Jason brings over 25 years of experience leading high-impact organizations, including the National Park Foundation and The Trust for Public Land.

Just prior to joining the Telluride Foundation in 2022, Jason served as Vice President of The National Park Foundation where he helped manage and guide strategies around protecting and preserving resources at America’s more than 400 national parks. He is passionate about protecting and sustaining close-to-home quality of life opportunities for rural communities as well as honoring and amplifying diverse constituents within those communities.

Jason brings to his work extensive experience negotiating complex community-based projects and is an able communicator, a skill honed from years of working with a wide variety of philanthropic donors, community leaders, local, state, and federal officials. Jason holds a BS in Biology & Chemistry from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned his MS in Environmental Science from the University of Texas.

Jason was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas and prior to relocating to Telluride, Jason and his wife, Jennifer, raised three kids in Denver. His other priorities in life involve maintaining healthy skiing and fishing habits while trying to keep his streak of visiting every Major League Ballpark alive.

April is our Vice President of Programs. She has been with the Foundation since 2005 managing our nonprofit building capacity efforts, grant program and initiatives. Prior to joining the Foundation, April had a consulting business, where she provided nonprofit and government organizations with grant writing, legal, project management, strategic planning and land use planning assistance. She was a planner and the Open Space & Recreation Director for San Miguel County from 1991 to 1999. She has a BA degree in Government from the University of Virginia and received her law degree from the University of Virginia in 1989; she is currently a member of the Colorado Bar.

Annemarie joined the Telluride Foundation as the Telluride Venture Network’s Network Manager in 2021. She brings marketing, brand management and business development experience from Baxter Healthcare, Unilever, and Alpine Lodging/Telluride.com. Annemarie holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Most recently she served as the Marketing Manager at Tri-County Health Network, leading the communication and outreach strategy for over 20 programs. Annemarie moved to Telluride in 2004 after stints in Tokyo, London and Chicago choosing to raise her young family in the natural playground of the box canyon. She participated as a board member of the Telluride Ski Ranches HOA and the Telluride AIDS Benefit. She also served as a Co-Chair of the Telluride School District Accountability Committee and led fundraising efforts for the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club. When not working, Annemarie takes advantage of all that Telluride offers including music festivals, hiking, biking, skiing and SUPing the San Miguel.

Elaine arrived in Telluride in 1990. Her professional career began at the Peaks Hotel and Spa where she served first as the hotel’s Director of Management Information Systems and then as Director of Conference Services. In 2000 she founded Telluride Experience where, in addition to organizing corporate and social events, she served as Program Director for the Telluride Wine festival (2002- 2005) as well as founded the Telluride Yoga Festival. In addition to her professional endeavors, Elaine and her husband, Damon have raised two children in the Telluride community. Elaine served as Executive Director of Telluride Academy, serving over 900 local and visiting students annually from 2010 until joining the Telluride Foundation in May of 2017. She serves as the Foundation’s Vice President of Initiatives.

Prior to her work with The Chang Chavkin Scholars Program, an initiative of the Telluride Foundation, Valene worked for 21 years as a school social worker and school guidance counselor in a variety of roles including college counselor, academic advisor, mental health counselor, and health and wellness coordinator. Valene is also a licensed clinical social worker and has provided services for Hospice, Denver Family Court and the Department of Health and Human Services. Valene and her husband John are raising their two boys, Jack and Isaac, in Ridgway, CO.

Karen Byrom is our Finance Director who manages the financial reporting, policies, and cash management. She joined the Telluride Foundation in 2021 as Financial Controller after 18 years of banking in Telluride, CO. Most recently, she was the Community President and Business Banking Center Manager at Community Banks of Colorado and was previously a Commercial Lender with Vectra Bank. Karen enjoys working with the community to make Telluride a better place to live, work and visit. Karen moved to Telluride following a joint Mathematics and Physics B.S. degree from Middlebury College. Karen fell in love with Telluride and has lived “down valley” for the past 32 years with her husband, Cedric, and raised 2 girls. Karen loves hiking, camping, boating, skiing, her dogs and anything that involves the outdoors and family.

Courtney has an extensive background in community leadership, fundraising development, special events, and program management. She has been a partner to the Foundation on many endeavors related to workforce housing as the Executive Director of the San Miguel Regional Housing Authority. In addition to her work at SMRHA, Courtney brings to the Foundation ten years of non-profit experience with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Ascendigo Autism Services and the Pinhead Institute and has strong professional relationships with our local and regional government entities, business leaders, non-profit organizations, and community members.

Courtney holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California Los Angeles. She enjoys all our local mountain activities and spending time with her partner, Aric, daughter Charley, and chocolate lab Mocha.

As a new member of The Telluride Foundation as of January, 2023, Elisabeth brings her knowledge and experience as a 30 year Telluride resident and business owner. She is joining the accounting team with a background in bookkeeping and IT. She is passionate about the Telluride community having raised her son here and enjoys everything the mountains have to offer including skiing, hockey and trail running.

Dani joined the Telluride Foundation after 7 years in the ski industry, managing the Telluride Ski Resort lift operations team. Her passion for the well-being of this community and its beautiful landscapes fuels her desire for growth and positive community impact. With a background in design, creative solutions to everyday or big picture problems have always been something she enjoys contributing.

Dani holds a BFA with a concentration in interior design & sustainable design from the University of Wisconsin- Stout. Post graduation she worked as a designer for an architecture firm in Minneapolis, lived in Panama doing sustainability work and eventually made her way west, where she stumbled upon this wonderful little box canyon. In her free time, you’ll find her climbing big rocks, biking up mountains, sliding on snow, boating down rivers and enjoying live music. She also greatly values her creative outlets such as making jewelry and painting.