Staff

Broads staff is passionate about and dedicated to the cause of protecting and preserving wilderness for all time. We also make sure to keep a “Broad” sense of humor every step of the way!

Shelley Silbert, Executive Director –   Silbert comes to Broads with more than 20 years in the fields of conservation and sustainability. Most recently she served as Associate Director of the San Juan Citizens Alliance in Durango, Colorado. She was the Director of Strategic Environmental Initiatives at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff from 2003 to 2011, where she founded and chaired the Environmental Caucus and advanced environmental and Native American programs. From 1994-2003, she directed The Nature Conservancy’s Northern Arizona Program, managing three nature preserves and working on conservation priorities, ecological restoration, regional planning, and public open space campaigns. Silbert grew up in Tennessee. She has a B.A. in Anthropology and Health Care from the University of Tennessee and an M.A. in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona. As the Executive Director, Silbert is responsible for the health and success of the entire organization. Along with administrative duties of budgeting and personnel management, she determines the wild-lands advocacy agenda for the Broads and represents Broads to the media, to our members, to our partner organizations, and to the great wild world. shelley@greatoldbroads.org

Rose Chilcoat, Associate Director – Rose came to Broads in the summer of 2001 with 13 years of experience working for the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.  She worked as a park ranger at Mesa Verde NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Rocky Mountain NP and Coulee Dam NRA and ultimately ended up in the Alaska Regional Office of the Park Service where she worked as a Concessions Analyst – managing over 350 commercial service providers in the Alaska parks. She was also an Outdoor Recreation Planner with the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program in Alaska before returning to Durango in 1993 to raise her family.  Her prior experience with not-for-profit organizations was as a volunteer, board member, and board president (Durango Nature Studies). She received a B.S. in horticulture summa cum laude from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. With her knowledge of the issues, public lands agency background, and her immense enthusiasm for wilderness, Rose makes sure that Broads are out on-the-ground in places that our voices can be heard and make a difference. rose@greatoldbroads.org

Ellen Stein, Broadband & Membership Coordinator – Ellen brings more than 20 years of experience in the environmental field working in grassroots organizing, advocacy, program and organizational development, fundraising, and planning and policy. Ellen got her start in environmental advocacy in 1991 as a member of Telluride’s Sheep Mountain Alliance board of directors. A mountain lover at heart, she returned to the San Juan Mountains in 2002.  She was the first and founding director of the Mountain Studies Institute based in Silverton, Colorado, and was the first Executive Director for the Community Agriculture Alliance in Steamboat Springs. Most recently, she was the Development Director for KDUR Community Radio in Durango, Colorado.  Ellen holds an M.A. in Environmental Policy & Planning from Tufts University, and a B.A. in Studio Art from Colorado College. As the Broadband & Membership Coordinator, Ellen is responsible for the success of the Broadband program as well as oversight of our membership program. Her passion for wild places continues to fuel her life and work. ellen@greatoldbroads.org

Anne Benson, Communications Coordinator – Anne joined Broads with nearly 20 years of experience in the communication industry with stints in journalism as the editor of a small-town Northern Colorado newspaper and in corporate marketing for a large, national civil engineering firm.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in literature and a master’s degree in communication, both from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was raised in the farm country of Upstate New York and spent many family vacations camping, swimming, and hiking in and around the Adirondack Mountains.  She was drawn to the open sky of the western states as a young woman after completing a course with the Lander, WY based National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). In 1980, she and her husband moved their young family from northern New Hampshire to Colorado, where the Broad, blue sky is met by snow-capped mountains.  She is responsible for Broads newsletter, Broadsides, our e-newsletter, Broadly Speaking, as well as the web site content, press relations, and miscellaneous other tasks. anne@greatoldbroads.org

Joyce Thomsen, Membership Maven – Joyce took a break from a 23-year stint at chiropractic in Durango to participate actively in the preservation of the “back country,” which incidentally is also the name of her practice where she enjoyed hiking, biking and skiing in her spare time for most of those 23 years.  Ya, ya betcha she grew up on a farm in Minnesota, and credits her parents with showing her the beauty and value of open country on their many family vacations, especially to the American west.  She earned bachelor degrees in physical education and distributive science at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, then continued her education with a bachelor of science in human biology and a doctor of chiropractic degree from National College of Chiropractic, Lombard, IL. Joyce loves  interacting with other Broads and helping to make a difference! membership@greatoldbroads.org

Laurie Parkinson, Administrative Associate – Laurie has the skills to get Broads on the road to office efficiency. For 20 years, she managed the family veterinary practice in Durango, CO. Laurie grew up in Upstate New York where she spent many weekends camping and hiking with her family in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and other wild New York hot spots. “Even before they had kids,” she said, “my parents talked about their hope of instilling a love of the outdoors in their children. They certainly succeeded in that!” Laurie and two of her siblings live in Colorado. “We all appreciate and value the beauty of our country’s wild lands.” Laurie graduated from Colorado State University in 1979 with a degree in Park History and she was “thrilled to raise our kids with wide open, quiet spaces to explore and appreciate.” laurie@greatoldbroads.org