About Us

Leadership Team

  • Brenda Lee

    FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

    As the founder of Boulder Bear Coalition, Brenda drove the critical efforts to reduce human bear conflict in Boulder, Colorado. She is using experiences gained while running Boulder Bear Coalition to protect bears across the state.

    With an educational and professional background in applied math and family systems therapy, Brenda brings analytical thinking and deep empathy to her efforts to reduce human-bear conflict. She is recognized for developing innovative, action oriented programs, while using a collaborative and systems based approach to reducing conflict.

    Vitae
    Boulder Bear Coalition
    Sierra Club Magazine article
    LinkedIn

  • Bryan Peterson

    ViCE PRESIDENT

    Bryan is the executive director of the nonprofit Bear Smart Durango, which offers effective solutions to address human-bear conflict Bryan brings a wealth of experience and boots-on-the-ground expertise to help keep both people and bears safe across Colorado.

    Bear Smart Durango

  • Melinda Marquis

    SECRETARY

    Melinda Marquis is a scientist who works to support renewable energy and is a lifelong advocate for all animals, with a particular respect for bears.

    LinkedIn

  • Nicole VandeBoom

    TREASURER

    Nicole VandeBoom founded the Aspen Bear Alliance, believing that community buy-in is a critical piece in lessening human-bear conflict.

    Aspen Bear Alliance
    LinkedIn

  • Stewart Breck

    WILDLIFE ADVISOR

    Dr. Stewart Breck is a wildlife researcher for the USDA National Wildlife Research Center. His research is focused on carnivore ecology and behavior and minimizing conflict between carnivores and people. Stewart bring a wealth of knowledge regarding nonlethal methods for preventing conflict and the influence of urban environments on carnivore ecology.

    LinkedIn

Memberships

Wildlife and Habitat Roundtable

In 2023 the Colorado Bear Coalition became one of the newest members of the Wildlife and Habitat Roundtable.

The Roundtable exists to build open communication and a working relationship between CPW and Colorado’s non-consumptive wildlife users on issues such as those pertaining to the state’s wildlife populations and habitats, as well as non-consumptive use patterns. It is built on the assumption that open, frank, and respectful dialogue is the key to identifying common priorities, finding potential collaborations, cultivating productivity, revealing areas of conflict before lines are drawn in the sand, and ultimately protecting the state’s natural heritage.

The Roundtable is co-managed by CPW and the non-consumptive user  community. It is built so that information will flow in two directions:

From CPW to the Roundtable (WHR) community representatives who will pass it to their respective communities, on topics such as management strategies, scientific research, perspectives of other constituencies, legislative updates, emerging concerns, etc.

From the WHR community to CPW, providing a conduit to the agency for grassroots information and ideas such as observations of wildlife population changes, challenges facing parks, conservation workplans, habitat impacts, suggestions for and reactions to CPW proposals, support for certain CPW initiatives after discussion, and through appropriate processes. 

The Roundtable will also provide a forum for the various organizations and individuals within the nonconsumptive wildlife user community – who are quite diverse and may not communicate, much less agree, on all issues – to improve communication amongst themselves.