THANK YOU TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS!
DIANA SHELDON
Diana is the Founding Partner and Creative Director of her own marketing company, plus resident foodie. Says Diana, ”We’ve morphed into the digital age with more talent, more clients, and more fun.” Diana has helped put on numerous events including U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, and Telluride Wine Festival. She is committed to community and has founded a nonprofit Farmers’ Market in her local “food desert” in Castleberry Hill, GA. She works tirelessly every year to help promote and produce the Festival.
AUDREY MARNOY
Audrey Marnoy, Board Member Emeritus, is a true believer in making things happen for Telluride. She serves on many boards in Telluride whose goals are to enrich the lives and experiences of Telluride residents and visitors. She is on the board of Directors for the Telluride Science Research Center as their Marketing Strategist and Philanthropist, and honorary trustee for Telluride MountainFilm. We’ve left Audrey on our list even though she is no longer an acting Board Member, she continues to support this event as though she is on the board.
CHRIS MYERS
An entrepreneur steeped in the world of lighting design for the past two decades (and owner of his own lighting design firm – enLIGHTen), Chris understands the power of light: fire being the first source of nighttime illumination for man. Committed to community and taking calculated risks, he has been elected to Town Councils (twice), been a leader of a mountain rescue team, and started multiple enduring businesses. Passionate about whatever he chooses to embrace, he brings a commitment to success to the festival, assuring it’s being a net-zero carbon event (and having lots of fun).
BEKAH KOLBE
Bekah is about as industrious as they come. Hailing from northern Indiana where her parents still live in their log home on their U.S. Fish and Wildlife Preserve, she attended Earlham College and went on to WWOOF in Puerto Rico and New Mexico and later completed a Hatha Yoga teacher certification under the lineage of Krishnamacharya and Shiva Rea.
With a varied professional background in creative companies, small business and operations management, and media development, she brings a lot to the table in problem solving and in execution. Serving as the Director of Operations for Slate Gray Gallery over the last two years, she has continued to find ways to engage with the Telluride community whether through subbing yoga classes, participating in the rec soccer league, or volunteering for local film and music festivals. Ultimately, art, nature, and people are her biggest passions, and Telluride packs a poignant punch in those arenas, which Bekah is grateful for, both professionally and recreationally.
CHAD SCOTHORN
Chef Chad Scothorn brought his culinary vision to Telluride in 1996 after 22 years in restaurants from Oklahoma to Argentina. The Cosmopolitan, is a fine-dining, 80-seat restaurant that serves contemporary cuisine, in Telluride. The Cosmopolitan has been featured in Wine Spectator as “one of the prime movers of the local dining scene,” listed in the Zagat guide, and has earned the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectatorevery consecutive year since 1998.
Scothorn has received national attention for his innovative cuisine from Food critics with The New York Times, Nation’s Restaurant News,Snow Country, Esquire, Bon Appetit, and Connoisseur.
ERIN RIES, EVENT DIRECTOR
As a former Festival Director for the Telluride Wine during its most successful years (2004-2006), Erin has first-hand experience with all aspects of producing festivals, from fundraising, acquiring sponsorships, promoting and marketing events, obtaining staff, enticing volunteers to be part of a fun festival, etc. Erin has lived (and worked) in the Telluride region for 28 years, and is well versed in the nuances of nonprofit event production. For fun she makes the sexiest costumes for the TAB (Fashion Show), is co-creator of Telluride’s first art car at Burning Man (The Shack-To-Hell-U-Ride), is an advocate for San Miguel Resource Center, and gives her all to whatever she does. And, as a former volunteer fire fighter, understands how to approach fire art safely.