Board Members – Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado
(as of December 15, 2011)
Steering Committee
Erich Bussian
Elsa Jagniecki
Lisa Mastny
M'Lissa Roulson
Other Board Members
Werner Heiber
Carolyn Moller
Conrad Wright
Board Members Emeritus
Erick Aune
Bliss Bruen
Carol Clark
Laurie Dickson
Keith Fox
Kim Herb
Sara Holt
Roy Horvath
Linda Illsley
Rebecca Koeppen
Laura Lewis Marchino
Julie Levy
Kelly Miller
Sue Morris
Katy Pepinsky
Marcus Renner
Denise Rue-Pastin
Eliza Searles
Tim Wheeler
Dick White
Terry Woodward
Board Member Bios
Erich Bussian
Erich has always felt that business is one of the strongest tools to address the problems facing our society. His career has focused on making a contribution not only to the organization with which he is associated, but to the general wellbeing of his community and to those beyond the horizon. By working with San Juan Bioenergy to develop renewable and sustainable energy, Erich is helping to create a future that does not rely on borrowing limited natural resources from future generations. Erich served as Construction Manager in the initial phase of San Juan Bioenergy and is now the Director of Business Development, focusing on developing business opportunities for the second and third phases of SJB's evolution. Erich holds an MSc. from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and maintains a positive perspective on changing how business is done. Thinking outside the box has always been one of his strengths. His business background encompasses a long career in international entrepreneurial business. He has been a Managing Partner with Rocky Mountain Equity Development LLC and has held senior management positions with MapQuest and AOL. He lives in Durango, Colorado, and is an active member in the local community and dedicated father to two crazy and beautiful teenagers. He also spends part of his time in Amsterdam where he struggles valiantly to learn Dutch.
Werner Heiber
Werner 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 pharmaceutical drugs, then specializing in transdermal drug delivery. In Switzerland, he completed an apprenticeship in chemistry, and in the United States he obtained a B.S. in chemistry from Adelphi University as well as certificate degrees in Urban Planning and Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the University of Utah. Werner’s passion has always been energy-efficient homes, gardening, and the outdoors. He 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. Werner has been involved with the sustainability movement in Durango, Colorado, since 2002. He lives in Durango while exploring his passion of highly energy-efficient clustered homes combined with productive gardens.
Elsa has lived in Durango for six years after graduating from Colorado State University with a BA in Anthropology. She left the community in 2009 to study her Master's in Sustainable Development in Karlskrona Sweden at Belkinge Institute of Technology where she researched and interviewed communities working with renewable energy generation in Sweden, Denmark and Germany for her master's thesis and a Process Tool for sustainable community renewable energy. With experience consulting on organizational development, process facilitation and strategic sustainable development, she is passionate about helping organizations move towards more sustainable futures through long-term visioning, internal development, capacity building, collaboration, and creative decision-making that incorporates principles of sustainability. She currently works for Durango Solar Works!, a local solar company, as their development, marketing and accounts specialist. In the past she has worked as a program coordinator for the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national wilderness advocacy non-profit, and as a Collaborative Communities Intern for the Center of a New American Dream's Collaborative Communities Program. Elsa enjoys gardening and volunteering time on community development projects around sustainability. Elsa currently acts as SASCO's communication manager.
Lisa Mastny
Lisa has worked on sustainability issues for more than 15 years. She has spent the last 10 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 Worldand 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 Sustainability Alliance 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. Lisa is currently the Online Media and Communications Director for the Center for A New American Dream.
Carolyn Moller
Carolyn has had a life-long interest in sustainability issues and recalls, at age 10, placing stickers next to every lamp in her house reminding her family to “save energy.” She grew up in rural western Maryland and worked in community organizing and public health for many years in the mid-Atlantic Highlands area. She volunteered with the Maryland Health Care for All initiative, worked on various water quality projects, and helped establish several poverty outreach programs in her hometown. She holds an MBA from Hood College and an MPP in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland. Locally, she volunteers on the boards of Durango Natural Foods and the Shanta Foundation. She currently works as a regional manager for a Southwest Colorado accounting and payroll firm. Carolyn uses her strong administrative skills and policy knowledge to help further the accomplishments of the Sustainability Alliance in cooperation with the Southwest Colorado community, helping this area continue to be an incredible place for generations to come.