Catie Boehmer

Leslie Harroun

Leslie was most recently Executive in Residence and Senior Fellow for Strategic Initiatives at The Democracy Collaborative, where she partnered with academics, communities, and thought leaders to design and articulate a commonsense and coherent frame for a “next” economic system that is equitable, democratic, and regenerative. Previously, Leslie was the founding director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE), an international donor collaborative working to transform our economic system so that it values ecological integrity and human well-being. From 1998-2015, Leslie worked at the OAK Foundation, where she developed and managed its North American, European, and select global climate change portfolios, as well as its early marine conservation portfolio.  Prior to her work with OAK, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Papua New Guinea, where she chaired and managed a national consortium engaged in protecting the intellectual, biological, and cultural property rights of indigenous landowners. She also worked with the World Wildlife Fund on US conservation policy and practice and briefly practiced law.

Leslie recently earned a Non-Profit Leadership Certificate from the Executive Education Program of the Harvard Kennedy School and has a JD from Northeastern University School of Law and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College.

As an East Coast transplant, Leslie enjoys exploring and immersing herself in Colorado’s (and the West’s) wildlands and rivers, typically accompanied by her camera.  She’s an avid cook and gardener and proud aunt of four inimitable Coloradans, including two CSU grads.

Jen Kovecses

Jen Kovecses is the Assistant Director of Programs for the Salazar Center, where she leads the organization’s program strategy and implementation, including the annual Salazar Symposium on Conservation Impact and other convenings, sustaining diverse partnerships across North America, and developing the Center’s evolving climate resilience work. She helps bring diverse partners – whether practitioners, policy makers, researchers, or funders – together to share and develop innovative ideas and solutions around landscape conservation, equity, and climate resilience to meet the Center’s mission and strategic goals.  

Prior to joining the Center, Jen was executive director at the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed for over seven years, where she focused on post-fire restoration, forest, river, and wildfire resilience. In that work, she brought diverse stakeholders together to plan and implement strategies and projects to increase cross-boundary watershed resilience. Originally from Canada, Jen completed her Master of Science at McGill University in biology with a focus on aquatic ecology and conservation. When Jen is not playing in the closest river, lake, or ocean, she can be found throwing pottery, or occasionally throwing punches at the local boxing gym. 

Catie Boehmer

Catie Boehmer is the Assistant Director of Engagement and Operations for the Salazar Center, where she oversees the Peregrine Accelerator for Conservation Impact, as well as a variety of partnership efforts and the Center’s day-to-day operations. She helps foster connections between conservation innovators, ideas, and resources and supports capacity-building efforts for new and different solutions.

Prior to joining the Center, Catie oversaw the Colorado Water Center’s grantmaking and outreach programs and previously spent nearly a decade in fundraising roles that directly supported conservation research, education, and practice. Catie holds a Master’s degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from CSU and a BA in political science from Northwestern University. She is currently serving a two-year term on the planning committee for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Partners in the Outdoors program, and in her free time, she can often be found running, camping, and hunting on Colorado’s public lands.

Emily Barbo

Emily Barbo is the Senior Communications Manager for the Salazar Center where she is working with the conservation community to share stories of impact within Colorado State University, the local Colorado community, and beyond. Emily manages the Center’s website, social media channels, monthly e-newsletter, blog, as well as branded print and digital communications assets including the Center’s collaborations with news media and other external partners. She helps frame the work of the Center in a way that engages the head and the heart; sharing the critically important science that is helping us to understand the climate and biodiversity crises through a lens that informs and activates nontechnical audiences by showing how these environmental issues impact us all. 

Emily earned her Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing and nonprofit management from Boston University. She is an avid runner and often spends her free time exploring the National Park system or volunteering on the CSU Spur campus. 

Shoshanna Dean

Shoshanna is the Program and Partnerships Coordinator for the Salazar Center where she supports critical project management, partner engagement, and research support for the Center’s programs, including the Peregrine Accelerator, the annual Symposium on Conservation Impact, and additional convenings. She communicates with partners on and off campus to understand how they may play a role in key initiatives hosted by the Center, to contribute to the vast network of conservation professionals that are working towards bettering outcomes for ecosystems and communities across North America. She also assists with management of program logistics across the Center’s initiatives to support successful execution of convenings and research. 

Shoshanna completed her Masters of Conservation Leadership at CSU in 2021 where she was nominated for the Gasbarro Distinguished Achievement Scholarship for Conservation Leadership. Prior to joining the Center, she worked with organizations including the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, 350 Colorado, and the Olympic Natural Resources Center. In her free time, Shoshanna enjoys hiking and paddle boarding in Colorado’s mountains, traveling internationally, and visiting her family in Washington state.