2007 Elections Information
Board of Directors

2007 Board Elections Info

On November 8, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado (SASCO) voted to alter the term for Board members from three years to two. There are six seats to be filled, four for 2-year terms (2008-2009), and two for 1-year terms (2008). Two current Board members are seeking re-election (Rebecca Koeppen and Denise Rue-Pastin) and seven are continuing.

We invite additional nominations of individuals who would bring enthusiasm for sustainability to the Board of Directors. To be included on the ballot, nominees must be 2008 members and also submit a short bio (100–150 words). See below for details. 

Responsibilities

Expectations for SASCO Board members are:

• Attendance at a daylong January retreat, if possible, subject to the difficulty of finding a single date that works for everyone;

• Commitment to miss no more than two Board meetings annually (customarily on the 2nd Thursday of each month), except for extraordinary circumstances, and to inform the Chair of impending absences or inability to attend the entire meeting;

• Commitment to participate actively in the work of at least one committee (presently, Education & Outreach, Food/Agriculture/Farm-to-School, Policy, Smart Energy, Sustainable Local Economic Development); and

• Support for the organization at the Supporter level ($50) or higher, if possible. 

Eligibility

In order to stand for the Board of Directors or vote in the Board election, you must officially join SASCO or renew your membership no later than Monday, December 3, 2007. Our new donations page outlines our 2008 dues schedule and offers options for donating online, downloading a mail-in application form, earmarking funds, and volunteering your time.

Procedure

• Nominations of 2008 members, including a statement of willingness to serve and a 100–150 bio, must be received by e-mail or by regular mail (P.O. Box 113, Durango, CO 81302) no later than Monday, December 3, 2007.

• Ballots will be distributed to 2008 members by e-mail no later than Thursday, December 6, 2007.

• Ballots received by e-mail or by regular mail (P.O. Box 113, Durango, CO 81302) by 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 13, 2007, will be tallied at the SASCO Annual Meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Durango City Council Chambers.

Board of Directors
November 2007

Seeking Re-election in 2008–09:

Rebecca Koeppen, Vice Chair (2006–07)

Rebecca Koeppen is a holistic health consultant, artist, wife, mother, grandmother, activist, and minister (in varying order, depending on the day). She was involved with the conception and formation of SASCO, which she considers an honor and a privilege. She believes that preparations must be made by everyone at many levels if we are to face the coming monumental changes of peak oil and global warming with anything less than destructive chaos. Working with the kindred spirits at SASCO has empowered Rebecca to take part in these preparations and to have hope and excitement about the future. She wishes to continue in her position as Vice-Chair so she can continue working to “open the green umbrella” of education, organization, collaboration, policy change, and plan-implementation under which La Plata County and the Four Corners region can thrive. Rebecca is also on the Board of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.

Denise Rue-Pastin (2007)

Denise Rue-Pastin is founder and Chair of the Southwest Organization for Sustainability (SOS) in Archuleta County. She earned her M.A. in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver, with undergraduate work in Industrial Technology and a double minor in Alternative Energy Systems and Speech and Communication. She is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policy intending to focus on sustainability and water issues. Professions include solar design work and more than a decade of consulting experience with the U.S. Department of Energy's Conservation and Renewable Energy Program and Biomass Program. Currently she is the Water Information Program Manager for the Southwestern Water Conservation District. She has been featured and interviewed in numerous publications, written professional articles for national and regional environmental journals, and is an invited speaker and activist. Her interest in serving on the SASCO Board stems from a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, with a focus on promoting regional coordination.

Continuing Members:

Jim Dyer (2006–08)

Jim Dyer is Director of the Colorado Organic Producers Association, Project Director for the Southwest Marketing Network, and teaches and consults on agriculture, water, and environmental issues. He raises Navajo Churro sheep near Marvel, Colorado, and helps his wife Pam with their wool business, Dyers Wool. Jim earned a B.S. in Meteorology and an M.A. in Natural Science. In past lives, he has been a meteorologist, a community college professor for 10 years, run a sustainable agriculture education farm, and directed programs at Rocky Mountain Institute for 6 years. Jim has served on advisory groups for The Land Institute and Colorado State University Extension, chaired the Administrative Council of the USDA's Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and is on the Board of the Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado (SASCO).

Werner Heiber (2006–08)

Werner Heiber has desired to live more sustainably all his life. He grew up in Basel, Switzerland and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Basel, New York, and Salt Lake City, first synthesizing new pharmaceuticals drugs, then specializing in transdermal drug delivery. In Switzerland, he completed an apprenticeship in chemistry, while in the U.S. he obtained a B.S. degree in chemistry from Adelphi University and certificate degrees in Urban Planning and Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the University of Utah. His passion has always been energy-efficient homes, gardening, and the outdoors. Werner built his first passive solar house in 1975. Since his early retirement from the pharmaceutical industry, he has worked on energy efficient homes, including as a Vista Volunteer on a demonstration house for Utah State University. Since moving to Southwest Colorado, he has helped start up a rural cohousing community, built strawbale houses, and run an affordable housing non-profit building mutual self-help houses. One of the affordable houses he designed achieved an E-Star rating of 92. Werner has been involved with the sustainability movement in Durango since 2002 and presently heads up SASCO’s Education and Outreach team. He lives in Durango, while exploring his passion of highly energy-efficient clustered homes combined with productive gardens.

Julie Levy (2006, 2007–09)

Julie Levy was hired in 2007 as the Programs Manager for the Regional Housing Alliance (RHA) of La Plata County, to oversee the creation of a $10 million investment fund, spearhead the development of a comprehensive homebuyer services program, and advance local policy that will foster housing opportunities. Previously, Julie worked for the Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado as the Community Development Coordinator, managed several successful political campaigns, and worked for the Fort Lewis College Environmental Center. She has also been involved with community development in Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central America, and East Asia. Julie is a Colorado native and has lived in Durango since 2001, where she is active in economic development activities, energy projects, and sustaining a diverse community. Julie received her B.A. from Fort Lewis College in Political Science and Environmental Sciences and is pursuing her M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Colorado. Julie enjoys the mountains surrounding her community, performing in a circus-theater group, and learning to play the violin.

Lisa Mastny, Secretary (2007–09)

Lisa Mastny has worked on sustainability issues for more than 15 years. She has spent the last nine at the Worldwatch Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., where her responsibilities include editing the bi-monthly World Watch magazine and other publications, as well as overseeing the ongoing project on sustainable production and consumption. Lisa has contributed chapters to Worldwatch's popular State of the World and Vital Signs reports as well as other publications and projects. Her work has been featured in national and international print, online, and broadcast media. Lisa holds a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and dual M.A.s in International Relations and Environmental Management from Yale University. A Durango resident, her main motivation for serving on the SASCO Board is to bring her global knowledge and background to help foster sustainable solutions at the local level to meet the challenges of projected growth.

Katy Pepinsky (2006; 2007–09, Secretary 2006)

Katy Pepinsky has worked on sustainable food and agricultural initiatives for the past seven years. After completing a degree in Botany at Auburn University, Katy’s interest in agriculture was sparked by a two-year Peace Corps stint in Bolivia, where she lived and worked with families involved in subsistence agriculture. After returning from Bolivia, Katy moved to Colorado to work with an agricultural cooperative, Tres Rios, which provided marketing and distribution services for 13 organic farmers in Colorado and New Mexico. In 2004, Katy began her M.A. in Agricultural Education at Colorado State University, and while in school managed Colorado Crop to Cuisine, a micro-distribution effort in Northern Colorado that connected area growers to restaurant, grocery, and buying-club retailers. Since moving to Durango in 2005, she has collaborated with the Growing Partners of Southwest Colorado on a countywide food assessment and worked with the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and the Southwest Marketing Network. In 2007, Katy took a position as Program Assistant with the La Plata County Extension Office, where she helps coordinate the Colorado Master Gardener program, the 4-H youth leadership program, and Healthy Lifestyle La Plata Coalition’s Healthy, Local Foods committee. Katy is part of the SASCO Farm-to-School Committee and is interested in the infrastructure and policy support that SASCO can lend to sustainable agricultural and food efforts in the community.

Tom Riesing, Treasurer (2006–08)

Tom Riesing is a retired Wall Street researcher and investment banker. After teaching at Harvard Business School, he worked for over 20 years at Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and CS First Boston. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Colorado and a PhD in economics and finance from M.I.T.'s Sloan School of Management. Tom is one of the organizers of SASCO and is the group’s treasurer. In 2002, he completed certification training in Permaculture Design and completed Permaculture teacher training. In 2003, Tom and his partner Christie Berven founded Oakhaven Permaculture Center. In the summers of 2004–06 he organized popular Oakhaven's Swadeshi festivals celebrating local self-sufficiency and sustainability. In 2005, he completed certification training in Zero Emissions (ZERI) and systems thinking.

Dick White, Chair (2006–08)

Dick White has been involved with the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado (SASCO) since the group’s conception at the 2004 La Plata Community Summit. He has served as Chair since the formal establishment of SASCO on 2006. He is a former astronomy professor at Smith College and now describes himself as a sustainability advocate. Dick has served for three years (2005–2007) on the Board of the Southwest Colorado Renewable Energy Society and also serves on the Board of the La Boca Center for Sustainability. He also works on climate protection issues and is active in outreach efforts by Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI). Dick believes that sustainability is the central challenge of our time, that meeting the challenge must involve local communities becoming more self-reliant, and that SASCO has a central role to play fostering sustainability in local communities in the Four Corners region.