Board of Trustees

Officers

John Geary

El Paso County | chair

John is a native of Colorado Springs, a graduate of the University of Alabama, and the owner and president of GLM Development Co., a land and timber business dedicated to environmentally sound management of natural resources. He is also the nephew of Stuart Dodge, one of the original founders of Palmer Land Conservancy. He divides his time between Colorado Springs and Athens, Ga., and he continues the family tradition of actively participating in land conservation in both locales. The state of Georgia recently honored John with the prestigious Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year award for his conservation of 4,000 acres of timberland.

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BJ Hybl

El Paso County | Vice Chair

William “BJ” Hybl, Jr. brings a wealth of experience to the Palmer Land Conservancy board. A graduate of Colorado College and Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Undergraduate Space / Missile Training program, Mr. Hybl also received his Master of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver in International Business. He served in the United States Air Force from 1993-1997 and was an integral part of the United States Air Force Reserve, serving as their Space Operations Captain for nine years. Since his time in the Air Force, Mr. Hybl worked with The Garden City Company in Kansas, where he was involved in strategic planning for over 28,000 acres of agricultural land. Mr. Hybl is currently the President and COO of Griffis/Blessing, Inc. in Colorado Springs. 

In the past 20 years, Mr. Hybl has served on numerous boards throughout the area, including the United States Olympic Museum board, the Vail Valley Foundation, Pikes Peak Hospice Board of Trustees, and the Air Force Academy Foundation. He and his wife, Kristel, have two children and live in Colorado Springs.

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Vanda Dyson

Jefferson County | Secretary

Vanda is a Business Strategy & Transitions Consultant for Eide Bailly LLP. She is a CPA and works with companies and nonprofit organizations as a CFO-for-hire and a financial consultant. Vanda is passionate about Colorado land conservation and is the treasurer for Keep it Colorado, the statewide coalition of land trusts. She is a native Coloradan with deep roots in both the skiing and ranching communities. Vanda lives in Golden with her husband and enjoys spending time hiking, biking, and skiing with her two active Labradors.

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Michael League

El Paso County | Treasurer

Michael League is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of 5Star Bank with three locations in Colorado Springs and one in Greenwood Village. The Bank has future plans to serve Pueblo and Trinidad. 5Star is focused on serving the needs of the communities it reaches. Mr. League received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Kansas and a Master of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary. He is Vice-Chairman of the Association of Military Banks of America and a board member of the Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center.

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Directors

Andrea Aragon

Pueblo County

Andrea is the Executive Director of the Robert Hoag Rawlings Foundation. Born in Rocky Ford, she has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector through various leadership roles in Pueblo. Prior to joining the Foundation, Andrea was the President and CEO at United Way of Pueblo County for 17 years. She also served as the Executive Director of Latino Chamber of Commerce, and as Assistant Director of Development and Director of Alumni Relations at Colorado State University-Pueblo. She has received numerous awards for her community service and has served on several statewide and local boards and is currently a charter trustee of the El Pomar Foundation. Andrea and her husband Darrin Smith live in Pueblo and have two sons.

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Sanjay Bhatnagar

El Paso County

Sanjay is the founder of the THOT Capital Group which invests in media, technology ventures and energy infrastructure companies. He is also the co-founder, CTO & board member of Tango Media, a leading online media publisher established in 2001. Sanjay has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer & board member of WaterHealth International (New York) where he helped create a scalable model for delivering safe water to large underserved populations in India and Africa. For his achievements, Sanjay was recognized as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019, by the World Economic Forum, Geneva.

Additionally, Sanjay previously served as the Chairman and CEO, Enron South Asia, where his responsibilities included developing and financing large power plants, pipelines, LNG ships and regasification plants. Then, as the CEO of Enron Broadband Services for Asia and the Middle East, Sanjay developed and financed Internet Data Centers and optical fiber networks.

Sanjay earned his MBA from Harvard University, Master’s degree in Engineering from Stanford University, and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology. Today he lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and children.

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Carol Cannon

El Paso County

After retiring from a fruitful career as a biotechnology executive, Carol puts her decades of leadership and strategic planning experience toward serving her community. She volunteers for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival and serves on the Board of Directors for the Trails and Open Space Coalition.

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General Ed Eberhart

El Paso County

General Ralph E. "Ed" Eberhart, USAF (Ret.) currently serves as the Chair of The Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) and its related enterprise, 5Star Life Insurance Company.  A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Ed Eberhart's active duty military career spanned 36 years with his last assignment as Commander, U.S. Northern Command, and Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He is also a command pilot with more than 5,000 flight hours.

Ed Eberhart has been praised for bringing together the five military branches of service, including the National Guard and Reserve forces, to ensure the security of our nation in the aftermath of the tragic September 11, 2001 attacks.

Ed Eberhart serves on the boards of several privately and publicly held companies, including TERMA, Jacobs, Triumph Group, and VSE, and non-profit organizations such as Segs4Vets and the American Air Museum in Britain (AAMB).  Additionally, he serves as the Chair of AAMB, VSE, and Triumph Group.

Ed Eberhart is the recipient of the Pacific Air Forces Able Aeronaut Award (1971); the Air Force Association General Jimmy Doolittle Award (1997); the National Football Foundation’s Tom Lombardo Leadership Award (2001); the General Thomas D. White United States Air Force Space Trophy (2001); the General James V. Hartinger Award (2002); the El Pomar Foundation Award for Excellence (2004); the General Bernard A. Schriever Award (2007); the Jim Otis “Hustle” Award (2008), the Kent Leadership Award (2008); the Air Force Order of the Sword, Air Force Space Command (2008); the United States Air Force Academy Distinguished Graduate Award (2011); the American College Soldier-Citizen Award (2015); and, the Segs4Vets Battle Flag Award (2018); National Western Stock Show Citizen of the West (2024). He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ed Eberhart and his wife Karen, reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Randy Evetts

Pueblo County

As the Public Health Director for Pueblo County, Randy brings over 25 years of leadership experience in rural health, school health, and philanthropy. He has served on many boards including the Colorado Rural Health Center, the Caring for Colorado Foundation, and the Pueblo Mountain Park Environmental Center. Randy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Colorado State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of New Mexico.

A native of Pueblo, Randy developed a connection to the outdoors at a young age and spent many days in the woods on hunting and camping trips and visiting his dad’s family ranch in New Mexico. Today, Randy continues to enjoy outdoor activities, traveling, audiobooks, and time with his wife Lynne and their two children.

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Kimberly Florence

El Paso County

As part of a military family, Kim has lived across the United States. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brigham Young University, she built her career in policy and business, holding various positions, including a public policy think tank and a US Intelligence Agency. Kim began practicing real estate ten years ago and moved to Colorado Springs with her family in 2019.

Kim is involved with several nonprofits and currently volunteers as the fundraising director for the nonprofit Their Story is Our Story and is Vice President of the PTO for her three children's Colorado Springs District 12 school. Kim and her husband support many local Colorado Springs organizations, including the Springs Rescue Mission, Westside Cares, UC Children's Hospital, Touch of Love International, and the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum.

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Jim Johnson

El paso county

The Johnson family has a long history with the land with homesteading roots dating back to 1929 in Teller County. They continue to own and operate a historic ranch on the south side of Pikes Peak, where they graze cattle, hunt, and hold cattle drive experiences through Jim’s outfitting company, Elk Glade Outfitters.  

A Colorado College graduate, Jim worked for his family’s company founded in 1900, Johnson Moving and Storage, until he retired and then shifted his focus on making the family ranch more self-sustaining. Jim lives in southwest Colorado Springs and has served on many boards, including Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, Mile High Council of Girl Scouts, and Porter Hospital. Jim is currently a member of the Pikes Peak Range Riders and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association.

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Howard Kenison

Denver County

Howard Kenison is an Environmental Litigation Attorney at Jones & Keller and is a former Colorado Deputy Attorney General and nationally recognized attorney in environmental law and litigation. He is a Past Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment Energy and Resources.

With over four decades of accomplishments, Howard brings experience and practical knowledge assessing environmental risk and resolving legal issues for clients dealing with the complex array of environmental laws that can impact projects and commercial transactions. Howard finds effective solutions that balance economic and environmental interests and achieve client objectives.

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Alex Lasater 

Elbert County

Upon graduation from Trinity University in San Antonio Texas, Alex co-founded a wholesale distribution company in Monterrey, Mexico. The company was sold in 2002, and Alex shifted to the oil and gas sector in Mexico, working for various operators and service companies. In 2011, Alex returned to manage the family ranch in Matheson, Colorado, home of the Foundation herd of the Beefmaster Breed. In 2015, Alex took control of all ranch and land operations, as well as becoming the sole proprietor of the Foundation herd, which is the oldest closed herd of cattle in existence. He continues to ranch in Matheson, Colorado, and in northern New Mexico. Alex continues his family’s legacy of excellence in breeding genetics and meeting the needs of the commercial cattleman. Alex is a member of the Pikes Peak Cattleman’s Association, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He also serves as a member of the board of the Beefmaster Education Endowment Foundation.

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Amy McCoy

El Paso County

Growing up in the shadow of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Amy has always been fascinated by the intersection of water, land, human cultures, and language. After a stint on the East Coast earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology at Yale University, she returned to the West for a PhD from the University of Arizona and seeded her career as a consultant. 

Amy is a founding partner of AMP Insights, where she applies strategic research and creative communications to the confounding social, legal, and practical challenges of water scarcity and climate change. She also serves as an Adjunct Research Scientist with the University of Arizona Southwest Center and participates in a wide range of ecological, climate, and water-focused research collaborations.

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Matthew Niznik

El Paso County

A Colorado Springs native, Matt is an attorney with Sparks Willson Borges Brandt & Johnson. He received his undergraduate degrees and a law degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. Growing up in Colorado, Matt gained a true appreciation for and a desire to protect Colorado’s open spaces and biological diversity. He and his family enjoy hiking, backpacking and cycling throughout Colorado.

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Catherine Steele

El Paso County

In 2019, Catherine retired as the Senior Vice President, National Systems Group at The Aerospace Corporation in Chantilly, VA, where she managed Aerospace resources supporting the national security space and intelligence community in the acquisition, launch, and orbital operation of advanced technology space systems and their communications and ground data stations. She led and was responsible for Aerospace efforts with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), National Geospatial Agency (NGA), and other intelligence agencies.

Prior positions include Vice President, Strategic Space Operations, at The Aerospace Corporation in Colorado Springs, CO where she managed a broad portfolio supporting Air Force and Dept. of Defense customers. She was the trusted advisor to three successive four-star generals at HQ Air Force Space Command and was also responsible for leading Aerospace key efforts at four regional locations.

After a dedicated 43-year career at the national level, she currently serves on several local community boards. Catherine received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering/system science and Master of Science degree in engineering control systems from the University of California, Los Angeles. She received the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Director’s Team Award in 2001, the National Security Space Team award in 2004, and was honored with the 2013 Women in Aerospace Leadership Award. She also holds a Ham Radio technician-level license with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

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Donis Walker

El Paso County

Don grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and received a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 1963 and an L.L.M. from Harvard Law School, Magna Cum Laude in 1966. He moved to Colorado Springs in 1971 to join Holme Roberts & Owen, a large Denver-based regional law firm where he practiced corporate law and was Managing Partner of the Colorado Springs office for over 20 years. In 1993, he joined Hogan & Hartson, a prominent Washington DC-based international law firm, to open and manage offices for the firm in Denver and Colorado Springs.  

Don’s interests in the conservation and preservation of land developed from his farming and ranching experiences. In his early teens, he worked on relatives’ farms in Oklahoma, and then for five summers, he drove a combine with a harvest crew following the harvest from Texas to North Dakota. After retiring from his law practice in 2004, Don became Chairman and President of Sutter Ranch Corporation, which owned and operated a 12,000-acre family cattle ranch in Ellis County, OK, assembled by his wife’s grandfather in the 1920s, which Don managed until it was sold in 2020. 

Don previously served on the boards of the Pikes Peak YMCA, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and Craig Hospital in Denver.

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Chris Wiseman

Pueblo County

Born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, Chris Wiseman is married with seven children and ten grandchildren. He attended University of Southern Colorado (presently CSU-Pueblo) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice.  

Chris started his career working for the Office of the United States Senator Timothy E. Wirth as a Southern Colorado Office Director for five years. He addressed issues affecting Southern Colorado including economic development and agriculture. Chris worked as a Community Specialist for Governor Roy Romer, the General Manager for the Colorado State Fair, the Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture position at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and the Pueblo County Commissioner for District 3 before retiring in 2023.  

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