings to backcountry areas. He is a legal writer and member of the Colorado State Bar, and lives in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at jlock@datawest.net.
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| Michael Rogers
Michael volunteered to map roadless areas for Wild Connections a number of years ago. Soon he became the Policy and Programs Director. He led the team of Board members that published the Wild Connections Conservation Plan, and he initiated the Recaliming Wildways restoration project in Trout Creek. Although he is no longer on staff, he continues to advise us. He lives in Colorado Springs and can be reached at michaelloveswilderness@yahoo.com
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Jean Smith (ex officio)
Jean has been active in public lands protection in Colorado since 1992 and founded Wild Connections in 1995. Prior to that she and her husband Art (deceased) spent 20 years in the global village development movement facilitated by the Institute of Cultural Affairs. For many years she served on the Board of the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project, and was one of the authors of the Southern Rockies Network Vision. Jean lives in Florissant and continues to volunteer as our bookkeeper and web master. She can be reached at jean@wildconnections.org.
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| John Stansfield
John is a professional storyteller and writer who has been active in public lands and wilderness issues for more than 35 years. His environmental involvement has been focused through the Pikes Peak Group of Sierra Club, the Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition, and Wild Connections, on whose board he has served for more than 10 years. Among other books, he is the author of biographies celebrating two noted Colorado environmentalists, Enos Mills, the "father" of Rocky Mountain National Park, and world-famous musician John Denver. John lives in Larkspur and can be reached at jorcstan@juno.com
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The Board is always interested in adding new persepctives and new skills. If you would like to discuss serving, please contact Deb Overn at deb@wildconnections.org
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