Haub School Advisory Board

Our Advisory Board serves the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, providing valuable insights and support to our academic programs and Ruckelshaus Institute. The board works toward the mission of advancing effective decision-making on environmental and natural resource challenges through research, policy analysis, education, process support, and outreach.

Rebecca W. Watson, Advisory Board Chair and Special Counsel, Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C.

Rebecca Watson began her legal career in Wyoming and is now a Special Counsel at Welborn, P.C. in Casper and Denver. Her career includes representation of natural resource clients and federal service. As Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of Interior, she managed federal energy and public lands policy. Earlier, she served as Assistant General Counsel for Energy Policy, U.S. Department of Energy. She taught law as the 2011 Distinguished Natural Resources Practitioner-in-Residence at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, her alma mater. Rebecca was elected as the 66th (4th woman) President of the Foundation for Energy and Natural Resources (2019-2020). Rebecca lives in Cody, Wyoming where she is currently a Trustee for the Buffalo Bill Center of the American West.

Cindy L. Bower, President & CEO, Calibre Management, Inc.

Cindy Bower has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry with a focus on distinctive, nature-based domestic and international resorts and projects. She has held senior positions with Key Hospitality of Orlando, FL; Key Resort Management of Crested Butte, CO; Western Services of Washington D.C.; and Delaware North Companies (DNC), of Buffalo, NY. While at DNC, Cindy served in executive leadership roles in several National Parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. As the former President of Yosemite National Park, she implemented a ground-breaking environmental management system, “GreenPath,” which resulted in achieving the coveted ISO 14001 Environmental Management Certification. Most recently, Cindy served as an owner and managing partner of Canyon of the Eagles – A Calibre Resort, located within a 940-acre park near Austin, TX. She is a Certified Hotel Administrator and the recipient of industry awards, including Orlando’s Hotelier of the Year and the U.S. Department of Interior and California’s “Environmental” Awards. Cindy grew up in Wyoming on a large family farm. She has a BS in Psychology from the University of Wyoming where she lettered in three sports, was drafted into the Women’s Professional Basketball League, and is a Cowgirl and Wyoming Hall of Famer.

Liliane A. Haub, AC2M Group

Liliane Haub carries on the Haub family’s long-time commitment to the environment and sustainability. She serves on the boards of several nonprofits, including: the College Board of Advisors at Georgetown University; Tacoma Art Museum, WA; American Prairie, MT; Pace University, NY where her focus is on the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and the Leadership Council Steering Committee at the Yale School of the Environment. She also served on the Board of Regents at Boston College as well as the Patron Steering Committee of the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College. Liliane led the effort to develop the Haub Family Galleries housing the family’s American Western Art Collection. Currently she runs the family office in Munich, Germany and leads the family company’s history project of the Tengelmann Group. She has worked as a cataloger for Impressionist and Modern Art at Habsburg, Feldman in Geneva, Switzerland, and New York. Liliane loves the outdoors and is an avid hiker, horseback rider and skier, and has run the New York City Marathon several times. Liliane’s passion for Wyoming comes from managing the family’s bison ranch near Cora, WY.

John Hay, Chairman, Rock Springs Grazing Association

John Hay is a fourth generation Wyomingite and resident of Rock Springs who brings critical expertise in ranching, business, and addressing the issues facing Wyoming. A UW alumnus, John is thoughtful, knowledgeable, and experienced in the management of public and private lands in Wyoming as well as business, finance, and political matters. John’s experience spans diverse industries, including banking, agriculture, energy, and philanthropy/community engagement. Informed by his banking experience as president of RSNB, he understands the interplay between agriculture, energy, and tourism in today’s changing economy. Currently, he serves as chairman of the Board of Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA). The RSGA operates on 2 million acres of public and private lands with checkerboard ownership. The RSGA was honored by the Bureau of Land Management with the Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation and Citation.

Joe Hiller, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona

Dr. Joe Hiller served over 34 years on the faculty of the Universities of Wyoming, Alaska, and Arizona, including service as head of two different academic departments and agriculture college administration. He managed federal agricultural research funding through the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station and provided national leadership for the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program (FRTEP). Joe has trained over two dozen master’s and doctoral students in agriculture and natural resources: Arid Lands Studies and American Indian Studies. Dr. Hiller earned bachelor’s degrees at South Dakota State University Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from the University of Wyoming. He was awarded an honorary degree in Lakota Leadership from Oglala Lakota College. He is nationally prominent as a land grant university leader working with tribes and tribal colleges. Joe serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Native American Agriculture Fund; and spent over 9 years on the Board of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. He is also a veteran of the US Army Special Forces, having served in conflict areas worldwide; and is a life member of the Special Forces Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans. He is an instrument-rated private pilot and journeyman blacksmith and lives in rural northwestern Nebraska.

Rich Innes, Senior Fellow, Meridian

Rich is a Senior Fellow at Meridian Institute where he leads the work of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, and helps direct the work of the National Estuary Programs to protect and restore some of the nation’s most vital bays and estuaries. He advises the State of Washington on climate, salmon, and wolf recovery and natural resource issues. Rich previously worked at Browning Ferris Industries as Director of Government Affairs for former EPA Administrator and then CEO Bill Ruckelshaus. During this time Rich worked directly with Bill Ruckelshaus on a blueprint for realizing a more desirable environmental future with input from industry, government, and NGOs. He assisted Bill in his efforts to help establish an institute at the University of Wyoming dedicated to fostering collaboration around challenging natural resource issues in the West. Rich served for eight years as a senior staff member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. He began his career in the Federal Government at EPA under then Administrator Ruckelshaus, helping design management tools to achieve environmental results. Rich earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in East Africa working on reforestation, and has led Habitat for Humanity builds in Guatemala. He is an avid fly fisherman, bike rider, and aspiring sommelier.

Palmer “Chip” Jenkins, Jr., Superintendent Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway

Chip Jenkins is the superintendent of Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. He has more than 34 years of experience working in and leading national parks including working in 8 parks, two regional offices, the Denver Service Center and, NPS headquarters in Washington DC. He began his career as a seasonal ranger at North Cascades National Park. Chip graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental studies and he is a graduate of the Department of the Interior Senior Executive Service Development Program.

Holly Krutka, Executive Director, UW School of Energy Resources

Holly Krutka is the executive director of the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming. She came to the university after serving as the vice president for coal generation and emissions technologies at Peabody. Dr. Krutka has spent much of her career focusing on technology and policy pathways to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuel consumption, especially carbon capture, use and storage. She led an international coal technology and policy journal, sponsored by the Chinese state-owned energy company, Shenhua Group. She has also held a leadership position in the Carbon Utilization Research Council, has participated in the Carbon Capture Coalition, and is a judge on the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. She holds a BS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Todd Parfitt, Director, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality

Todd Parfitt was appointed director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality by Governor Mead in October 2012. He has over 29 years of experience in the environmental field, including 19 years with the DEQ. Prior to becoming the director, Mr. Parfitt spent seven years as the DEQ deputy director and as the administrator of DEQ’s Industrial Siting Division. Mr. Parfitt has a bachelor’s degree in natural resources, fisheries management and a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in environmental policy both from The Ohio State University. Mr. Parfitt is a graduate of Leadership Wyoming, Class of 2008.

Michelle Sullivan, Founder, Center for Inspired Learning Environments, UW Trustee

Michelle Sullivan works as a consultant to numerous organizations and is founder of the Center for Inspired Learning Environments. A native of Wyoming, Michelle has led numerous endeavors that deepen the public’s appreciation of the cultures and communities of the American West. From 2004 through 2006, Ms. Sullivan served as President of the Ucross Foundation in Ucross, WY. Michelle has served as a member and former chair of the Wyoming State Board of Education, a Commissioner for State Parks and Cultural Resources and in 2015 was appointed by the Governor to the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees.

Rob Wallace, Managing Partner, Rob Wallace Group

Rob Wallace’s career specializing in the energy, natural resources, and public lands disciplines spans over four decades. In 2019 he was nominated by President Trump and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks overseeing personnel and policies of the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service – agencies with a combined annual budget of $7 billion and 27,000 employees.Rob began his career as a seasonal park ranger in Grand Teton National Park and since then held positions in a number of private and public sector organizations. Those included assistant director of the National Park Service for congressional affairs; chief of staff to US Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-WY); staff director of the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; chief of staff to Wyoming governor Jim Geringer; manager of government relations for GE’s energy division; co-founder and president of the Upper Green River Conservancy, a sage grouse habitat mitigation bank in southwestern Wyoming; and managing partner of the Rob Wallace Group, a natural resources and energy consulting firm.Originally from Evanston, Wyoming, Rob earned a BS in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and lives in Teton Village, Wyoming with his family.

Polly Weber, Philanthropist

Polly Weber is an Arizona-based philanthropist and a passionate advocate for the Haub School’s community-based conservation programs. She has a long-held interest in issues facing the West. A native of the East and a graduate of Skidmore College, Polly went on to receive an MA in Education from the University of Arizona. She began her varied career doing political and policy tasks for Governor Nelson Rockefeller. After working at the New York State Common Retirement Fund for close to a decade she made her way to Wall Street. Working for 18 years for J&W Seligman, she was the first woman elected as Managing Director of the firm. Now retired and living in Tucson, Polly continues to have impact through her service and philanthropy. Her work has protected wild and working lands and wildlife here and abroad. She is a self-described animal lover, international traveler, and avid birder.