Board of Directors

Mikal Belicove, Board Member:

Mikal E. Belicove is a Laguna Beach, California-based author, ghost blogger, and corporate communications and business management consultant. His areas of expertise include: business blogging and ghost blogging, public relations, book publishing and managing book projects, personal branding and market positioning, online social networking for business, and producing websites, blogs and landing pages. Mikal is hot-wired to the Internet and the Internet community. He is a co-author of the 2009 Internet Directory: Web 2.0 Edition (Pearson/Que Publishing, 09/08), and the 2007 Edition of the Internet Yellow Pages (Pearson/Que Publishing, 10/06). Mikal regularly pens feature articles for Lumin Publishing’s business and lifestyle magazines, including Business Connect Magazine, Zion’s Bank Community Magazine, and Launch. Previously, Mikal owned and published The Outdoor Network and the Outdoor Recreation & Education Law Quarterly, as well as the award-winning Outdoor Network website and Outdoor JobNet. He also spent nearly five years working in a variety of staff roles for the Association for Experiential Education (AEE), and was the founding executive director of what is now the Adventure Travel Trade Association. When he is not writing or managing strategic initiatives for clients, Mikal can be found musing about the world around him on his own personal blog at www.Belicove.com.

Adam Fiedor, M. B. A., Board Member:

Adam Fiedor is an Associate with St. Charles Capital, LLC, a Denver-based Investment Bank focused on advising middle-market companies.  Prior to joining St. Charles Capital, he worked as an Associate Director in the Financial Sponsors and Leverage Finance Group at UBS Investment Bank.  Adam earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and a B.S.B.A. in Economics and Finance from the University of Denver.

Rick Medrick, Ed. D., Board Member:

Rick Medrick has been a Graduate Advisor for the Master of Arts Program (MAP) at Prescott College since 1995, core faculty member for MAP in Adventure Education since 1999, and is a member of the steering committee for the new Prescott Ph.D. program. He has a B.A. in philosophy and literature from Dartmouth (1963) and a self-designed doctorate (Ed.D., 1985) in humanistic psychology and experiential education from the University of Northern Colorado. Rick is a long-time veteran in the outdoor industry and is the Executive Director and Founder of Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars/Breakthrough Adventures, Inc. in Denver, Colorado.

James Muchmore, J.D., Board Member:

James currently works as an Associate for Patton Boggs LLP in Denver, CO. James advises clients on corporate and securities law matters, providing ongoing legal advice to publicly and privately held corporations, company management and boards of directors regarding federal securities laws, public and private offerings, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and business transactions.  James earned his J.D. from Syracuse University, and his B.A. in Government & Law and English from Lafayette College.

Emily Stewart, M. A., Board Member:

Emily has worked with several youth services nonprofit organizations on the fund raising side as well as programming and field work. She currently works with Alchemy a consulting firm based in Denver, as a researcher and facilitator. She is a facilitator with the Institute for Cultural Affairs and works to promote positive change throughout diverse communities in the metro area. She is a member of CORE Colorado and the local chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Emily enjoys cycling, skiing, and playing in the backcountry of the Rocky Mountains.  Emily holds a BA from Sewanee, in Tennessee, and an MNM from Regis University in Denver.

Kate Cumbo, Ph. D., Advisory Board Member:

Kate has extensive experience with service learning and non-profit management and is currently the Program Director of PeaceJam in Arvada, Colorado. Kate is the former Director of the Colorado Department of Education’s Service Learning Colorado and served on Governor Owen’s Commission on Community Service.

Eric Curry, Advisory Board Member:

Eric is in charge of advertising, marketing and customer communication for CoBiz Financial, a financial services company that helps small- to mid-sized companies find solutions to help them succeed both professionally and personally. Before that he was the chief communications advisor and press secretary for the Governor, where he used his past experience asking the questions as a TV reporter to better answer reporters’ questions and help to communicate very delicate issues. It was a roller coaster of an experience, which was perfect for a transition as the media spokesman for Six Flags Elitch Gardens. The ups and downs of a theme park always presented Eric with opportunities to fix things, communicate more clearly with guests and make experiences for families more memorable. Eric will help advise the Cottonwood Institute with marketing and communications to help take our organization to the next level.

Ethan Decker, Advisory Board Member:

Ethan Decker is Insights Director at 72 & Sunny, a full-service advertising, design, and brand identity agency in Los Angeles. Prior, he was Insights Manger at Radar Communications, and Editor-in-Chief of the Outdoor Network. Ethan has a PhD in urban ecology and is a member of the Ecological Society of America. Ethan brings many years of marketing and media relations experience to the Cottonwood Institute.

Byrne Reese, Advisory Board Member:

Byrne is currently the Product Manager for Six Apart, a provider of web publishing solutions in San Francisco, CA. Byrne serves as a Technology Advisor to the Cottonwood Institute to help us implement appropriate tools for marketing and fundraising purposes. Our goal is to use technology to help increase an awareness of the Cottonwood Institute and strengthen our presence on the Web.

Kalpana Rhodes, Advisory Board Member:

Kalpana graduated with a B.A. in Religious Studies from Scripps College in Claremont, CA and is pursuing a M.A. in Social Ethics at the University of Southern California. Kalpana has been involved with non-profit youth education and outreach since she co-founded the Youth Volunteer Association as a high school student. Since then she co-founded the American Voter Coalition in college, with the aim of energizing 18 to 24 year old voters. She has been active on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union, La Jolla Methodist Church Nursery School, Francis W. Parker School Alumni Board, and the Postpartum Health Alliance. She is currently busy managing her family, complete with three school-aged boys.

Fran Villere, Advisory Board Member:

Fran Villere has made a life out of giving back to her community. Fran has deep roots in the New Orleans community and has served in a variety of capacities for such organizations as The Greater New Orleans Foundation, the New Orleans Children’s Hospital, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Fran advises the Cottonwood Institute about strategic planning, fundraising, and capacity building and we welcome her wisdom and experience.