Board

About the 2025 Snowmass Capitol Creek Caucus Board Nominees

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Forrest Thomas​

​Forrest is the manager of The Darling Ranch and has lived in Capitol Creek for two years. He grew up in Woody Creek and is an avid outdoorsman. He wants to help preserve what makes Capitol Creek special because he knows it is the only place like it in this valley he calls home.

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Ned Andrews

All of us who enjoy the privilege of living in the Capitol Creek Valley appreciate the importance and benefits of our land and water. Increasingly, we sense and feel the growing pressures and demands on these resources, both from within as well as from outside our valley. The coming years may well bring an acceleration of these trends. Protecting our land and water will be increasingly important. It has been my pleasure to serve on the Snowmass-Capitol Creek Caucus Board for the past three year. Your Caucus Board has been engaged and productive. I would enjoy the opportunity to serve for another term.

     My wife, Sharon and I have lived in the Little Elk Creek neighborhood for 10 years. My professional training was in hydrology and geology. This background and experience with water and land management (I grew up on an irrigated citrus orchard in Southern California) would be my primary contribution to the Snowmass-Capitol Creek Caucus. For most of my career, I was a member of the U.S. Geological Survey, where I was Chief of the River Mechanics Project. The project focused on studies in water resources and river management issues in the western U.S., especially the Colorado River Basin. Subsequently, I joined the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder as a Research Professor.

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Judy Hill Lovins

I have 54 years experience in the Roaring Fork Valley as an Aspen Gallery owner and fine art landscape photographer. I've participated in many boards and committees, trying to (as I put it) put and keep our fingers in the dikes which are trying to protect our environment, climate, population growth, airport expansion, etc. I would appreciate your vote, but more importantly, would like you new (and much younger) folks to be on the Board.

     Judy came to Aspen in 1971. Soon after she opened a photographic fine art gallery (The Hill Gallery of Photography) that ran for over 30 years and won national and local awards. She served on several boards, including the Aspen Village Homeowners' Association, the Skico’s Environmental, and Aspen Hall of Fame. She has served on the Farm Collaborative Board (formerly Aspen Tree) for the past 10 years. Her oldest son, Miles, wife Nastassia and two grandchildren live in Boulder, and youngest son Nathan and wife live in Aspen Village. In 2007 she married Amory Lovins. They live in “the banana farm”, the former Rocky Mountain Institute Headquarters, which burns no fossil fuels and powers two electric cars.

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Jill Sabella

Jill has lived in the Capitol Creek Valley since 2000 and started coming to Aspen in 1963 from Minnesota to ski with her family.  She attended college in Denver, frequenting Aspen as often as possible, where she had a number of jobs from waitressing to writing.  She worked as a columnist for the Aspen Illustrated News in the late '60's and in the late 70's published a book of her photographs as staff photographer for the Aspen Music Festival.  She worked for National Geographic Society as         photographer and writer on various projects.  While living in Seattle for 20 years, she worked as a photographer, doing fine art gallery work, commercial annual reports and advertising, and portraiture.

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Over her life she has come and gone from the Roaring Fork Valley and was always drawn back because of the great community of people and the beauty of the area.  As an artist she has found much inspiration from the Capitol Creek Valley - especially the rural ranching character that still remains and of course the mountain landscapes.  In the last several years she was on the Board and several committees of the Red Brick in Aspen.  She has taught drawing and painting at the Art Base in Basalt, and has exhibited paintings and drawings in several venues in the valley.

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Chris Collins

I have been on the board the past 6 years and would like to continue working on preserving the integrity of the Capitol Creek Valley.  I enjoy working with the neighbors on their projects and want to see the integrity of the valley be maintained. I have worked for the most part on the approval of the land use applications. Making sure the applicants follow all the rules established in the master plan.

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Sierra Flanigan

I am currently serving on the board and passionate about continuing the work to instill greater social and environmental responsibility into the Snow-Cap caucus area. Specifically I would like to address climate resilience more seriously by developing an action plan, partner with Watershed Biodiversity Initiative and other local groups to conserve the natural ecosystem and all its many inhabitants, and more broadly set an example in the RFV around biodiversity, development as we know it, and community engagement. It’s been a privilege thus far.

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Jen Rupert 

Jen and her family have lived on capitol creek road for more than 20 years. They just completed a conservation easement on the family property. Jen’s goal is to keep the capitol Creek Valley pristine.

              

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Judy Frey

I have lived in Old Snowmass for 13 years, after living in Boulder for 36 years. I love being in a natural environment that has retained many of its wild aspects. Because of my interest in astronomy, I was drawn here by the unusually dark skies. I’ve been able to set up a telescope and view breathtaking sights: interstellar clouds of gas, another galaxy--things that lie just beyond our sight. My article that describes celestial objects you can see with the naked eye is posted on the Caucus website. My other interests include music—attending the music festival throughout the summer, playing the piano, and collecting historic music from around the world. I’ve always hiked in the mountains in order to see some of the most beautiful places on earth. The ancient Greeks viewed sports and music as the perfect education – and I feel that I’m in the right place here for both!

 

Gaelen Means

I was born and raised in the valley and have a deep love and appreciation for this place and the elements that make it so unique. I have degrees in environmental science and landscape architecture and now own my own local business doing land management consulting. One of the main goals of my work and in my personal life is to not only protect and fortify the extraordinary natural resources that we have here but to also approach the human interaction with those systems in a respectful and intentional way. The caucus is a wonderful mechanism for making place appropriate policy recommendations and I would be honored to have a voice to that end.

 

Allison Rose

I am venture capitalist in the culinary world, having financially backed and championed some of the West Coast's most celebrated restaurants and culinary innovations of the past decade. My portfolio includes some of the Bay Area’s and Hawaii’s most innovative restaurants and culinary enterprises. I am committed to supporting the ever evolving food industry including farming and agriculture. Philanthropy and community are some of my top priorities. I have served on the board of directors for Kukio Beach & Golf Club, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, FoodCorps of America. I currently serve on the board for Aloha Hui Kiholo, James Beard Foundation, Aspen Art Museum. My husband, Dan Rose, and I moved to McCabe Ranch 2 years ago. We were drawn to the beauty and sanctuary that this valley provides. We hope to see it preserved forever. 

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David Chase

I am a long time member of the Caucus Board and wish to continue serving our community, especially in the area of open land conservation.

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Eric Wiseman

As a Western Colorado native, I grew up in Grand Junction, where I developed a deep connection to the outdoors. I have spent my professional career in finance and technical consulting, most recently with the City of Aspen. My work has been centered on creating solutions for communities, fostering collaboration, and addressing challenges through innovation. My family and I have called Little Elk Creek home for several years. My wife, our 13-year-old son, and our two dogs are grateful to be part of such a vibrant and special community. I am constantly in awe of the Snowmass Capitol Creek area and am deeply committed to preserving and enhancing its natural beauty and livability. I would be honored to serve and collaborate with the board and our neighbors to ensure our area continues to thrive. Thank you for considering my nomination. I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the important work of the Caucus.

 

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