Board of Directors - Resource Central

Meet Our Board of Directors

Ben Apple

Ben is the Principal of Environmental Commodities Corporation, a company he founded to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of large polluters in North America. Carbon credits generated by their technology are used by companies that are regulated under cap and trade programs. Ben holds an MBA from The Wharton School, an MS in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He started his career as an engineer in the Air Force and served as a United Nations Peacekeeper before entering the private sector to pursue his passion for environmental conservation. Ben worked in the venture capital sector in Europe as the Kyoto Protocol was being implemented, and subsequently returned to the U.S. to focus on greenhouse gas emissions. Ben lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and two children. When he’s not enjoying the mountains with his family or riding his bike, he enjoys restoring his 100-year old house.

Ben Bayer

Ben is currently an itinerant do-gooder, trying to make the world slightly better and petting as many dogs as possible along the way. Previously, he worked for a small startup named Google for 10 years, first with their Research team and, more recently, as the Chief of Stuff for the Boulder office, managing external partnerships and K-12 outreach and keeping the engineers happy and well fed. He began his career in the U.S. Army battling the furious hordes of red tape in the battalion personnel office, afterwards receiving his B.A. from Emory University in Classics. He’s lived and studied in Greece and Israel, picking up several dead languages on the way. After running around the world for a bit, he landed back in Atlanta to work as the program coordinator for the Health Sciences Humanities and Psychoanalytic Studies Programs at Emory. In addition to Resource Central, Ben sits on the board of Boulder Transportation Connections and is a volunteer firefighter.

Irene Law

Irene is Co-founder and Operations Director of AIM; Analytics and Insights Matter, a research and analytics company, helping corporate teams navigate change and reshape workplaces and communities with science-based tools that illuminate the root cause of human behavior and motivation. She has worked for the State of Colorado and the State of Texas in various finance and grant management roles and has extensive executive experience in nonprofit management with organizations like the American Solar Energy Society and Habitat for Humanity of Colorado. She has also served on various nonprofit boards including the Colorado Chapter of Amigos de las Americas and Montessori Peaks Academy.

Irene earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Princeton University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. In April 2019, she went on to earn a Certificate in Social Responsibility from the Center for Ethics on Social Responsibility (CESR) of the University of Colorado, Leeds School of Business.

A native Spanish speaker, Irene and her family have called Colorado home for the past 20 years. Alongside hiking with her rescue dog, learning to cook vegan for her kids, keeping current on the latest Spotify music trends, and e-biking with her husband Randy, Irene is dedicated to learning about expanding the ways she can support a sustainability-focused lifestyle.

Jane Brautigam

Jane proudly served as the city manager of Boulder, Colorado from 2008 – 2020, leading an organization of 1500 employees focused on excellence in service delivery. As city manager, Jane was responsible for the city’s efforts in advancing sustainability and resilience as well as its significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved transportation alternatives and municipal electric supply. In prior years, Jane served as the city manager for Dublin, OH and Loveland CO; city attorney for Loveland, CO and Greenwood Village, CO and assistant county attorney in Boulder County, CO. Originally from Bryn Mawr, PA, Jane attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Allegheny College. She currently lives in Boulder with her partner, Carl and two beloved golden retrievers, and enjoys hiking Boulder’s open space system and playing with her five grandchildren.

John Tayer

As President and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, John is honored to lead the organization that serves as Boulder’s unified voice for business interests, advances our economic vitality, and provides valuable business support services. Prior to joining the Boulder Chamber, John was Public Affairs and Communications Director for the pharmaceutical manufacturing company, Roche Colorado Corporation, and Policy Development Director in the Boulder City Manager’s Office. John also spent six years as the Boulder area’s elected representative to the Regional Transportation District. A native of Brookline, Massachusetts, John earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, spent a couple of years working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and moved to Boulder to earn a law degree from the University of Colorado. He now resides in South Boulder with his wife, Molly, and enjoys playing in the outdoors, accessing local cultural attractions and generally loves his community.

Joshua Weiss

Josh is an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Josh’s practice centers on his role as a litigator and strategic advisor and includes commercial disputes, securities litigation, regulatory compliance, and internal investigations. Prior to joining Brownstein, Josh worked as a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C. and served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Gerald E. Rosen in Detroit, Michigan and the Hon. Edward C. Prado in San Antonio, Texas. Josh also serves on the Board of Directors for Liver Health Connection, a Denver-based non-profit focused on advocacy, education, and outreach in connection with diseases affecting the liver. When not working, Josh enjoys running, skiing, and photography.

Kate WilsonChair-Elect

Kate Wilson, Chair-Elect

Kate Swayne Wilson, Senior Director of Sustainability at Vail Resorts, has more than 17 years’ experience in climate change mitigation and sustainability strategy. Ms. Wilson is currently leading Vail Resorts’ “Commitment to Zero,” a bold sustainability goal to achieve zero net emissions, zero waste to landfill, and zero net operating impact on forests and habitat, all by 2030. Prior to this role, Ms. Wilson developed and led the Greenhouse Gas & Sustainability Strategy Practice at The Cadmus Group for 10 years, assisting companies in the development and evaluation of climate strategy, establishing emissions baselines and reduction targets, developing corporate greenhouse gas inventories, calculating emissions associated with demand-side management portfolios, and providing strategic guidance to clients on policy. She has a M.A.S. in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver, and a B.A. from Colby College in Environmental Policy, is GRI certified and a LEED AP. Kate lives in Niwot, CO and loves playing outside with her husband, two children, and black lab.

Katrina Hahn

Katrina has had a 20+ year career in the consumer product goods space leading sales and marketing. Her last role was SVP of Revenue and Growth at bare snacks, which was acquired by Frito Lay. Bare makes craveably, crunchy snacks with no added oil, preservatives, or additives. During her career, she has worked for the Campbell Soup Company and Clorox before launching into the natural/sustainable space with Mrs. Meyer’s. She is an avid traveler and has spent time in over 26 countries. Katrina also helped to launch the NorCal chapter of NEW. Katrina lives in Louisville, CO with her husband and two children. When she is not growing brands and companies, she enjoys spending her time hiking, biking, skiing and just being outside.

Kerry Gilmartin

Kerry is a serial entrepreneur with experience founding companies in such diverse fields as wind energy, software and consumer products. Most recently, Kerry founded and sold Bamboobies, a business focused on breastfeeding support products for new mothers. A native Coloradan with a compass directing her toward businesses with environmental benefit, Kerry finds opportunities for leadership and innovation in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. She began her career at The Nature Conservancy and worked in environmentally focused venture capital and then went on to co-found or found four businesses. She now sits on the board of Street Business School as well as Resource Central and is an angel investor and mentor to natural products start-ups in the Boulder area. She received her BS in International Marketing from Georgetown University and MBA from the University of Virginia.

Koel Thomae

Koel Thomae is the co-founder of Noosa Yoghurt, a creamy and delicious yoghurt like no other, now sold in 25,000+ stores nationwide. Named among the “Top Women in Grocery” by Progressive Grocer and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Colorado BizMag, Koel is also a passionate member of the thriving natural foods community in Boulder, CO, where she acts as a mentor to young food entrepreneurs in the early start-up phase.

She began her natural foods career in 2004 as a supply chain coordinator and later manager on the operations team at IZZE Beverage Company, a position she held through PepsiCo’s 2006 acquisition of the company. Koel also served as an operations management consultant for several young natural food companies, including Mix1 Beverages and Snikiddy, LLC. She received her BA in Marketing from Australia’s Queensland University of Technology and resides in Boulder with her husband and daughter.

Leia Guccione

Leia Guccione is an engineer and a naval officer. She works as a Managing Director at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she advises business and industry in the transformation of global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, secure, and low-carbon future. Working in RMI’s electricity practice, she specializes in developing new business models for utilities as well as DER companies, microgrids, distributed generation and storage, as well as renewable energy procurement strategies. Additional areas of expertise include the use of collaborative processes for complex problem-solving. Leia leads many of the activities within RMI’s Electricity Innovation Lab as well as specific research partnerships with electricity industry stakeholders.

Prior to joining RMI, Leia served as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. Leia continues to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Civil Engineer Corps officer. Leia also currently serves as a member of the Lafayette Energy Sustainability Advisory Committee. She is a past Chair of the Society of Women Engineer’s K-12 Outreach Committee. She is married to Mr. Thomas Lechtenberg, and they have a son, Owen.

Ryan SlabaughBoard Chair

Ryan Slabaugh, Board Chair

Ryan Slabaugh is the founder and director of Think Regeneration, a national 501c3 that helps farmers, ranchers and leaders in the regenerative movement create a healthier world. Previously, he served as executive director of Acres U.S.A., a national soil health education and media company, and as an executive publisher for a community news company based in Colorado. Ryan has served on the Resource Central board since 2015. He can be reached at ryan@think-regen.com.

Scott Griffin

Scott has had a 25-year career in the technology industry and as an entrepreneur. He directed the Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing Technology group at Texas Instruments and founded businesses in fields ranging from telecommunications to healthcare. Scott received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He volunteered on the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers Technical Paper Review Committee for advanced manufacturing technologies, published numerous papers on the subject, and co-authored a textbook for teaching the basics of robotics. Scott was appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to an advisory role to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and participates on the Advisory Board for the Beacon Center at Community Hospital in Boulder.

Thomas Riggle

Thomas Riggle is a sustainability consultant, currently focusing on water conservation and waste diversion. He has worked in both the public and private sector for the last 18 years. He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Denver in Environmental Policy and Management and Bachelor’s Degree from Truman State University in Biology. In his spare time he works with local environmental organizations to promote resource conservation and sustainability through policy and legislation at the local level. He also enjoys gardening, hiking, skiing, live music and cooking.