High Country Region
Counties: Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, Pitkin, Summit
Cities: Aspen, Frisco, Idaho Springs, Leadville, Vail
The High Country Council remains committed to supporting the region’s middle school-aged youth through multi-year grants, totaling $1 million, to five organizations across the region. The Council regularly connects with its grant partners to learn about their work with at-risk middle school youth in the region, each program’s impacts, and ways to bolster support, as well as to understand the ongoing challenges posed by COVID-19.
Meet Our Regional Council Members
Dave Palenchar was raised in southern California and first came to Colorado to attend the United States Air Force Academy. After a career in the Air Force, he returned to Colorado and joined the El Pomar program staff. In 2007, Dave was recognized as the Colorado Springs Business Citizen of the Year by the (then) Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. He retired as El Pomar’s Chief Operating Officer in 2013.
He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Broadmoor World Arena and the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, Chairman of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, President of the Air Force Academy Foundation and is a Board Member for the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame.
Dave Palenchar
Trustee, El Pomar Foundation
Eudelia Contreras is the Lead Community Organizer for Lake County Build a Generation. In this role, she organizes residents in Lake County’s manufactured housing communities to build health and health equity. She also helps residents advocate and exercise their rights within these communities. She also works to lift Lake County’s health equity issues to statewide policy advocacy groups, develop connections with these groups, and support relevant legislation through testimony, story banking, etc., in order to advance Lake County’s ability to advocate for health equity at a statewide level. Most recently, Eudelia was enormously instrumental in helping the members of Cooperativa Nueva Union purchase their mobile home park for $1.6M. This was a monumental undertaking that had to be accomplished on a tight time frame. Eudelia’s ability to bring community members together—even across culture, background, age, gender, and language—is remarkable, and has been a key to her success at Lake County Build a Generation.
Eudelia has lived in Lake County for nearly 30 years. She attended Lake County schools and has worked at several county agencies, including Lake County Human Services and Lake County School District. She currently serves as the president of the Lake County School District Board of Education. Eudelia feels that her experience working, living and learning in Lake County is a huge asset as she not only works for the needs of Lake County’s diverse community but also lives within the communities she organizes in. Eudelia’s family includes three daughters, Kayleen, Isabelle, and Sophia, and a Bluenose Pitbull (Benji).
Eudelia Contreras
Lead Community Organizer, Lake County Build a Generation
Kristi Ferraro is a real estate and business lawyer with her own practice in Avon, Colorado. Kristi serves on the Board of Excellence Committee of the Vail Valley Foundation. Kristi was a Board Member of the Vail Mountain School from 2010 to 2017. She was elected to the Avon Town Council in 2004 and 2008, and served as Mayor Pro Tem of Avon from 2010 to 2012. Kristi has previously served on the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority and Bravo! Vail. Kristi also served as Chairman of the Board of the Early Childhood Learning Center and as President of the Pitkin County Bar Association.
Kristi graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in business and from the University of California Berkeley with a juris doctor.
Kristi Ferraro
Attorney, Kristi Ferraro, LLC
Millie Hamner is Senior Policy Director at Keystone Policy Center. She joined Keystone after serving as a Colorado State Representative from 2011-2018. During this time period, she earned statewide respect for her bipartisan chairmanship of the House Education Committee and the Joint Budget Committee. As one of the prime sponsors of the original READ Act in 2012 and, as a leader in the implementation of the education vision work with the ELC in 2017, Millie is uniquely poised to provide leadership for the next steps of these critical efforts. Millie’s work in public education in Colorado from 1978-2011 as a teacher, school and district leader, and superintendent of schools provides the experiential background needed to engage communities and stakeholders in the development of a world-class education system. Millie earned a doctorate in education leadership from the University of Denver in 1996. She also holds a master's and a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.
Millie Hamner
Senior Policy Director, Keystone Policy Center
Tim Mauck served two terms as Clear Creek County Commissioner from 2010 - 2019. As commissioner, he focused on health care, enhancing Clear Creek's recreation and tourism, and working to bring about sensible transportation improvements along the Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor.
A Denver native, Tim received a bachelor's in political science from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and has worked in various capacities of federal, state and local governments.
Tim is passionate about the outdoors and spends his free time hunting and angling, and serving as Chair of the Clear Creek Greenway Authority working to develop a recreational trail to the Continental Divide.
He currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
Tim Mauck
Deputy Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Christine Scanlan is President and CEO of the Keystone Policy Center, a nonprofit organization which over the past 40 years, has built a portfolio of substantive work in energy, environment, education, health, and agriculture. Keystone has accomplished this work with a series of complementary approaches that reflect the diverse strategies utilized in leadership and successful issue resolution.
Christine joined the Keystone Policy Center from her role as Director of Legislative Affairs and Strategic Initiatives and Senior Education Policy Advisor to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Prior to her senior staff role in the Governor’s Office, Christine was a Colorado State Representative for House District 56 and served in leadership as Majority Whip.
In earlier years, Christine had previously been at Keystone as Senior Vice President and COO. Christine has extensive public policy experience as a seasoned facilitator, negotiator and policy expert and is a respected leader in finding policy solutions through collaborative dialogue to complicated issues of urgency and import. Christine received both her MA Nonprofit Management and BA History from Regis University, Denver, Colorado.
Christine Scanlan
President and CEO, Keystone Policy Center
Tamara Tormohlen is the former Executive Director of Aspen Community Foundation (ACF). Aspen Community Foundation is in its 40th year of building philanthropy and supporting nonprofits in the Aspen to Parachute region, which encompasses Pitkin, west Eagle, and Garfield counties. ACF currently holds $44 million in assets and in 2020 distributed $14 million in grants through its COVID relief funds, donor advised funds, community grantmaking program, scholarships, and other funds.
In 2012 Tormohlen launched the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative, which gathers nonprofits, schools, governments, civic groups, businesses and philanthropy to implement collaborative and innovative ways of working together to measurably increase youth success across our region. The Initiative has made strides in increasing preschool participation and in helping students create pathways after high school.
Tormohlen lives in Carbondale with her husband. She currently serves on the High Country Council of the El Pomar Foundation and on the Board of Philanthropy Colorado.
Tamara Tormohlen
Former Executive Director, Aspen Community Foundation
Senior Staff, High Country Regional Council
Contact Maureen:
719-577-5727
Maureen Lawrence
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, El Pomar Foundation
Contact Reilly:
719-577-7083
Reilly Torres
Program Director, El Pomar Foundation
Contact Boe:
719-577-7046
Boe Gold
Program Associate, El Pomar Foundation