our executive committee

Cara Gildar

Executive Director

Cara Gildar has lived in Montezuma County for 21 years. She is passionate about creating a framework that balances sustainable outdoor recreation and conservation and supports local communities. She brings to the Montelores Coalition a strong background in ecology and public land management. As Director of Corporate Support for local community radio she built partnerships with corporate partners and secured resources to advance mission-driven work.

Cara‘s career includes over 20 years of field work in ecology, reclamation and restoration and management of her own small orchard in Montezuma County. In addition to her on-the-ground experience, she has focused on strategic planning, relationship building, and fostering collaborations to address complex community challenges. At the Montelores Coalition, Cara is leading efforts to complete the strategic planning process and chart a clear path for implementation, ensuring that recreation, conservation, cultural resources, and economic opportunities are thoughtfully balanced in Montezuma and Dolores counties.

Cara is committed to strengthening relationships with diverse stakeholders, aligning the Coalition’s work with broader community goals, and leveraging resources to create lasting impact.

Thomas Rice

Chairperson – Recreation Staff Officer, San Juan National
Forest, Dolores Ranger District

Tom Rice has lived in the Four Corners region since 1987.

His career includes working as a boatman on rivers in southern Utah as well as the Environmental Protection Agency director for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and a variety of positions with the Bureau of Land Management . He currently works for the San Juan National Forest, Dolores Ranger District, as the Recreation Staff Officer.

Tom, his wife Kelly McAndrews and children Willa and Blair live in Montezuma Count

Joseph Manning

Vice Chair – Assistant Field Manager, Resources, BLM Tres Rios Field Office

Joseph Manning is the BLM Tres Rios Field Office Assistant Field Manager for Resources. He has served in various roles for land management agencies throughout the west. He particularly enjoys being in quiet, wild places.

Brian Bartlett

CEO, Mesa Verde Country

After a 33-year career in hotel and resort management, in markets as diverse as New York City and the Florida Keys, from Boulder, Colorado to Alaska – and almost everywhere in between, for industry leaders like Omni, Sonesta, Sage Hospitality, and Rockefeller Resorts, Brian Bartlett has joined the team at Mesa Verde Country! Brian started in the capacity of Communications and Marketing manager and recently aspired to the Tourism Director & CEO role.

Beth Cascaddan

Economic Development Director, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

Coming Soon

Lanea Donahoo

Owner, Podunk’s Ranch

Lanea Donahoo, born and raised in Cortez, CO, is the proud owner of Podunk’s Ranch, a thriving beef-producing operation. Growing up in Cortez, Lanea developed a deep-rooted passion for farming and land stewardship.

Lanea pursued higher education at the University of Arizona, earning a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with minors in Renewable Natural Resources and Wildlife Biology and Fisheries Science, along with teaching credentials in Agricultural Education. This comprehensive education equipped her with a well-rounded understanding of agricultural systems and sustainable practices.

After graduation, Lanea briefly taught agricultural education in Beaufort, North Carolina. She then dedicated several years to homeschooling her four children before returning to high school education, where she taught numerous disciplines within the curriculum of Family and Consumer Sciences for many years in Aztec, New Mexico.

Five years ago, Lanea returned to Cortez with a mission to preserve her family’s generational land. She founded Podunk’s Ranch, named after a nickname given to her by her grandpa, transforming it into a flourishing venture. Her dedication to sustainable and regenerative farming practices has made Podunk’s Ranch a model of community heritage and agricultural excellence.

Today, Podunk’s Ranch stands as a testament to Lanea’s commitment to agriculture, education, and family legacy. Her journey reflects a lifelong dedication to the land and the values it represents, inspiring her community and promoting sustainable farming practices for future generations.

James Dietrich

Natural Resources Planning and Public Lands Coordinator, Montezuma County

James Dietrich is the Natural Resources Director for Montezuma County, where he works to balance community growth with the protection of land, water, wildlife, and recreation. With a background in landscape architecture and planning, he partners with federal, state, and local agencies to find collaborative solutions for land use, infrastructure, and conservation.

A lifelong outdoorsman, James enjoys hunting, hiking, rafting, and camping with his family, experiences that give him a personal stake in preserving the landscapes that make the Four Corners region unique. He is dedicated to ensuring natural resource policies both support the local economy and protect the places that residents and visitors value most.

Jamin Grigg

Senior Wildlife Biologist, Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Jamin Grigg has spent the last three years as the Senior Wildlife Biologist for CPW’s Southwest Region. Prior to his current role, he was an Area Wildlife Biologist for 14 years in Craig and Salida. Originally from the Durango area, a lifelong love for wildlife and wild places led Jamin back to the SW after 20 years away. His passions consist of enjoying and managing the natural resources in SW Colorado, which have shaped his life since he was a kid. He considers collaborating with local stakeholders, communities, and land management agencies among his favorite aspects of working with CPW.

Kalin Grigg

Trustee, Town of Dolores

Kalin Grigg’s professional background includes work in higher education, where he taught Sociology and collaborated with faculty and students to design and coordinate civic engagement and social change projects throughout the Southwest region. He currently serves as a Trustee and Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Dolores.

Kalin has spent his life recreating on and sustaining himself from Colorado’s remarkable public lands, which he considers the region’s greatest asset. He believes these landscapes—and the wildlife and natural resources they hold—must be thoughtfully and responsibly managed to balance preservation, conservation, and outdoor recreation.

Kelsey Girod

Communications Coordinator

Kelsey Girod supports the Montelores Coalition with marketing, promotion, and digital communications, managing the website, social media, and community outreach efforts. She uses her background in nonprofit and public-facing communications to help make the coalition’s work accessible and engaging for the region’s residents and partners.

Living in the Montelores region fuels her passion for this work. Outside of the office, she loves hiking, boating, fishing, camping, mountain biking, and dirt biking throughout the landscapes the coalition aims to protect and celebrate.

Paul Morey

Chief of Natural Resources, Mesa Verde National Park

Paul is the Chief of Natural Resources with Mesa Verde National Park, where he manages staff that help protect and preserve the park’s wildlife, vegetation, and physical resources.

Paul’s journey in conservation has taken him through various agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, BLM, Wildlife Services, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he primarily worked as a wildlife biologist. In addition to his wildlife biology roles, Paul has also served as an Assistant Field Manager for the BLM in Montana, overseeing a diverse array of programs ranging from vegetation and range management, recreation, maintenance, wildlife horses and archaeology. His broad spectrum of experience has equipped him with a holistic understanding of land management principles and practices, and seeks collaboration with stakeholders to find win-win solutions to resource management challenges.

He lives in Dolores with his wife and two teenage boys. Paul and his family are avid outdoor enthusiasts. They embrace the natural wonders of the region through activities such as hunting, fishing, white-water boating, mountain biking, hiking and camping.

Erik Stiasny

Chair of the Board of County Commissioners in Dolores County

Eric Stiasny currently serves as the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners in Dolores County. Before being elected Commissioner, he worked as a deputy with the Dolores County Sheriff’s Office. He believes strongly in collaboration as a way to preserve the region’s rural way of life, and he is committed to ensuring that Southwest Colorado remains one of the best places to live and recreate.

A proud fourth-generation native of Dolores County, Eric resides locally with his wife, Annie, and their three children—twins Hudson and Sawyer, and their daughter, Quinn—with baby number four arriving soon. He is also a member of the Dove Creek Volunteer Fire Department. In his free time, Eric enjoys hunting, hiking, and randonneuring.

Helen West

Community & Economic Development Specialist, City of Cortez

Helen West is the Community & Economic Development Specialist for the City of Cortez. She is proud to serve her community and region, especially in assisting local businesses and residents. Prior to her tenure with the City, Helen taught music in public and private schools in New Mexico, Colorado, and Washington DC, most recently as the band director at Shiprock High School. In addition to her current employment with the City of Cortez, Helen is the owner of a local walking tour company, Cortez Tours, and helps her parents and husband with their lavender farm + small vineyard outside of Cortez. Helen lives in Cortez with her husband and two cats. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, mountain biking, and exploring alternate realities through video games.

Helen received a Master’s in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado and Bachelor of Arts double majoring in Music Performance and Economics from American University.

Skip Zeller

Planning and Zoning Commission Member, Town of Rico

Skip serves as the Rico representative on the Montelores Coalition Executive Committee and is an active member of the Rico Planning and Zoning Commission. He grew up in a Forest Service family, with a father who worked as a Forest Ranger, and spent his childhood in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. This upbringing shaped his deep appreciation for the outdoors and the landscapes that define the region.

Now retired, Skip spent more than 40 years owning and operating a residential construction company in Rico and serving as a ski patroller at Purgatory Resort. Over time, he watched how Theodore Roosevelt’s early ideas about conservation began to intersect with the growing pressures of outdoor recreation.

Skip believes that sustaining healthy landscapes requires thoughtful, collective approaches that balance recreation with the long term well being of the land. His work reflects a commitment to supporting that balance for future generations.