Rebecca is a homeowner and longtime resident of Grand County, with intentions to graduate from Colorado Mesa University Fall of 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Technology, a minor in Watershed Science, and certificates in Permaculture and Sustainability. Championing UCRWG’s outreach and education, Rebecca manages social media platforms with a focus on growth and connectivity. Previous to this, Rebecca worked as a Volunteer Coordinator under UCRWG affiliate Kawuneeche Group, where she developed the logo, website, social media platforms, helped organize and promote events, and participated in Citizen Science field work in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), with work credited at the RMNP 2020 Research Conference. She has also worked with Engineers Without Borders-South Dakota State University to construct a chlorination system at Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa, Bolivia. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys learning all things water, spending time outdoors with her dog, Charlie, and singing/songwriting with her guitar.
Technical Project Manager. Geoff has over 30 years’ experience in natural resource management including hands-on field experience in over 200 projects in Grand County, mostly related to water. Projects range from planning, permitting, and construction oversight for utility projects, including water crossings and municipal water intakes, also docks and boathouses, trails and ski runs, and facilitating property transfers and conservation of land and water resources. He is particularly interested in restoring balance between streams and riparian ecosystems, including irrigated hay fields, with fish-friendly diversions and agriculture-friendly bank stabilization. With broad experience in hydrogeology, forestry, and the nuts and bolts of exercising Colorado Water Rights, he’s advising the UCRWG team on resource assessment and the feasibility of watershed projects including permitting and funding.
Tiffany Gatesman is an environmental scientist with an M.S. in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a B.S. in Water and Soil Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. She has spent her professional years working for the USFS, USFWS, USACE, county governments, and secondary science education. Gatesman’s work concentrates on hydrogeochemistry and water resource management that includes research projects conducted in Wisconsin, Alaska, and Guatemala. Tiffany’s passions for the environment lead her to become involved with Grand County’s water resource issues. With her teaching, scientific, and agriculture background, Gatesman seeks to further the development of the environmental and agricultural education in Grand County. Gatesman originally moved to Grand County to take photographs for the rafting companies. After moving away to earn her graduate degree in Alaska, Gatesman, her husband, and two Alaskan sled dogs moved back to Grand County for the love of the abundant recreation in the county such as skiing, biking, hiking, boating, rock climbing, and horseback riding. 
Former Program Manager and Lead Facilitator. Hillary is the Executive Director at Shadowcliff, a non-profit educational lodge and retreat center that’s been in Grand Lake since 1956. Hillary has a background in environmental education, group facilitation, and change management. She has been involved in many burgeoning movements over the years as a key founding member, from the Sustainable Living Association to the Community Sustainability Advisory Board for the City of Golden to Mountain Sage Community School, and many more in between. She brings years of facilitation experience and a deep passion for true stakeholder engagement. You can learn more about Hillary at Grand Environmental Services is a local Environmental Consultant Firm located in Grand Lake. They help clients manage land and water in the Colorado Highcountry offering services that include environmental and wetland permitting, construction oversight and monitoring, agricultural related services like headgate and ditch management, erosion control and bank stabilization to name a few. Grand Environmental Service’s primary duties within the interim UCRWG are to support the effort through the technical expertise offered by founder and owner, Geoff Elliott, and Business Manager, Joy Phelan.
Shadowcliff is a not-for-profit lodge and retreat center in Grand Lake, CO with a mission of An eco-friendly mountain sanctuary where together we are creating a climate for a restorative world. As a part of the Grand Lake community for sixty years, Shadowcliff is naturally invested in Upper Colorado watershed resiliency and supporting community-driven efforts to uphold that. Shadowcliff is supporting UCRWG as the primary recipient of the WaterSMART grant used to fund this project and by the program management expertise of its executive director, Hillary Mizia.
