The People Behind Forever Our Rivers

Jim is a Professor Emeritus of Management at Colorado State University and the National President of Sigma Iota Epsilon, the honor society and professional fraternity of the Academy of Management. He is the founder and former director of the Beverage Business Institute and the Center for Professional Development and Business Research in the College of Business, where he created certificates in Beverage Business Management and non-profit management. As a management consultant to clients in the private and public sectors, he has worked with a wide variety of businesses and organizations and has served on boards of directors and advisory councils for corporations, public institutions, and not-for-profit organizations including NCAA Faculty Athletics, NCAA Council, Board of Directors of the College Football Association, Mountain-Pacific Sports Federation, Mountain West Joint Council, Student-Athlete Academic Committee, the Black Business Scholars organization and the local chapter of Sigma Iota Epsilon. He has also been an owner/operator of two small businesses and has worked for a Fortune 100 firm in organization development. Jim holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Management/Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations, respectively, and a B.A. degree in Economics from Central College of Iowa.

Chip has worked over 35 years, most of that time as a corporate officer, for a family-owned construction and construction management company specializing in development and management of water and wastewater treatment projects. Chip retired at age 55 and since 2005 began his second career as a full-time community volunteer, with an emphasis on river conservation. He is a founder of the Friends of the Verde River Greenway, a nonprofit watershed organization that has created successful collaboration between public land managers and private landowners working to restore riparian habitat. Within the Verde River watershed, he continues his work on all aspects of river conservation, including the development of collaborative partnerships, sustainable funding for conservation NGOs, riparian restoration, flow restoration, sustainable river recreation and tourism, groundwater pumping mitigation and sustainable land management. When not volunteering, Chip can be found rafting the Grand Canyon or other great rivers in the West.

Ann joins Forever Our Rivers after 15 years in land and water conservation. As executive director of the Crested Butte Land Trust (CO), Ann conserved wetlands and other ecologically significant lands, local ranches, and hiking and biking trails. During her tenure, the organization tripled its operating capacity and achieved national accreditation. She completed several award-winning river restoration projects and was instrumental in bringing together diverse viewpoints to resolve a 30-year long conflict over the use and protection of Snodgrass Mountain.

Ann later served as the Russian River program manager for the Sonoma Land Trust (CA). She was responsible for creating a land and water conservation strategy to protect the natural processes of the river while meeting social and economic needs. Climate adaptation and the voices of underserved communities were key aspects of her conservation planning.

Ann is serving her second term as commissioner for the Land Trust Accreditation Commission (NY). Prior to that, she served an appointment by Colorado’s governor to the Conservation Easement Oversight Commission (CO). She holds a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in natural resources.

When not working you will find Ann outside with her husband Dave, enjoying the rivers and mountains of Colorado’s western slope.

Originally from Minnesota, Amy feels most at home when she's near water. Growing up, Amy spent her time catching minnows with her dad in a stream near their family farm and fishing on lakes and rivers in northern Minnesota. More recently, she has enjoyed kayaking, swimming, and rafting the waters of Colorado near her home in Glenwood Springs.

Amy brings extensive marketing and design experience to Forever Our Rivers Foundation, along with a love for cultivating meaningful relationships with others. Her previous experiences with a community foundation and volunteer service with local nonprofits have increased her knowledge of fundraising, grantmaking, and the collaboration it takes to keep moving nonprofits forward.

In addition to her time with Forever Our Rivers, Amy enjoys paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, and traveling with her family. If you can’t find her in the great outdoors, then she’s most likely cuddled under some blankets, indulging in a great book.