Dr. Briget Eastep joins Western Colorado's University's Center for Public Lands after working for 17 years at Southern Utah University where she built and led innovative programs connecting students, faculty, and staff with public lands. Through internships, service learning, scholarship, monitoring, and volunteer work thousands of students found their way into professional careers and have become lifelong advocates for public lands. Dr. Eastep is passionate about public land stewardship, collaboration and building pathways for the next generation of public land leaders. Our society is facing amazing challenges, and it will take stewardship, research and collaborative practices to move us forward.

Paul Rivera is our 2022 Great Outdoors Colorado Fellow, a team member of the Center for Public Lands, and a member of the Sustainable Tourism Outdoors and Recreation crew. Having earned his Bachelors degree in Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University, he is passionate about conservation and making sure we improve our outdoors for future generations. He is pursuing his Master’s in Environmental Management from Western Colorado University with a concentration in Integrative and Public Lands Management.

Courtney King coordinates the EMPLOYS graduate program at Western Colorado University. She is continuously working to develop and improve relationships with the land management agencies that provide the settings and sponsorship for graduate student research and training. Courtney also coordinates the Taylor Park Adaptive Management Group, which brings together stakeholders to provide input on the U.S. Forest Service’s Taylor Park Vegetation Management Plan. When she’s not in the office, you may find her in the woods hugging trees – i.e., measuring diameter at breast height. Originally from upstate New York, Courtney originally received her M.S. in Ecology with a concentration in Fish and Wildlife Management from Western.