SLV GO! Board of Directors 2021
Adam Moore – President
Supervisory Forester
Colorado State Forest Service
adam.moore@colostate.edu
719-587-0915
Alamosa County
Adam Moore joined the SLV GO! board in 2018 and has been an active member of SLV GO! since 2013.
Currently he is the Supervisory Forester of Communications and Communities for the Alamosa and
Salida Field Offices for the Colorado State Forest Service. CSFS is a service and outreach agency of the
Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University. He has been with CSFS in Alamosa,
CO since 2010. He oversees the daily operations of providing technical forestry services to private
landowners, community forests in municipal settings, wildfire preparedness and projects with partners.
Previously he worked as a Park Ranger for Virginia State Parks, environmental educator for residential
YMCA camps in Alabama and North Carolina as well as a crew leader for the Utah Conservation Corps.
He has a BS in Forestry with an emphasis in Recreation Resources from Utah State University. His
outdoor pursuits include biking across the United States, thru-hiking the Appalachian and Long Trail,
skiing and trail running. He is also on the San Juan Nordic Club Board, Alamosa Tree Board, Colorado
Tree Farm Committee and a volunteer Visiting Forester at Philmont Scout Ranch. These experiences
translate into bringing a diverse natural resources and recreation experience to the SLV GO! Board.
Rachel Baird – Secretary
Planning and Building Director
Alamosa County
rbaird@alamosacounty.org
719-589-3812, cell 719-850-8752
Alamosa County
In 1999, Rachel’s family relocated to the San Luis Valley from the Washington D.C. area so her mother could establish one of the state’s first wilderness therapy programs for adjudicated youth. She can trace her Spanish colonial lineage back to the 1500’s in northern New Mexico and her ancestors were among the first settlers in the San Luis Valley. She spent her teenage years learning to rock climb at Penitente Canyon, hiking, camping, fishing, and foraging for native plants in the San Juan Mountains. She graduated from Monte Vista High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
She started her career in the Valley working for the San Luis Valley GIS/GPS Authority and was hired as the Alamosa County Planner in 2013. After being promoted to Planning and Building Director in 2016, she began managing the department responsible for regulating development in unincorporated Alamosa County. During her time with the county, she has secured nearly $12 million in grant funding for capital improvement projects, overseen the construction of a public utility, helped permit multiple large scale solar farms, written adaptive land use code revisions, and contributed to numerous regional planning efforts. She loves the diversity of her job, particularly projects that support trails, parks, open space, downtown revitalization, public infrastructure improvements, renewable energy, and value-added agriculture.
Rachel was a founding coalition member of SLV GO! and co-wrote the GOCO planning grant for the 2014 San Luis Valley Trails and Recreation Plan. She is passionate about inclusive recreation design, sustainable urban planning, and placemaking. She is an avid gardener, has too many rescue dogs, and loves to hike and travel with her husband.
Curt Howell
Instructor of First Year Seminar and Adventure Leadership
Adams State University
curthowell@adams.edu
719-480-4851
Rio Grande County
Curt is a professional outdoor educator with 15 years of experience in outdoor
recreation, higher education, and guiding. His career has primarily involved managing
collegiate outdoor programs, teaching leadership, instructing outdoor skill courses, and
mentoring students and young professionals. Curt’s presence as a person focused
leader and program administration experience support the board in fulfilling its
responsibilities to the San Luis Valley community.
In 2007, Curt started career working in outdoor program administration at Texas Tech
University. Then in 2009, Curt served on the board for the Association for Outdoor
Recreation and Education where he provided leadership in the governance transition as
the organization brought on its first executive director and assisted he in the design and
management of the association’s annual conference. In 2013, he transitioned to the
Assistant Director for Adventure Programs at Adams State University and began to
work towards developing a major in outdoor recreation. Curt’s reputation, experience,
and leadership with governance, administration, strategic planning, and culture
development have been leveraged by small non-profits and institutions during the past
few years. At Adams State, Curt was asked to be part of the recent campus efforts in re-
envisioning its undergraduate education most specifically in leading the development of
two campus-wide curricular initiatives. He was asked to serve on the founding board for
SLV GO! where he led the board in the development of board policies and priorities to
guide the work of the organization. Curt’s ability to facilitate intentional discussions,
collaborate and coordinate between different points of view, and see projects through to
fruition all contribute to his care and influence on the board.
Currently, Curt is an Instructor and the Program Director for the B.A. in Outdoor
Education and Stewardship at Adams State University. He earned an M.Ed in
Educational Psychology from Texas Tech University and has held a variety of outdoor
certifications. He is passionate about outdoor recreation, finding his center climbing ice
and rock, paddling rivers, and long walks in the woods. Alone, with his family, friends,
students, or clients Curt finds joy in connecting with nature on its own terms and doing
his part to care for wild places.
Kairina Danforth
Mayor
Town of Crestone
thecrestoneoaisis@yahoo.com
719-256-5445, 719-239-1327
Saguache County
Currently serving her third term as Mayor of Crestone, Colorado, Kairina Danforth has devoted
her life to service in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Formerly a Contract Negotiator
working with Fortune 500 companies, she spearheaded a purchasing concept at Sandia
National Laboratories as a member of Sandia Management that rendered warehouse operation
obsolete and effected continuing multi-million dollar annual savings.
Prior to her election as Mayor, she served as Town Trustee for two consecutive terms, later
becoming a Crestone Town Planning Commissioner. In June 2014 she became President of the
Crestone Creative District, ushering in its official designation as a creative arts district by the
State of Colorado. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the San Luis Valley Council of
Governments and is a current Board member of SLV GO!.
In 2015 Kairina envisioned and was a driving force in the early development and
implementation of the thriving Eastern San Luis Valley Trails Coalition which today serves as an
economic driver and community connectivity strategy. Until then, the Town of Crestone did
not offer many opportunities for walking, hiking, biking, or other non-motorized transport
within the community. Recognizing the need for community paths, Kairina convened some key
players to envision the creation a then non-existent north-south trunk trail to improve access
to the town’s natural areas and the connectivity of the community. Calling itself the Eastern
San Luis Valley Trails Coalition and including all four surrounding Federal Agency Land Managers
(Fish & Wildlife Service, US National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park
Service), as well as Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, elected officials from the Town of
Crestone and Saguache County, representatives from the Crestone Charter School, Colorado
College’s Baca Campus, the Baca Grande Property Owners Association the Trails Coalition today
works collaboratively with SLV GO!, and has increased access to public lands, and is
providing trails that are suitable or all ability levels.
Sean Noonan
Outdoor Recreation Planner
San Luis Valley Field Office
Bureau of Land Management
snoonan@blm.gov
719-849-3149
Rio Grande County
Sean Noonan is an Outdoor Recreation Planner for the Bureau of Land Management’s San Luis Valley Field Office, and the agency’s liaison to the SLV GO! Board of Directors.
He is committed to connecting people and communities to their public lands for the benefit of each, and he is proud to be associated with the impressive number and diversity of partners that comprise the coalition – all of whom are devoted to the long-term stewardship and prosperity of the San Luis Valley’s incredible natural and cultural resources.
He is married with two children and enjoys many outdoor pursuits with his family in the great San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.
Tyler Keck
Financial Advisor
Edward Jones
tyler.keck@edwardjones.com
719-852-4761
Rio Grande County
Tyler grew up in Monte Vista, Colorado and spent much of his time as a child enjoying the beautiful
outdoor recreation of the San Luis Valley. At an early age he discovered his passion for environmental
conservation while conducting research and studying new methods of mine wastewater reclamation at
the Summitville Mine EPA Superfund Site. This early education in the sciences and outdoors led him to
pursue a degree in Geology from Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
In his early career, Tyler worked as a Project Geologist overseeing numerous geologic investigations,
reclamation and conservation projects at over 50 sites across the United States. Later he transitioned to
a role as Environmental Manager at one of the largest underground trona mines in the world. There he
gathered invaluable experience not only in partnering with Local, State, and Federal Agencies, but
building meaningful long lasting relationships focused on collaboration between the private and public
sectors. This experience gave him the opportunity to build from the ground up, the Sustainability
Program for the trona mine where he had the ability to focus specifically on mitigation of long term
environmental impacts, habitat conservation and restoration, Corporate social responsibility,
community outreach, and public relations on the Local, State, National, and International levels.
In 2015, Tyler became the founding Chairman of the Wyoming Mining Natural Resource Foundation
whose mission recognizes the critical role that Wyoming’s mining industries play in providing for the
health and well-being of human and natural environments. The Foundation’s goals are species
conservation and sustainability of mining operations.
Through continued pursuit of his passions, Tyler now serves individuals and businesses in the San Luis
Valley, partnering with them to define, plan, and achieve their financial dreams. This culmination of
experience has led him to believe that often the biggest impact we can have on our communities is
through direct interaction with the individuals who make up that community. SLV GO! gives him that
opportunity to partner with individuals who are passionate and support the health and wellbeing of the
SLV community through access to the great outdoors. Tyler enjoys trail running, mountain biking, rock
climbing, and most anything outside.
Kevin Wilkins
Executive Director
San Luis Valley Development Resources Group
kwilkins@slvdrg.org
Alamosa County
Kevin has been engaged in rural economic development since the 1980’as a small town newspaper publisher in Nebraska and Colorado, serving in leadership capacities on local economic development efforts. After leaving the newspaper industry in the early 90’s, Kevin began a career in economic development as the Executive Director of the Belle Fourche South Dakota Chamber of Commerce charged with enhancing industry retention and attraction activity, in addition to extensive efforts within the Black Hills visitor industry.
Kevin took the reins of a struggling public/private economic development organization in Chadron, Nebraska restoring fiscal health, cleaned up a million dollar loan portfolio and developed a small industrial park. Fremont, Nebraska recruited Kevin as CEO of the Greater Fremont Development Corporation in 2000, where he earned a CEcD designation in 2001. During his tenure in Fremont, two industrial parks were developed, with a third data center park in development when he left in 2009. The Greater Fremont Development Council averaged an unprecedented number of major projects per year from 2002 to 2009. He left Nebraska for a short stint in Colorado within city government before accepting a position in with the City of Yuma, Arizona.
Kevin has been an active member of state economic development organizations in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Arizona, as well as the Mid America Economic Development Council and International Economic Development Council. He was an officer in the Nebraska Economic Developers Association and Arizona Association of Economic Developers. Kevin has been a mentor to many rural economic developers in the Midwest.e