Richard Shaw - President

Richard, FASLA, is currently working to retire from a decades-long relationship with Design Workshop. Richard graduated with honors from Utah State University and earned his master’s from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, where he was awarded the Jacob Weidenman Traveling Fellowship. He has taught Resort Design through Harvard University’s School of Design Professional Development Series. Richard is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a past board member of both the Landscape Architecture Foundation and the American Institute of Certified Planners. His work in both small-scale residential garden design and large-scale resort redevelopment, planning, and design has garnered many awards and commendations, including recognition by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Horticultural Society. Richard his wife Sarah currently live in Basalt.

Ellen Huntley Dubé – Immediate Past President 

Ellen, a native of Florida, has 20 years of experience in organizational management, conservation land acquisition, and sustainable agriculture. She completed a B.S. in Chemistry from Furman University and her M.S. in Soil and Water Sciences at the University of Florida. She served in the United States Peace Corps for two years teaching high school sciences in Ghana, West Africa. Ellen has worked in organic certification and land trust accreditation, assisted in coordinating one of the first local farm product labels in the Southeastern U.S., and  collaborated with community leaders to address community food needs. Ellen is currently the president of the general partner of her family’s limited partnership which specializes in commercial real estate. Ellen, her husband, and their son moved to Snowmass Village to be closer to her sister and her family.  She is happily surprised with how much she enjoys the seasons here and is thankful for a growing sense of place in the Roaring Fork Valley.
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Cindi Jacobson - Vice President

Cindi is a social scientist with over 25 years of experience working in conservation policy and management. Prior to starting her consulting business, she was the Chair of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group of the Arctic Council and Senior Advisor for Arctic Conservation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. During her tenure, she oversaw a science program that convened diverse partnerships to plan and implement large landscape conservation efforts throughout Alaska and Northwestern Canada. Previously, Cindi spent 12 years as an Assistant Director for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation. She received a B.A. from the University of Colorado and M.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. She is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Affiliate Faculty at Colorado State University. Cindi and her husband Mike now live in Carbondale where they enjoy the abundant wildlife, hiking, skiing and spending time with their four dogs.
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David Corbin - Treasurer

A Midwestern native, David attended Denison University before moving to Colorado in 1975 where he attended the University of Denver, secured his J.D. degree, and subsequently practiced law before later transitioning into real estate and ski resort development. David’s resort development experience began in Beaver Creek in the winter of 1987/88 and he subsequently joined and served as Vice President of Development for Vail Resorts and later, Booth Creek Ski Holdings, working in Vail, Lake Tahoe, and New England. David joined Aspen Skiing Company in 2005, where he served as Senior Vice President of Planning and Development for nearly 17 years, overseeing a variety of master planning efforts and development projects, and bearing responsibility for design oversight, entitlements, regulatory compliance, NEPA and other environmental reviews, construction and turnover to operations of the Ski Company’s physical assets ranging from ski lifts to offices, lodges, employee housing and other facilities. David also served as a member of the National Ski Areas Association Public Lands Committee for over 20 years and for many years served locally on the boards of the Aspen SkiCo Environment Foundation, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), and, separately, ACES Foundation Board.  
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Stephen Bershenyi – Secretary

With an ancestry of Roaring Fork Valley pioneers, Stephen was born into a ranching family in Glenwood Springs and lives there now with his wife, Jo. He stewards the family property, the Lazy V Quarter Circle Ranch, a 640-acre high-mountain parcel protected by a conservation easement.  An English Literature and German Language double major, Stephen also earned his journeyman card as a control instrument and refrigeration pipefitter. Stephen’s career has been varied but centered mainly on facilities maintenance and later facilities management. He was the Director of Maintenance at National Jewish Hospital in Denver and later the Facilities Manager at AMC Cancer Research Center in Lakewood. Since returning to the valley in 1995, Stephen has worked in facilities management and construction and since 2005 as an artist blacksmith.
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Charles Bantis

Charlie joined the board in October 2018 after applying his skills as a co-chair of The Grand Land Dance. Charlie is currently president of the First Western Trust, Aspen. He is an experienced market president with a long history of creating profitable asset growth. His love of the mountains drew he and his family to the Roaring Fork Valley 20 years ago. They have hiked, biked, skied, and ridden their horses all over the valley, and are still discovering new places. Charlie’s commitment to community runs deep. He serves, or has served, on the boards of Colorado Humanities, Aspen Chamber Resort Association, and Aspen Junior Hockey. As a long-time supporter of AVLT, Charlie is one of the few and the proud to have attended every Land Dance!
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Ted Behar

An avid outdoorsman, Ted has always been recharged and energized by time spent in nature and is happy to have his retirement focus on giving back and working to preserve nature's habitats for future generations.  He has managed family properties in Tennessee and here in Missouri Heights with a focus on providing natural and safe wildlife habitats. Ted received his B.A. in philosophy from Union College before advancing to The University of Rochester School of Medicine, as well as surgical residencies at UNC Chapel Hill and VCU. After a busy career as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon outside of Nashville, Ted and his wife Julia welcomed the opportunity to retire and pursue an active mountain lifestyle in 2019 upon moving to Carbondale. Ted serves on the Carbondale Clay Center's Board of Directors and is an active ceramic artist. He remains very involved in hands-in-the-dirt stewardship as part of Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers work crews and as a crew leader and a member of their project selection committee. He also contributes to many citizen-science projects. With any remaining free time, he skis, hikes, fly-fishes, cycles, and continues to try his hand at nearly any human-powered outdoor pursuit.
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Rich Carr

Rich is a partner in CCY Architects, a firm based in the Roaring Fork Valley and widely recognized as a leading voice of design in the American West. His background in mountain resort and community design has been applied to a wide range of projects, from nationally published residences to affordable housing to new resort communities all throughout North America, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Rich received his Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University after studies in Berlin and Vienna. He has been a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Urban Land Institute for over 25 years, is a past Vice Chair of the ULI’s National Recreation Council, and a former Board Director for the Art Base in Basalt. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Rich spent his youth adventuring in the Sierra Nevadas and has had a lifelong passion for engaging with and exploring nature. His Colorado ties run deep as do those of his wife, Jen, a fifth generation Coloradoan.

Stephen Ellsperman

Stephen is a Colorado native with 28 years of experience in natural resource management, ecological systems analysis, and planning, permitting, and capital and operational project management. Stephen has significant experience in federal, local, state and private work environments. He has led planning, design, and implementation of important projects in many iconic locations, including on lands administered by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. After retiring from DHM Design, where he was a principal and Director of Ecological Planning and Design, Stephen joined the United States Forest Service as a senior staff officer focusing on environmental and infrastructure projects. He is passionate about the protection and understanding of native ecosystems and strives to harmonize project planning with ecological and engineering conditions for valuable outcomes. He has raised a family in the Roaring Fork Valley with his wife, Jennifer, who is the principal at Basalt Middle School. He has two sons who have both recently graduated from college and are both working in the natural resource field. Stephen is passionate and driven in his outdoor pursuits which include skiing, mountain biking, fly-fishing, botany, hunting, and running.

Kalli Gustafson Sinclair

Kalli was born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley and today resides in Snowmass Village. She graduated from the University of Colorado with degrees in psychology and education. Teaching elementary school in the Roaring Fork School District showed her how learning outside helped kids be more engaged and enthusiastic about their education. She is always looking for opportunities to offer additional outdoor educational opportunities to students throughout the valley. It is her goal to encourage future generations to connect with and protect the natural environment. 
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Curtis Kaufman

Curtis is a developer who built his career entitling land and securing financing for single-family home builders across the Western United States. He received his B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University. In 1998, Curtis and his wife and their three children followed their dreams of living in the mountains and made Aspen their permanent home. A passionate community volunteer, Curtis has served on the Board of the Aspen Valley Ski Club and Thompson Divide Coalition. He enjoys skiing, hiking, and biking across the Elk Mountains.
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Nicole Leonard

A recent addition to the board, Nicole brings an expertise in regional planning, landscape architecture, and natural resource management to Aspen Valley Land Trust. A Manager at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Nicole's behavioral analytics work influences policy and corporate leaders toward climate-friendly decision-making. Nicole moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2020 and today calls Carbondale home along with her husband, their 2 dogs, and 10 chickens.

Scott Miller

Scott is a partner with Patrick, Miller & Noto, a Roaring Fork Valley based law firm specializing in water rights, ditch easements, wetlands, water quality, water conservation, and other water-related issues. He received his law degree and a master's in environmental law from Vermont Law School. He and his firm practice in additional states, including Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming; and Scott was counsel on a large interstate water case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Scott frequently publishes and speaks on a variety of legal issues relating to western water law and ditch easements. Scott grew up in Rochester, New York and moved to Colorado in the ‘80’s and made his way to Aspen in 1989. Scott's mom owned a 70-acre ranch in Old Snowmass which helped fuel his love for open spaces and preserving ranchlands. Scott likes almost any sport, including hockey, his late-in-life passion; and loves to ski, mountain bike, and spend as much time as possible with his active wife and two sons.
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Betina Moreira Infante

Born in Washington, D.C., Betina has worked in business, strategic communications, and public relations in the Americas, Europe and Asia for over 25 years. She has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA, and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Betina pioneered outreach and communication strategies for the U.S. Agency for International Development while providing technical assistance and communications training to USAID missions in Southeastern Europe, Russia, and South Asia. She has lived and worked in development overseas in multiple continents and countries. During her time in Mongolia, Betina launched Breakthrough Public Relations, an integrated PR and marketing communications agency, which later became an Ogilvy affiliate. Betina’s relationship with the Roaring Fork Valley started when her kids began boarding at Colorado Rocky Mountain School. Having lived, worked and recreated overseas for decades, people often questioned where the Infantes would settle - The Roaring Fork Valley provided the answer with its magnificent beauty, protected wilderness, abundant outdoor activities, and welcoming community. Betina believes in a respectful and sustainable approach to caring for the valley and the surrounding areas, one that protects working lands and critical habitat for future generations. 


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