San Luis Valley Region
Counties: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache
Cities: Alamosa, Creede, Del Norte, Monte Vista, South Fork
The San Luis Valley Council recently shifted its focus to youth mental health. Since entering this content area, the Council partnered with three grantees across the region—San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group, Early Childhood Council of the San Luis Valley and Adams State University—to fund and support diverse strategies to improve youth mental health across the valley through a “cradle to graduation” approach.
Meet Our Regional Council Members
William J. Hybl is Chairman of El Pomar Foundation, after serving 30 years as Chairman and CEO. In 2008 Hybl was confirmed by the United States Senate as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Public Diplomacy, a position he was appointed to by President George W. Bush. He was reappointed by President Barack Obama on June 2, 2011 and currently serves as Vice Chairman. He serves as Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Endowment. Hybl is President Emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). He served twice as President; when he led the United States Olympic Team Delegations at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. In 1998, he again led the U.S. Team at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and, in 2000, at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2000-2002. He has also been engaged in a variety of public service activities. Hybl is Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (Senior).
In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Hybl as U.S. Representative to the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations. He serves as vice chair for the Fund for American Studies. In addition, Hybl was Chairman of the Board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) from 2003-2009 and currently serves as Chairman Emeritus. He was named Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show of Denver in 2003.
Hybl is a graduate of Colorado College and earned his juris doctor at the University of Colorado School of Law. He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1972 and was Special Counsel to President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He is married to Kathleen Horrigan and they have two sons, B.J. and Kyle, and six grandchildren.
William J. Hybl
Chairman, El Pomar Foundation
Andrea Aragon is Executive Director of the Robert Hoag Rawlings Foundation. Andrea was appointed by Governor Bill Ritter to serve on the Caring for Colorado Board of Trustees and was reappointed for a second term by Governor John Hickenlooper. Prior to this service, she was appointed by Governor Owens to serve on the College Invest Board. Andrea has received honors for her community involvement by the Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation, the YWCA and the Pueblo City/County Library. Andrea received the 2015 Charles W. Crews Business Leader of the Year Award from the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, and in 2016 Andrea was presented with the President’s Medallion for Distinguished Alumni Achievement from Colorado State University – Pueblo.
She is a member of US Bank Pueblo Community Advisory Board, the GCC Rio Grande Corporate Advisory Board, the Colorado Nonprofit Association Board, and was recently named to the Colorado State University – Pueblo President’s Advisory Board.
Andrea Aragon
Trustee, El Pomar Foundation
Born and raised in the Mosca-Hooper area of the San Luis Valley, Lori graduated high school from Sangre de Cristo. Attending the then University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, she received her bachelor's in sociology, later attending the University of Houston for a master's degree in sociology with an emphasis in medical sociology.
Lori’s working career has always been in business management and she owned a successful business for 12 years. Currently, she manages the Mineral County Dental Clinic. Working part-time allows time to serve the community in a variety of volunteer positions. Lori's volunteer groups include the Victims Assistance and Law Enforcement Board (VALE), Victims Assistance Board, Ladies Aid Society and the Mineral County Action Coalition. Lori is also an elected City Trustee for Creede.
Lori G. Dooley
Trustee, City of Creede
Jason C. Medina is currently the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of the San Luis Valley and is a fourth generation San Luis native. After graduating from Adams State University, Jason moved to Greeley to work with adjudicated youth with the Division of Youth Corrections, and then moved back to Alamosa in 2000. He served as a Youth and Adult Protection Caseworker with Costilla County Department of Social Services for three years, and worked the next six years in public education, was the first Dean of Students for Centennial School District R-1, spent the next 10 years working in public housing, and left there as the Assistant Director for the Costilla County Housing Authority. He also spent six years in local government, including as the Land Use Administrator and Deputy Emergency Manager in Costilla. Most recently, he served as the Director for the San Luis Valley Small Business Development Center. Jason sits on many Board of Directors currently, chairing the San Luis Water and Sanitation District board for about eight years. He also serves as the Treasurer of the Costilla County Fire Protection District Board, on the Board of Directors for the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, and most recently was elected to serve on the TSJC Advisory Council. He is the owner of a small business and continues to advocate for other small businesses.
Jason C. Medina
Executive Director, Community Foundation of the San Luis Valley
Karla Shriver served three terms as a Rio Grande County Commissioner. She is a Colorado native, and earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture business at Colorado State University. She has a background in agriculture finance, farm/ranch real estate brokerage, and farming. Karla raises over 900 acres of potatoes, small grains and hay. She also oversees the management of a ranch along the Rio Grande river. She has served on numerous state and local business and civic boards including Great Outdoors Colorado, San Luis Valley Federal Bank, and numerous water related boards including San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration, the Commonwealth Irrigation Board, and as legislative representative to the Rio Grande Basin Road Table. She is on the core team of the Rio Grande Water Shed Emergency Action Team (REACT) which was born out of the 2013 West Fork Fire and is a collaborative work-in-progress with those counties impacted by the fire. She also serves as the chair of the economic committee for REACT.
Karla Shriver
Farmer and Former County Commissioner
Until her recent retirement, Pattie Swift served as a judge in the San Luis Valley for thirty-one years.She served as Costilla County Judge for fourteen years beginning in 1989 and then was appointed as a District Judge for the 12th Judicial District (which encompasses the six counties of the San Luis Valley). In 2011, she was appointed Chief Judge for the Judicial District as well as Water Judge for Colorado's Water Division No. 3. She was instrumental in creating the 12th Judicial District's original Family Drug Treatment Court in 2006 and presided over that court until 2012. She served on the Colorado Judicial Department Bail and Pretrial Committee and on the 12th Judicial District Best Practices Court Team. She was chair of the Colorado Judicial Ethics Advisory Board for eight years and served on the Colorado Panel on Multi-District Litigation for over six years. She also served as a member of the Executive Oversight Committee for the Colorado Dependency and Neglect Statewide System Reform effort. She is currently a part time senior judge and vice-chair of the San Luis Valley Community Corrections Board on which she has served for more than thirty years.
The Honorable Pattie Swift
Senior Judge, 12th Judicial District
Kathy Woods is the former Mayor for the City of Alamosa, serving the community for 12 years as an elected official. She has served on many boards and commissions including the Colorado Municipal League Policy Board, Governors Rural Health Care Grants Council, American Red Cross (State and Local), Victims Compensation, and Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance. She currently serves on the Adams State University Board of Trustees as Vice Chairman and on its Foundation Board, Alamosa Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Committee for the San Luis Valley US Veterans Coalition. After previous service on the Board of Directors for RGS & L, Kathy was invited to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. After spending a good part of her career in health care including nursing and as a hospital administrator for San Luis Valley Health, Kathy now serves as the Economic Development Director for the City of Alamosa.
Kathy Woods
Economic Development Director, City of Alamosa
Larry Zaragoza is currently serving as the Town Manager of La Jara. He has been involved in civic government since 2007, serving as the Mayor of La Jara for eight years. Larry is a retired educator and after 32 years of teaching and 45 years of coaching. Larry serves on the Board of Trustees for the San Luis Valley Development Resources Group, the chairman for the Northerner’s Senior Citizen Board, and has been an active member of the La Jara Glory Day’s committee. For his service and dedication to the youth of the San Luis Valley, Larry was awarded the Colorado Education Association’s John and Gladys Bates Humanitarian Award in 1992. In 2003, Larry was inducted into the Adams State University Athletic Hall of Fame; in 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and most recently in 2016 into the Adams State University Educators Hall of Fame.
Larry Zaragoza
Town Manager, La Jara
Contact Chris
719-577-5763
Chris Sohn
Vice President for Foundation Support
Contact Ben:
719-577-7033
Ben Garfield
Program Associate, El Pomar Foundation