Alice Madden has served in the Colorado legislature since 2000 and is currently House Majority Leader. Serving a district that includes the city of Boulder, she has been a leader on fiscal reform, renewable energy, and health care. A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, she practiced employment law at Fairfield & Woods, a Denver firm. A longtime community activist in Boulder, she has focused on creating stronger communities through improving the economy and access to quality education and health care.

Fred DuVal lives in Phoenix, AZ. and serves on the board of Western
Progress. He is the president of DuVal and Associates, a consulting firm focusing on
intergovernmental relations. Mr. DuVal was appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano
to the Arizona State Board of Regents, which oversees the three state universities, and
to the Commerce and Economic Development Commission, which is responsible for
directing Arizona's economic development strategy.

For more than 25 years, Mr. DuVal has been involved in state, federal and foreign
policy, with a particular focus on health care, education, economic development and
natural resources. He was a top assistant to Governor Bruce Babbitt from 1980-85,
responsible for legislative programs. In 1997, he was named by President Clinton to be
White House deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, responsible for the policy
relationship between the federal government and governors, mayors, county elected
officials, and Native American tribes. From 1993-1996, he served as deputy chief of
protocol of the United States, reporting to the president and Secretary of State Warren
Christopher. In this capacity, he organized and hosted the visits of foreign leaders to
Washington and managed diplomatic accreditation for the United States.

Anna Whiting Sorrell is a policy advisor to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer with areas of responsibility for health and human services, corrections and labor. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Governor Schweitzer’s internal council to ensure coordinated government-to-government relationships with the State of Montana’s tribal nations. During the 2004 presidential campaign, she served as John Kerry / John Edwards’ national Native American outreach coordinator. Prior to her appointment by Governor Schweitzer, she was employed by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in a variety of positions including teaching at the Tribes’ alternative school, director of substance abuse program and finally as an advisor to the Tribal Council on issues of self-governance, health, human services and many other areas. Anna is an enrolled member of the CSKT. She and her husband have three wonderful children.

Bill Roe has a long history of public service, particularly in the environmental arena. For more than 30 years, he has served as a consultant or volunteer with a wide variety of non-profit groups in the natural resource area, including the Arizona State Parks Board, the Arizona Outdoor Recreation Coordinating Commission, and the Pima County Open Space Commission. He has also served on the Greater Tucson Economic Council, and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System for Arizona Game & Fish. Mr. Roe is currently the Chair of the Pima County Conservation Acquisition Commission, and a member of the Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Economic Steering Committee and Arizona League of Conservation Voters. He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, and received his law degree from Columbia University.

Edward Romero is a native New Mexican. He was the U.S. ambassador to Spain in 1998 and headed several delegations to Mexico to forge the relationships necessary to expand business opportunities. He was also a member of the U.S. delegation to the Helsinki accords. Mr. Romero was the founder and chief executive officer of Advanced Sciences, Inc.He also founded the Albuquerque Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is currently on the boards of several Hispanic and Latin American business and cultural associations and foundations. In his civic and community pursuits, he has been recognized by organizations as diverse as the National Kidney Foundation, New Mexico's Air National Guard and the New Mexico Anti-Defamation League.

Frankie Sue del Papa is a native Nevadan.  She was elected and served as a regent of the University of Nevada system, Secretary of State and three terms as Attorney General.  She lives and practices law in Reno, Nevada and is active in many environmental and other civic issues

Maggie Fox is a conservationist and attorney from Boulder, CO. She currently serves as
the president of America Votes. Previously, she served as deputy executive director of
the Sierra Club, where she worked for more than 20 years leading numerous national
political and environmental campaigns. She held a number of positions at the Sierra
Club, including director of the Southwest regional office and senior issues specialist on
western public lands and resources. Ms. Fox has worked extensively on issues as varied
as global warming and energy policy, growth and sprawl, and western public lands
and water resources.

Ned Farquhar is the western energy and climate advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he develops strategies to support regional climate and renewable energy policies. Previously he served for three years as a senior advisor for energy and environment to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson where he structured and implemented the governor’s clean energy campaign. He was a program officer for western lands for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, executive director of 1000 Friends of New Mexico, executive director of Vermont Natural Resources Council and taught at the University of Vermont.

John Leshy is one of the nation’s leading legal and policy experts in areas critical to the work of Western Progress, including natural resources, water, and native American law. Currently serving as the Harry D. Sunderland Distinguished Professor of Real Property Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, Leshy has long experience in both academia and government.

 During the Clinton administration, he served as solicitor in the Department of Interior under secretary Bruce Babbitt following a stint as transition team leader for the department. His tenure as solicitor was the second longest in the department’s history. He also served as an associate solicitor for energy and resources during the administration of President Carter, and during the early 1990’s as special counsel to chairman George Miller of the House Natural Resources Committee. Early in his career he spent five years with the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

In addition to his teaching position at Hastings, Leshy has also taught at Arizona State University for 12 years, at Harvard Law School, Georgetown Law School, and the University of San Diego. He has been a visiting fellow at the University of Western Australia and the University of Southampton in England. Leshy is the author of casebooks on federal land and resources law and water law, as well as a volume on the Mining Law of 1872. He is a trustee of the Grand Canyon Trust and the National Heritage Institute, and has served as president, and currently serves as vice chair, of the Wyss Foundation. He is a 1966 graduate of Harvard College, and received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1969. 

Marc Johnson is President of The Gallatin Group. Marc has more than 30 years of experience in public affairs, public policy, and the media, and brings a broad spectrum of experience in journalism, media relations, government, and politics to the firm.

As chief of staff for former Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus, Marc managed the governor's staff and budget, and was the governor's liaison to several state agencies. Marc also served as press secretary for the governor's successful 1986 and 1990 election bids.