Karen Bailey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies | University of Colorado, Boulder
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission Member

Dr. Karen Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a systems researcher interested in understanding how human-environment interactions impact human health, well-being, and natural resources.

She is interested in sustainable livelihoods, wildlife conservation, global change, and coupled human-natural systems. She is also strongly committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in environmental work and STEM more broadly.

Summit presentation topic
Regional expert

Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk

Cross-Cultural Programs Director

Montezuma County Land Conservancy

Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk was born and raised in southwestern Colorado and resides on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. She is a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Towaoc. At an early age, Lopez-Whiteskunk began to advocate for land, air, water, and animals and strongly believes that the inner core of healing comes from the knowledge of our land and elders. She is a former co-chair for the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition Co-Chair and education director for the Ute Indian Museum. In October 2013, she was elected to serve as a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council.

Summit presentation topic

Travis Custer

Executive Director | Montezuma County Land Conservancy

Travis Custer has a deep passion for the power of connecting people to the land and exploring the diverse stories of how land weaves itself through the human experience. He has been involved with non-profit and community-based work for over 15 years, with a diverse background in nonprofit management, leadership, agriculture, ecology, education, and social and environmental justice. As the Executive Director of Montezuma Land Conservancy, Travis has played an instrumental role in advancing the organization's community-centered conservation initiatives through MLC's education center, Fozzie’s Farm, and partnership with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Travis also serves on the board of directors for Keep It Colorado, a statewide coalition for land trusts, where he advocates for a community and justice-centered approach to conservation across the land trust community in Colorado and around the country. Recently, he founded CORE Conservation Consulting, LLC, to support land trusts and conservation organizations committed to a new conservation paradigm and organizational development. Above all, Travis is a proud father to his son, Eddy, and enjoys learning and teaching alongside him as they work together to become better versions of themselves.

Summit presentation topic

Brandon Francis
Educational Resources Coordinator
Agricultural Science Center, New Mexico State University (NMSU)
Fort Lewis '15

Brandon Francis is a plant researcher whose family has stewarded corn in the Black Mesa, NM, area for several generations. He began his work with sustainable food systems at the Old Fort Lewis in Hesperus, CO, where he completed an internship and apprenticeship in sustainable agriculture methods. He has worked as a research laboratory technician, education resource coordinator, and graduate research assistant for NMSU at the Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, NM. As part of his research, he has been conducting high-elevation Four Sisters experiments with seed varieties endemic to the Southwest while deepening his connection to his Diné heritage through agriculture.

Summit presentation topic