Commissioners & Director

Deborah is currently a Conservation Finance Strategy Advisor at Nature United where she develops the strategies and financial mechanisms to secure diversified and durable sources of funds to support Indigenous-led conservation projects in Canada.

She joined Nature United’s global parent organization, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in 2008 as Director of Land Conservation and Finance. In that role Deborah developed financial structures to support a Colorado grassland preservation campaign.  A member of the founding team at NatureVest, TNC's impact investment unit, she developed and managed investments in regenerative agriculture across the U.S. and Latin America.

An investment professional, Deborah previously held management roles with publicly traded institutional investors and banks for 20 years, including First Interstate Bank, Mutual of New York, and Regency Centers.

She has contributed her leadership to various industry and local non-profit organizations including the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks, the Urban Land Institute, and Colorado Headwaters Land Trust. 

She earned a Masters in Management from Northwestern University and a BA from The Colorado College.

Appointed 9/1/2022 (off-cycle due to a vacancy). Reappointed 7/1/2025, current term expires in 2029.

 

Mark Harvey is a native of the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. He has operated cattle ranches in Steamboat Springs, Brush, and currently manages a working ranch on Snowmass Creek.

He is also the founder and owner of Open Range Wines, an award-winning winery that produces wine from Colorado and Washington State grapes.

Previously, he worked for years leading month-long mountaineering and horse-packing trips for the National Outdoor Leadership School and is the author of the NOLS Wilderness Guide, which won the National Outdoor Book Award.  

After his NOLS career, Mark partnered in building an oyster and mussel farm in southern Chile, which is still in operation.

On the side, Mark enjoys photography, skiing, mountain biking, reading, and training horses. A lifelong conservationist, he serves as board president of EcoFlight and Aspen Journalism.

Appointed 7/1/2025. Current term expires 2029.

During his corporate career, James served in state and federal public affairs positions with several telecommunications companies. From 2000 to 2014, he was chief government affairs executive at Level 3 Communications, a global internet network carrier. Since 2014, James has served as a consultant specializing in the internet, natural resources and health care.

Earlier, James was chief of staff to a Governor, and as political strategist in campaigns for Governor, U.S. Senate and the Presidential nominating process. Appointed by Governor Jared Polis in 2019 and 2022, James serves as a trustee of Western Colorado University.

He is chair of Colorado Nature Action, the 501c4 affiliate of Colorado Nature League, dedicated to the protection of threatened and endangered wildlife species.

Previously, James served on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, the Colorado State Parks Board, the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO), Conservation Colorado, and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

James graduated from University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, and is a former US Air Force officer. He and his wife, a former public school principal, live in Frisco and Louisville, CO. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.

Appointed 7/1/2025. Current term expires 2029. 

Josie has extensive experience in public service. She served more than 20 years (1995 - 2017) as CEO and President of the Community Foundation for Boulder County and was a Boulder County Commissioner (1982 - 1990). 

She was a founder of the Mile High Youth Corps and the former assistant to the director of the White House Office of National Service for establishment of Americorps in 1993. In the mid-1990s, she was a teaching fellow at the Kennedy School and served as a consultant for Harvard University’s Project Liberty that provided leadership programs for locally elected officials in Central and Eastern Europe. She was the Colorado Democratic 1990 and 1992 candidate for United States Senate. 

Josie has been the recipient of many local and national service awards, including being inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.  

Appointed 7/1/2019. Reappointed 7/1/2023, current term expires in 2027.

Christine Scanlan is President and CEO of the Keystone Policy Center, a nonprofit organization that over the past 40 years has built a portfolio of substantive work in energy, environment, education, health, and agriculture. Keystone has accomplished this work with a series of complementary approaches that reflect the diverse strategies utilized in leadership and successful issue resolution. 

Christine joined the Keystone Policy Center from her role as Director of Legislative Affairs and Strategic Initiatives and Senior Education Policy Advisor to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.  

Prior to her senior staff role in the Governor’s Office, Christine was a Colorado State Representative for House District 56 and served in leadership as Majority Whip. In earlier years, Christine had previously been at Keystone as Senior Vice President and COO. 

Christine has extensive public policy experience as a seasoned facilitator, negotiator and policy expert and is a respected leader in finding policy solutions through collaborative dialogue to complicated issues of urgency and import. 

Christine received both her MA Nonprofit Management and BA History from Regis University, Denver, Colorado. 

Appointed 7/1/2019, Reappointed 7/1/2023, current term expires in 2027

Nicole Rosmarino was appointed Director of the Colorado State Land Board in June 2025. She brings more than two decades of experience in conservation policy, land stewardship, and public service. 

Prior to joining the State Land Board, Nicole served as Governor Jared Polis’s Senior Policy Advisor for Wildlife, Agriculture, and Rural Economic Development. In that role, she worked closely with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to support agricultural producers, advance sustainable agricultural practices, and increase access for beginning farmers and ranchers. She also worked closely with Colorado Parks and Wildlife advancing conservation and wildlife goals. Her work highlighted opportunities to support rural economic development through environmental stewardship across the state.

During her tenure as Executive Director of the Southern Plains Land Trust, a nonprofit land trust dedicated to protecting and restoring prairie ecosystems, her leadership emphasized biodiversity preservation and carbon sequestration, collaboration with neighboring landowners, rural economic benefits, and ecological resilience. This included direct experience managing livestock and infrastructure on conserved lands.

Nicole holds a master’s degree in agricultural policy and a Ph.D. in conservation policy, with a professional background that spans both the public and nonprofit sectors. She has long demonstrated a commitment to diverse stakeholders and local communities. 

Nicole has a deep passion for the land, for the benefit of people and wildlife alike, including the often under-appreciated shortgrass prairie. She believes that sincere public engagement and transparent governance are vital to fulfilling the agency’s mission.
 

Anyone may apply to join our Board. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the legislature.

As noted above, there are five positions that come from different professional backgrounds and geographic regions.

Serving on this Board is voluntary and requires a significant time commitment. Commissioners must attend monthly, public meetings that are often two full days during the business week. These meetings take place at assorted locations throughout the state (i.e. over-night travel is required). Prior to each meeting, Commissioners must read the Board packet, which can be 100-500 pages of material to help Commissioners make informed decisions. Commissioners have a fiduciary duty to make decisions on behalf of Trust beneficiaries, namely Colorado public schools.  

Our Board is made up of five citizen volunteers, chosen by the Governor and confirmed by the Colorado State Legislature. Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms, and are limited to two consecutive terms. (Pictured left to right: Commissioners Josie Heath, Erin Clark, Phillip Chavez, Christine Scanlan, and Deb Froeb.) The Colorado Constitution requires that four of our five Commissioners have substantial experience in four separate areas. However, they do not represent the interest of a particular sector, they represent the interest of the beneficiaries.

• Public K-12 education
• Production agriculture
• Local government
• Nature resources
• Citizen-at-large

We host monthly, public board meetings.

We strive to make our public meetings as accessible as possible and we welcome public comment. Join our Youtube Playlist so that you can stream meetings in real time. Streaming is subject to connectivity and may not be available. We also host our summer meetings in alternating locations throughout the state to make them more accessible for rural Coloradans.