CCWC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CCWC Board from L to R:
(top) John Hess, Shea Earley, Tim Szurgot, Jim Starr,
(bottom) Nicki Gibney, Ashley Hom, Harvey Castro
(top) John Hess, Shea Earley, Tim Szurgot, Jim Starr,
(bottom) Nicki Gibney, Ashley Hom, Harvey Castro
Shea Earley, President of the Board
Shea has served on the Board since 2016 and has served on the CCWC Technical Committee since 2014. Shea and his family moved to the Gunnison Valley in 2008. Since 2008, Shea has worked as a geotechnical technician, an electrician and currently works for the Town of Crested Butte as the Director of Public Works. Shea has a deep passion for the wilderness that surrounds the Crested Butte area and, since his first days of exploring the area, he has always felt that it deserves to be treated with the utmost respect. His concern for the environment, specifically in water quality, has spurred his involvement with CCWC. Furthermore, he is concerned about the stresses on the environment due to development and recreational usage. He strives to always work with the community and to understand the interaction between people and the beautiful environment that surrounds us all. Shea hopes that through scientific research and outreach education, we can find a middle ground where both the environment and the people that use it can be happy.
Tim Szurgot, Vice President of the Board
Tim joined the Board in May of 2017. He is dedicated to preserving the high quality water found in the Coal Creek and Slate River for future generations. As a year round resident in the Slate River valley he not only drinks the water, he plays in it too. He is looking forward to learning about the effects of mining and recreation on the quality of water. Having grown up next to the steel mills of Northwest Indiana, he over-appreciates the blessing of clean water. He hopes to raise awareness on the importance of water quality and to help preserve this critical resource for his children.
Tim can be contacted at t_szurgot@yahoo.com.
John Hess, Treasurer/Secretary of the Board
John is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors, and was Crested Butte's Town Planner for 23 years. He not only drinks the water but also provides a Town perspective, helps with grant writing and reporting, and land use planning. John heralds from West Seneca, NY, holds a Master of Architecture and has been a resident of Crested Butte since 1990 and with the CCWC since its inception. John is concerned about water quality and potential impacts to the Towns' water source, and to wildlife in the watersheds we serve. He has a strong interest in understanding water quality and how the quality could be affected by development in the town's watershed. He hopes to see a well-established water quality database for future effective remediation, and see the implementation of best management practices in the watershed to restore its health.
John can be contacted at johnthehess@centurylink.net .
Harvey Castro, Board Member
Harvey has served as an informed Crested Butte citizen on the Coalition since the beginning of the organization. Harvey has lived in Crested Butte since 1994, and besides also drinking the water, he is concerned with maintaining a high quality water supply for the Town and maintaining a healthy ecosystem to support all plant and animal life in the watershed. With an MBA in management, and experience in development and presentation of written and graphic materials, meeting dynamics and organizational skills, he brings a lot to the administration of the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition. Expectations for the coming years and beyond include water (including storm-water runoff) sampling and strategies for remediation, and a better understanding of the impact of the iron fen on water quality.
Harvey can be contacted at hbcastro@rmi.net.
Jim Starr, Board Member
Jim has lived in Crested Butte since 1978, and has always played an active role in the community. He began as a member of the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR), this led him to joining the Town Council and becoming the Town Attorney. Jim was then a County Commisioner in Gunnison County, serving for 12 years. Jim decided to join the Board for the CCWC due to his concern for maintaining high water quality in Coal Creek and its surrounding streams. He hopes to see the CCWC follow through with reliable water quality monitoring and active mitigation of harmful pollutant sources. He also hopes CCWC will initiate and partner with other interested entities to expand monitoring and knowledge of the watershed.
Jim can be reached at 349-5363, and mail can be sent to PO Box 1157.
Nicki Gibney, Board Member
Nicki joined the Board in June 2017. She originally moved to Crested Butte in 2010 for a year long Americorps VISTA position with CCWC. She left the valley for a couple years to get a Master of Science degree in Watershed Science from Utah State University. Afterward she returned to the area fOr a position at Curecanti National Recreation Area and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to manage the aquatics program for the parks. Nicki joined the Board because she believes in the large impact a small group of concerned citizens can make on the health of a watershed. She hopes to see continued work to restore abandoned mines in the area, as well as additional effort put toward working with recreational users to help ensure continued protection of our beautiful watersheds as usage increases. Overall, she wants to help protect the natural areas that make this area unique for future generations to enjoy!
Nicki can be contacted at ndgibney@gmail.com.
Jeff Writer, Board Member
Dr. Jeff Writer‘s career has integrated his enthusiasm for teaching others with his extensive scientific background in water related research. He has a Masters and PhD from the University of Colorado in Environmental Engineering and taught secondary through university students for over 24 years, receiving the Colorado Conservation Teacher of the Year in 2002. While teaching at the Crested Butte Community School, his students worked with local authorities to clean up the Peanut Mine, which was recognized in 2008 as the most successful mine reclamation project in the country. Dr. Writer’s research focuses on water issues ranging from understanding carbon and nutrient export from burned watersheds to understanding the fate and transport of pharmaceutical compounds in river systems. Dr. Writer has served as a community advisor on multiple projects ranging from source-water protection to public outreach projects and is excited to re-engage with water issues in our fortunate position at the top of the Gunnison River watershed. He looks forward to finding any excuse to get into the surrounding watersheds, whether skiing, backpacking with his wife and dog, or water sampling with the amazing folks committed to protecting water quality in our valley.
Ashley Hom, Technical Consultant
Ashley is a forest hydrologist with the US Forest Service. She works out of the Gunnison Ranger District, but also covers hydrology issues for the Grand Mesa, and Uncompahgre National Forests. She has her Master of Science from the Geography Department out of the University of Montana- Missoula. Her thesis lead her to West Africa, Mali, for research in water quality. Her course work and job experience has been focused on fluvial geomorphology, oil and gas permitting, meadow restoration, and recreation management. She has a thirst for healthy watersheds, and feels the Forest Service plays a huge part in the healthiness of the watersheds above and around Crested Butte. The desired condition of the area takes thoughtful planning, monitoring, restoration and long-term thinking to keep up with the high use of the area today (recreation) and the historical uses of the past (mining).
Shea has served on the Board since 2016 and has served on the CCWC Technical Committee since 2014. Shea and his family moved to the Gunnison Valley in 2008. Since 2008, Shea has worked as a geotechnical technician, an electrician and currently works for the Town of Crested Butte as the Director of Public Works. Shea has a deep passion for the wilderness that surrounds the Crested Butte area and, since his first days of exploring the area, he has always felt that it deserves to be treated with the utmost respect. His concern for the environment, specifically in water quality, has spurred his involvement with CCWC. Furthermore, he is concerned about the stresses on the environment due to development and recreational usage. He strives to always work with the community and to understand the interaction between people and the beautiful environment that surrounds us all. Shea hopes that through scientific research and outreach education, we can find a middle ground where both the environment and the people that use it can be happy.
Tim Szurgot, Vice President of the Board
Tim joined the Board in May of 2017. He is dedicated to preserving the high quality water found in the Coal Creek and Slate River for future generations. As a year round resident in the Slate River valley he not only drinks the water, he plays in it too. He is looking forward to learning about the effects of mining and recreation on the quality of water. Having grown up next to the steel mills of Northwest Indiana, he over-appreciates the blessing of clean water. He hopes to raise awareness on the importance of water quality and to help preserve this critical resource for his children.
Tim can be contacted at t_szurgot@yahoo.com.
John Hess, Treasurer/Secretary of the Board
John is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors, and was Crested Butte's Town Planner for 23 years. He not only drinks the water but also provides a Town perspective, helps with grant writing and reporting, and land use planning. John heralds from West Seneca, NY, holds a Master of Architecture and has been a resident of Crested Butte since 1990 and with the CCWC since its inception. John is concerned about water quality and potential impacts to the Towns' water source, and to wildlife in the watersheds we serve. He has a strong interest in understanding water quality and how the quality could be affected by development in the town's watershed. He hopes to see a well-established water quality database for future effective remediation, and see the implementation of best management practices in the watershed to restore its health.
John can be contacted at johnthehess@centurylink.net .
Harvey Castro, Board Member
Harvey has served as an informed Crested Butte citizen on the Coalition since the beginning of the organization. Harvey has lived in Crested Butte since 1994, and besides also drinking the water, he is concerned with maintaining a high quality water supply for the Town and maintaining a healthy ecosystem to support all plant and animal life in the watershed. With an MBA in management, and experience in development and presentation of written and graphic materials, meeting dynamics and organizational skills, he brings a lot to the administration of the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition. Expectations for the coming years and beyond include water (including storm-water runoff) sampling and strategies for remediation, and a better understanding of the impact of the iron fen on water quality.
Harvey can be contacted at hbcastro@rmi.net.
Jim Starr, Board Member
Jim has lived in Crested Butte since 1978, and has always played an active role in the community. He began as a member of the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR), this led him to joining the Town Council and becoming the Town Attorney. Jim was then a County Commisioner in Gunnison County, serving for 12 years. Jim decided to join the Board for the CCWC due to his concern for maintaining high water quality in Coal Creek and its surrounding streams. He hopes to see the CCWC follow through with reliable water quality monitoring and active mitigation of harmful pollutant sources. He also hopes CCWC will initiate and partner with other interested entities to expand monitoring and knowledge of the watershed.
Jim can be reached at 349-5363, and mail can be sent to PO Box 1157.
Nicki Gibney, Board Member
Nicki joined the Board in June 2017. She originally moved to Crested Butte in 2010 for a year long Americorps VISTA position with CCWC. She left the valley for a couple years to get a Master of Science degree in Watershed Science from Utah State University. Afterward she returned to the area fOr a position at Curecanti National Recreation Area and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to manage the aquatics program for the parks. Nicki joined the Board because she believes in the large impact a small group of concerned citizens can make on the health of a watershed. She hopes to see continued work to restore abandoned mines in the area, as well as additional effort put toward working with recreational users to help ensure continued protection of our beautiful watersheds as usage increases. Overall, she wants to help protect the natural areas that make this area unique for future generations to enjoy!
Nicki can be contacted at ndgibney@gmail.com.
Jeff Writer, Board Member
Dr. Jeff Writer‘s career has integrated his enthusiasm for teaching others with his extensive scientific background in water related research. He has a Masters and PhD from the University of Colorado in Environmental Engineering and taught secondary through university students for over 24 years, receiving the Colorado Conservation Teacher of the Year in 2002. While teaching at the Crested Butte Community School, his students worked with local authorities to clean up the Peanut Mine, which was recognized in 2008 as the most successful mine reclamation project in the country. Dr. Writer’s research focuses on water issues ranging from understanding carbon and nutrient export from burned watersheds to understanding the fate and transport of pharmaceutical compounds in river systems. Dr. Writer has served as a community advisor on multiple projects ranging from source-water protection to public outreach projects and is excited to re-engage with water issues in our fortunate position at the top of the Gunnison River watershed. He looks forward to finding any excuse to get into the surrounding watersheds, whether skiing, backpacking with his wife and dog, or water sampling with the amazing folks committed to protecting water quality in our valley.
Ashley Hom, Technical Consultant
Ashley is a forest hydrologist with the US Forest Service. She works out of the Gunnison Ranger District, but also covers hydrology issues for the Grand Mesa, and Uncompahgre National Forests. She has her Master of Science from the Geography Department out of the University of Montana- Missoula. Her thesis lead her to West Africa, Mali, for research in water quality. Her course work and job experience has been focused on fluvial geomorphology, oil and gas permitting, meadow restoration, and recreation management. She has a thirst for healthy watersheds, and feels the Forest Service plays a huge part in the healthiness of the watersheds above and around Crested Butte. The desired condition of the area takes thoughtful planning, monitoring, restoration and long-term thinking to keep up with the high use of the area today (recreation) and the historical uses of the past (mining).
CCWC STAFF
ASHLEY BEMBENEK
Executive Director
Ashley has been with the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition since 2011. Ashley moved to the Gunnison Valley in 2010. She was attracted to the valley’s excellent outdoor activities and quickly became involved with local watershed groups. Ashley graduated with honors from Montana State University with a degree in environmental science that focused on soil and water. Ashley loves to ski, mountain bike, climb, and is currently learning to kayak.
Email Ashley at abembenek@yahoo.com |
ALLI DEL GIZZI
Field & Administrative Coordinator
Alli graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with her degree in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology in 2014 and has spent time working in the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean, and all over Colorado. She started volunteering with the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition in 2017 while living in the Gunnison Valley. Alli is excited to call the valley home and spends her off time skiing, backpacking, and climbing.
Email Alli at alli.delgizzi@gmail.com |
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Coal Creek Watershed Coalition PO Box 925 Crested Butte, CO 81224 |
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← 3% Fundraising + 14% Administrative
From 2019-2021 83% of Coal Creek Watershed Coalition's total operating expenses were used for projects and programs that benefit our local watersheds. Learn More > |
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