Aspen Journalism Staff
Curtis Wackerle
Curtis Wackerle is the editor and executive director of Aspen Journalism and the editor and reporter on the Connie Harvey Environment Desk. Curtis has also served as editor, managing editor, and reporter at the Aspen Daily News, where he covered Aspen’s city hall. He has a journalism degree from the University of Montana. More by Curtis Wackerle
Heather Sackett
Heather Sackett is the managing editor at Aspen Journalism and the editor and reporter on the Water Desk. She has also reported for The Denver Post and the Telluride Daily Planet. Heather has a master’s degree from CU’s Center for Environmental Journalism and her reporting has been recognized by the Colorado Press Association. More by Heather Sackett
Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalog and analyze local public data. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting. More by Laurine Lassalle
Freelance Journalists
Paul Andersen
Paul Andersen has lived in the valley for 40 years and was a reporter, editor and regular contributor to The Aspen Times. He has authored 15 books about the region. Before reporting on the series “In search of community,” he last wrote for Aspen Journalism in 2014, penning stories on environment and history.
More by Paul Andersen
Rick Carroll
Rick Carroll has worked as an investigative journalist covering business and courts in Aspen for over 25 years. He is the managing editor of the Aspen Daily News and joined Aspen Journalism in a part-time capacity in spring 2023. He graduated from Centenary College in Louisiana. More by Rick Carroll
Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is a freelance journalist based in Snowmass Village. She grew up in Aspen and has worked as an editor at Aspen Journalism, reporter at Aspen Public Radio and an English and journalism teacher at Aspen High School. More by Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
Tim Cooney
Tim Cooney is an Aspen freelance writer and former ski patroller. Among others, the Aspen Daily News, The Aspen Times, The Avalanche Review, Aspen Sojourner, Ski and Powder Magazine have published his work. His Aspen Journalism story “Taming the Snow Beast” won 2018 best story/picture combination from Colorado Press Association. He has a bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy from University of Denver. More by Tim Cooney
Andrew Travers
Andrew Travers is an Aspen-based freelance journalist. A former newspaper reporter and editor, his work has appeared in The Atlantic and the Colorado Sun. More by Andrew Travers
Amy Hadden Marsh
Amy Hadden Marsh is a freelance journalist and longtime resident of the Roaring Fork Valley. More by Amy Hadden Marsh
Sarah Tory
Sarah Tory is a freelance journalist based in Carbondale, CO, whose work focuses on the environment, migration, and rural communities. Her writing has been published by The Atlantic, Guernica, Hakai, High Country News, Mother Jones, 5280, and others. More by Sarah Tory
Catherine Lutz
Catherine Lutz is an Aspen-based freelance writer, reporter and editor. She contributes to a wide range of publications, including Aspen Sojourner and Aspen Magazine, and works for a number of clients, including the Aspen Institute. Catherine is also the former managing editor of the Aspen Daily News. More by Catherine Lutz
Board of Directors
Mark Harvey
Mark Harvey, president, is a local rancher, writer, filmmaker and photographer. He is also on the board of EcoFlight, and has been on the boards of High Country News and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Mark is Connie Harvey’s son, the namesake of the Connie Harvey Environment Desk.
Tim McFlynn
Tim McFlynn, vice president, is executive director of Public Counsel of the Rockies and a mediator with Aspen Dispute Resolution. He was co-founder of Pitkin County Open Space and the Manaus Fund. He has served as board president of Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and Wilderness Workshop.
Cristal Logan
Cristal Logan is VP of Aspen Community Programs and Engagement at the Aspen Institute and oversees local public programs. A fourth generation resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, she has served on the boards of the Aspen Hall of Fame and the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.
Michael McVoy
Michael McVoy is an investment adviser at Raymond James Financial Services and the former co-publisher of The Aspen Times. He serves on the Pitkin County Retirement Board, the Roaring Fork Transit Authority Board and leads the Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation.
Laurie Michaels
Laurie Michaels, Ph.D. is an individual philanthropist based in Aspen, CO. Until 2012, she maintained a private practice in clinical psychology. In 2012, she founded Open Road Alliance to address the lack of fast, flexible, emergency funds available to non-profits and social entrepreneurs. In 2020, she started The 2030 Fund to address climate issues and promote renewables in Louisiana, with a particular focus on Cancer Alley. Dr. Michaels was a board member of the Aspen Community Foundation for 12 years, serving as board chair for four years ending in 2013. She is currently vice-chair of the international peace-building organization, Search for Common Ground, and board chair of Access AfterSchool, which provides after school and summer programs for students from Aspen to Parachute.
Jane Pargiter
Jane Pargiter is the Executive Director at EcoFlight. Jane has also served on the board of the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, and volunteers for English in Action and the Buddy Program. A native of South Africa, she once lectured in the Linguistics Department of the University of Witwatersrand.
Carolyne Heldman Rovira
Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in the media for 35 years, most recently as podcast host and producer for The Lens, a non-profit news organization in New Orleans. Prior to that she served as Executive Director at Aspen Public Radio. While there she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs, and live Town Hall broadcasts. Rovira lives in Old Snowmass with her husband Doug.
Omar Sarabia
Omar Sarabia was raised in Chihuahua, Mexico and attended the Autonomous University of Chihuahua where he studied territorial development engineering. He went to work for the National Institute of Geography and Information (INEGI) as a cartographer and eventually became the chief director of illegal water well closures for the state of Chihuahua. He moved to the Roaring Fork Valley 2015, working at Sustainable Settings in Carbondale where he learned biodynamics. He joined Wilderness Workshop in November 2021 as the director of Defiende Nuestra Tierra Director where he works to build trust among our Latinx community to promote enjoyment, access and advocacy for our public lands.
Harry Teague
Harry Teague is the founder of Harry Teague Architects. His work includes the Benedict Music Tent, the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall, and the Bucksbaum Campus of the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Anderson Ranch Art Center. He is also on the board of the Aspen Science Center.
Financial and Legal Advisors
Mike Marolt
Mike Marolt is a CPA in his native Aspen, a KPMG Peat Marwick alumnus, and a member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. His accomplishments include the first skiing descents of numerous mountain peaks in the Himalayas and shooting and producing the movie “Skiing Everest.”
Ken Ransford
Ken Ransford is a Basalt-based attorney, investment adviser and CPA specializing in income-tax and estate-tax law for small businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations. Ken serves as the secretary of the Colorado Basin Roundtable, and he holds a voting seat representing recreational interests.