Chad Schneider
Chad Schneider is the head of business development in Colorado for Huntington Bank. Throughout his 20-year career, he has served clients with commercial and corporate banking needs in Colorado and New Mexico. In this period, he has generated over two billion dollars in commercial and municipal loans; although, his most meaningful accomplishments may be in his community service. In addition to Butterfly Pavilion, Chad has current and past board experience at Mi Casa Resource Center, Rocky Mountain MS Center, and Hope House of Colorado.
Chad attended the University of Minnesota and University of New Mexico, receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and doing his masters work in Developmental Economics.
Chad’s passions include his family, fishing in the North woods of Minnesota, and cooking championship-aspiring barbeque for his family, friends, and business network.
Chris Lane, Secretary
Chris Lane is a partner in the Real Estate Group of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. He has extensive experience representing clients in all areas of real estate transactions throughout the U.S., including leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, and land use matters. Mr. Lane’s expertise also involves representing both borrowers and lenders in real estate financing, including alternative financing structures, such as sale-leaseback transactions.
Mr. Lane’s extensive involvement in matters within the hospitality industry makes him uniquely qualified to handle hospitality-related transactions. He represents clients in the acquisition, financing, development, and disposition of hotel and resort properties, as well as in the negotiation of management agreements. He also represents developers in residential and commercial projects throughout Colorado.
Mr. Lane is a contributing author to the Colorado Real Estate Practice, one of CBA-CLE’s most respected and widely used publications. He is also an instructor for the related 13-week CLE course. Additionally, Mr. Lane serves as the firm’s pro bono coordinator.
Courtney Loper, Chair
Courtney Loper runs the Stakeholder Relations department at PDC Energy, an exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. In this role, she leads a team that encompasses Government Relations, Community Relations and Communications.
Prior to joining PDC Energy, Courtney served as Senior Director in the Energy & Natural Resources division of the Strategic Communications segment of the global consulting firm FTI Consulting, where she managed public affairs campaigns that included employee engagement and advocacy programs. In 2016, Courtney was named one of the Denver Business Journal’s “Top Women in Energy.”
Prior to her tenure at FTI, Courtney worked in Washington, DC as the Deputy Press Secretary for former Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, with additional responsibilities for media booking, event coordination and advance work. Before her employment with the Speaker’s office, Courtney was the Radio and Television booker for the House Republican Conference, which is the organizing body for all House Republicans. As such, she was responsible for securing interviews, press event execution, and preparing Members of Congress for national media appearances. She was later promoted to Deputy Press Secretary and served as an on-the-record spokeswoman for the House Republican Conference and its Chairman.
Courtney and her husband live in the Hilltop neighborhood with their three daughters.
Dave Weidner
Dave Weidner has a strong history of leadership in for-profit companies. As a true entrepreneur, where his legacy has been in the software industry, he founded two very successful software companies: Four Winds Interactive, which has ranked in the ‘Top 50’ list of Forbes most promising companies two years in a row, and Antalys, Inc. Previous to his two companies, he was President of Columbine Systems, Inc. He is a Principal in Indigena, LLC and Laramie Ridge, LLC, which are real estate investment companies investing in land, residential, and commercial properties. He now applies his business acumen to his lifelong passion for wildlife protection and conservation. Over the years, Dave’s love of nature and the outdoors has led to numerous land acquisitions and subsequent conservation easement agreements, which ensures the continued welfare of the land and its key habitats. Now with Wildlife Protection Solutions, he is able to bring his enterprising nature, high-tech background, and love of animals together in service to wildlife conservation.
David DeMott
David DeMott is a Westminster native. He was raised in the Countryside neighborhood close to where he is now raising his family. David and his wife, Vanessa, have four children. Member of Westminster City Council and Current Mayor Pro Tem elected originally November 2017 and Reelected November 2021. He is an IT Professional who has over 20 years in the field spending with over 15 years in IT leadership. He has his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Network Management. He is an active member of both Police and Fire Academy Alumni groups, member of Westminster Historical Society and is an active church volunteer. Previously he served on Board of Directors for Seniors’ Resource Center, Westminster Rotary 7:10 Foundation Board of Directors, the Westminster Special Permit and License Board as the director of the homeowner group Neighbors for Countryside and PARTners PTO president at Witt Elementary.
Garrett Baum
Garrett has 35 years of experience in real estate in Colorado. He began his development career in 1992 at lnterlocken as the Director of Marketing and Sales eventually becoming General Manager. In 1999 Garrett went on his own and formed JPB Holdings which eventually evolved into Urban Frontier with Bill Branyan. As Managing Partner, Garrett has been involved in many mixed-use projects. In addition to lnterlocken, notable developments include Preble Creek (known today as Anthem and Baseline), Palisade Park, Palisade North and Palisade West, Green Gables, Peak Innovation Park in Colorado Springs which is now home to one of the largest Amazon buildings (4,000,000 sf) in the world and Verve Innovation Park in Jefferson County. Notable deals include Sun Microsystems (Oracle) 1,100,000 sf campus, Level 3 Communication 800,000sf campus, National Archives (GSA), two Children’s Hospital developments, FedEx, Marriott, Vail Resorts, Northrup Grumman, Pepsi Corp, Quality Bike Products and most recently Amazon, among many others. In addition to the commercial land development and vertical building development, Garrett has worked with many national home builders and has added well over ten thousand residential lots to the Denver metro area, the majority in mixed use developments.
Kenneth Monfort
Kenneth Monfort is the owner and EVP of Monfort Companies, which invests in ventures and develops commercial properties in the Colorado region. After graduating from the University of Denver with degrees in finance and real estate, he began his career working on projects in rural communities. In 2017 started expanding the company’s portfolio to include properties near Coors Field with a goal to create a world-class stadium district with year-round activation.
He currently serves as a board member of the Colorado Business Roundtable, the University of Denver Advancement Committee, the Colorado Restaurant Association, the Colorado Women’s Alliance, the Mile High Five Foundation, and is the Capital Campaign Chair for the Butterfly Pavilion. He is also deeply involved with the National Western Stock Show, the Denver Energy Network, Colorado Concern, the Downtown Denver Partnership, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Denver Ballpark Neighborhood Association and the Denver Athletic Club. Charitably, Kenneth supports the Denver Rescue Mission, the YESS Children’s Institute within Denver Public Schools, and serves on the board for the Denver Active 20-30 Children’s Foundation, which annually raises and grants over $1.5 million to local children’s charities.
Nathalie Brochu, Treasurer
Following a successful 20-year career on Wall Street, Ms. Brochu moved to Denver for her love of the mountains. She is committed to protecting the environment. Nathalie is a Sustainability Strategist with a focus on climate, inspiring leaders to create a positive impact. Ms. Brochu started her career on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch in equity research. She successfully transitioned to the hedge fund world where she managed equity portfolios at various hedge funds. In Denver, she has been a strategic financial advisor to startups, as VP of Finance and VP of Capital Markets, contributing to financial strategy and fundraising efforts to rapidly growing companies.
Community engagement is critical to Nathalie’s mission. She serves on the Board of the Butterfly Pavilion, the world’s only AZA-accredited invertebrate zoo. The organization runs numerous habitat restoration, land conservation and pollinator programs globally. As an avid cyclist, Nathalie is also on the Board of Team Evergreen Cycling, the largest cycling club in Colorado that as a non-profit, has donated nearly $3 million to local charitable and advocacy organizations. Ms. Brochu was previously on the Board of Financial Executives International.
Ms. Brochu holds the FSA Credentials from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate from GARP. She completed the foundation for the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. She has an MBA in Finance and Accounting and a Masters in Economics. As a wine enthusiast, she earned an Advanced Certificate in Wine & Spirits from the prestigious WSET London school. Because wilderness calls, you will often find her playing in the mountains, skiing or riding her bike.
Phillip Cross
Phillip Cross has more than 25 years of real estate management and development experience, working most of his career with large public national homebuilders. In 2010, Phillip joined Taylor Morrison, Inc., the nation’s 5th largest homebuilder, as the Vice President of Land Acquisitions. He is responsible for acquiring, entitling, and developing land for residential communities as well as operational oversight of both short and long-term division strategies to ensure growth, effectiveness, and sustainability. Phillip enjoys a strong relationship with both the National Wildlife Federation as well as the Butterfly Pavilion. He has worked closely with both organizations to design, build, restore, and certify natural habitats within residential communities.
Prior to joining Taylor Morrison, Phillip oversaw the land operations for the Phoenix division of PulteGroup, Inc., managing more than $2B of capitalized assets and over $100MM in annual cash flow for acquisitions and development of land assets. Phillip had a key role in entitling and developing more than 7,000 residential lots, an 18-hole championship golf course, neighborhood parks, and supporting infrastructure in the Anthem master planned community, located in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2004, Phillip oversaw the startup of Anthem at Merrill Ranch, a 3,500-acre master planned community in Florence, Arizona. Within two years, Phillip oversaw the community design, entitlements, and development of the community, including the completion of over 4,000 residential lots, a 40-acre commercial center, championship golf course and clubhouse, two 40,000 SF recreation centers, a 50-acre park with aquatic center, and supporting infrastructure. Mr. Cross is a member of the Board Directors of the Butterfly Pavilion, the first stand-alone non-profit invertebrate zoo in the United States. Mr. Cross is a member of the Board of Directors of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver. Mr. Cross is a graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
Rachel King, Vice Chair
Rachel King serves as the Deputy Director of Economic Vitality and Development at the City and County of Broomfield. Ms. King helps lead the business development, economic development, and housing initiatives in Broomfield to ensure the economic success of the Cityis shared by its residents, businesses, and neighborhoods. Prior to joining the City and County of Broomfield, Ms. King served the City and County of Denver in multiple roles, most recently as the Director of Administration and Federal Compliance for Denver Economic Development and Opportunity and the Department of Housing Stability. Ms. King has also held roles in the financial sector, academia, and as a legal policy consultant for nonprofits. Ms. King holds a doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, with a focus in land use law. She is a member of the bar in Florida and Colorado and holds a certification in mediation from the State of Florida. She moved to Colorado in 2010 to escape the Florida heat and enjoy the mountains. Ms. King enjoys traveling, cooking, road biking, Florida football, and all things Colorado with her husband Dan, daughter Hadden, and dogs Bailey and Boston. She also volunteers as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado.
Randy Ahrens
Randy Ahrens served as Broomfield Mayor from 2013 to 2019 and on City Council 2001 to 2009. He also served on the Parks & Recreation Committee, Local Licensing Board, Open Space & Trails Committee, Public Art Committee, One Book One Broomfield, Parks & Recreation Board and was the Adams County Regional Government Representative. For 6 years, Randy was a member of the Executive Board for the Broomfield Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), Public Health Committee, and was an inaugural Council Representative for North Area Transportation Alliance (NATA). He was appointed by Governor Owens to the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) and represented the City Council for Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI). Randy also served on the National Association of Counties (NACO) as a representative of the Public Health Committee in Washington DC. He became familiar with oil and gas operations near residents’ homes and led discussions on rules and regulations to minimize impact on air quality. Randy holds a BS from Colorado State University in Agricultural Engineering. He is the founder and co-owner of Frontier Components, a manufacturer’s representative firm founded in 1991 that represents manufacturers of electronic components to interface with manufacturers of electronic equipment. Prior to that, he was a senior field engineer with Gearhart-Owens/Halliburton, responsible for company operations while performing various services at customers’ drill site locations. Randy also formed several corporations including Commtronics Supply and successfully managed sale. Randy previously has served on the following Boards: Broomfield Chamber of Commerce, Broomfield Open Space Org, and Broomfield Community Foundation. He was appointed by Governor Polis to serve on the AQCC (Air Quality Control Commission) as a commissioner and was recently asked to renew for another 3-year term. Randy currently enjoys RV–lifestyle traveling to various parks nationwide with his wife, Wendy. They enjoy spending time with their 6 grandchildren all aged 3 and under.