Born and raised between Denver and Ethiopia, Fatuma’s roots in farming and political science have uniquely positioned her to engage deeply with the land and its communities. With her work ranging from managing acres of organic heirloom vegetables to advocating against single-solution narratives for crop productivity, Fatuma brings over two decades of dedication to environmental stewardship and a profound commitment to social equity, with extensive experience in environmental advocacy, combined...
Associate Director for the ORE Program • Teaching Professor • Faculty Lead for the Introduction to the Outdoor Recreation Economy Certificate • Faculty Lead for the Leading a Sustainable Business in the Outdoor Recreation Economy Certificate
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Mark Gasta is a Teaching Professor and the Associate Director of the Outdoor Recreation Economy (ORE) program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Mark is passionate about developing purpose-driven leaders with the capacity to build sustainable organizations that leverage outdoor recreation and tourism as a powerful economic development tool and an avenue to help alleviate poverty and protect and preserve wild places and threatened cultures. Mark is also the Founder...
Clif Harald is the founder and principal of First Flatiron Consulting specializing in economic vitality planning and management. Clif's expertise draws on a career in community economic development as well as in private industry. For more than a decade he was executive director of the Boulder Economic Council (BEC), a cross-industry leadership group of business and community executives dedicated to sustaining Boulder’s economic vitality. While leading the BEC, Clif engaged...
Joel is a professor in the MENV and ORE professional graduate degree programs at the University of Colorado Boulder. Joel is a National Geographic Explorer, and for the last 20 years, Joel has worked as a researcher, consultant, engineer, and educator. He has projects across East and Southern Africa and Madagascar at national parks exploring issues of conservation management, climate change, health, resource extraction, human behavior, and recreation. He has...
Instructor • Faculty Lead for the Public Lands and Natural Resources Policy Certificate
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Dr. Lydia Lawhon has nearly two decades of experience working on natural resource management issues in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem and Colorado. As faculty with the Masters of the Environment professional program at CU Boulder, she has taught courses on environmental policy, public lands policy, natural resource governance, and Capstone project management. She advises MENV Capstone projects with diverse partners from the government and non-profit sectors on topics related to...
Gregor MacGregor is a Faculty Fellow at the University's Law School, where he teaches courses on natural resources and directs the Acequia Project, a pro bono effort to provide Hispano irrigators in southern Colorado with legal services related to their land, water rights, and businesses. As a lecturer in the Outdoor Recreation Economy program he focuses on environmental law and policy. Prior to joining academia, Gregor worked as a water...
Sarah has run small and large-scale projects for a variety of companies in the retail and hospitality industry and loves sharing the practicalities of bringing strategy to life through the planning and execution of projects. She spent eight years in the outdoor recreation industry with Vail Resorts working with a variety of stakeholders on initiatives like employees, communities, operations, and legal/ compliance entities. She is a Principal Consultant & Client...
Teaching Assistant Professor • Faculty Lead for the Inclusivity and Belonging in the Outdoor Recreation Economy Certificate
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Georgina is a social entrepreneur, adventure athlete, international speaker, writer, transformation coach, consultant, mindfulness and energy practitioner, activist, and founder and CEO of She Ventures — a social enterprise unleashing the untapped power of women around the world in business and life. She has helped companies and leaders through change and transformation for nearly two decades across the world. Georgina’s work, thought-leadership, climbing, and activism has been featured and quoted...
Teaching Assistant Professor • Faculty Lead for Building Resilient Communities Certificate
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Natalie Ooi is an educator and researcher who specializes in sustainable tourism and recreation. Her passion lies in working with industry and communities to prepare the next generation of leaders to contribute to an innovative, resilient and just tourism/outdoor recreation economy. She joined the Outdoor Recreation Economy Program at CU Boulder in 2021 as the Faculty Lead for the Community Economic Development and the Outdoor Recreation Economy certificate, after having...
Chris is a GM and leader with a track record of success in diverse environments. He has international experience across multiple industries including outdoor consumer products, technology, automotive, and financial services. After leading a fundraising round for RovR in 2021 (a consumer products company based in Colorado), Chris came on board as CEO to help drive the company’s next stage of growth. Prior to this role, Chris was President of...
As Program Manager for the Outdoor Recreation Economy Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, Pilar provides student, faculty and operational support for the ORE. Pilar is a world citizen; born and raised in Spain, she has lived in 4 countries in 3 continents. She has a JD and an MBA degree, and considers herself a multi-faceted professional who loves to connect people of different backgrounds and cultures. She has...
Career Advising Specialist and Certified Life Coach
Corporate Communication • Organizational Leadership • Outdoor Recreation Economy
Jordan Maness is the Career Advising Specialist for the Division of Continuing Education at CU Boulder. He is a seasoned career services professional with over 15 years of experience coaching and lecturing at UCLA, Santa Monica College, and Mount Saint Mary’s University. He is a Certified Life Coach as well as a certified Breathwork and Myers-Briggs facilitator. The focal point of his work is to inspire clients to live authentically...
Admissions Specialist • Enrollment and Communications Manager
Outdoor Recreation Economy
Carly provides support for prospective students as well as works closely with faculty and staff to continue growing the ORE program and help cultivate creative, thoughtful leaders across the outdoor recreation sector. Carly has worked in higher education for the past several years in a variety of roles, which have allowed her to expand and grow her professional experience. She has lived in four different states (Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, and...