Board of Directors & Staff
Our Friends group is one of about 200 across the nation that supports local national wildlife refuges. Our supporters come from all walks of life to enjoy and promote our refuges. Our supporters also have access to training and networking offered through national conferences for friends groups.
Our group is led by a board of directors with diverse environmental, educational, business and community expertise.
Board of Directors:
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- Michelle Seubert, Manager Cherry Creek State Park, President
- Vicki Vargas-Madrid, Education & Wildlife Program Manager Denver Parks & Recreation/Denver Mountain Parks, Vice President
- Jack Markovich, Senior Accountant at Denver Zoological Foundation, Treasurer
- Jennifer Watson, Elephant PR, Secretary
- Susan Noble, Mayor Pro Tem for Commerce City
- Rocky Teter, Councilmember for Commerce City
- Rebecca Pepin, Jorgensen, Brownell, & Pepin P.C.
- Loretta Pineda, Past President, Retired
- Andrew Rothman, Environment America
- Christopher Urias, Montbello Organizing Committee
- Kim Weiss, City of Brighton
- Montoya Whiteman, American Indian Science and Engineering Society
FFRWR Staff:
- Vanessa Thurk, Executive Director, vthurk@ffrwr.org
- Kim Lopez, Volunteer Coordinator, klopez@ffrwr.org
- Jillian McCarten, Generation Wild NEMC Coordinator, jmccarten@ffrwr.org
- Bri Spitz, Nature’s Nest Coordinator, bspitz@ffrwr.org
- Malina Chavez, Nature’s Nest & Communications Assistant, mchavez@ffrwr.org
- Karen Ragsdale, Nature’s Nest Clerk
Honoring Founding Board Members:
- Gary Beasley, former Vice President
- René Bullock, Commerce City Chamber of Commerce, former President
- James Jacobs, former Treasurer
- Carolyn Boller, Egli House Advocate, Co-Founder FFRWR
- David Pocs, Events Committee, LPL Financial
- Kate Kramer, former Board Member and Generation Wild NEMC Manager
- Rachel Hutchens, Executive Director at Bluff Lake Nature Center, former Secretary
- Maria Carabajal, Public Relations at South Adams County Fire Protection District, former Events Committee Chair
Volunteer of the Year Award
Congratulations to our 2025 Volunteer of the Year, Renee Moore!
Every year FFRWR board of directors gives the FFRWR Volunteer of the Year award. The award goes to a volunteer from Nature’s Nest or the FFRWR Board of Directors for generous and long-time service. Congratulations to all the honorees!
- 2015: Carolyn Boller
- 2016: Betty Pepin
- 2017: Diane Buell
- 2017: Reba Drotar
- 2018: Gary Beasley
- 2019: Barb Weiss
- 2020: Bruce Hastings
- 2021: Bill Marsh
- 2022: Rene Bullock
- 2023: Maria Carabajal
- 2024: Loretta Pineda
- 2025: Renee Moore
