Chris Castilian is the Executive Director of Great Outdoors Colorado (also known as GOCO), an organization that has committed more than $1.2 billion toward preserving and enhancing Colorado’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. Founded in 1992, GOCO is truly a one-of-a-kind conservation funder—the organization invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds into a wide variety of critical projects, with a current emphasis on issues including equitable access and community vitality. GOCO’s impact around Colorado is staggering—its funding has conserved more than 1.2 million acres, added over 47,000 acres to the state park system, protected over 1,000 miles of rivers, and much more.
Chris is a native Coloradan, and all aspects of his professional success and personal passions speak to his deep love of his home state and its wide-open spaces. Chris was formally trained as an attorney, but early is his career, he chose to focus on service rather than billing hours at a fancy law firm. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Bill Owens and as Director of the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners. He also had a successful stint in the private sector, honing his business skills which have served him well at GOCO. And, as you’ll hear, his focus manifests itself in his personal life through his commitment to the outdoors and mountain biking—he’s completed the Leadville 100 mountain bike race multiple times.
Since we’re all sticking close to home these days, Chris and I connected via Skype to talk about GOCO, his career, and his thoughts on conservation in Colorado and beyond. We started with a deep dive into the history of GOCO, discussed how the organization has evolved, and talked about its goals and plans for the coming years. We also discussed how GOCO is working to address some of the current public health and social challenges here in Colorado, including equitable access to the outdoors. Chris and I spent a lot of time discussing his personal background—why he chose to pursue a service-based career, his thoughts on leadership, lessons learned from his time in the business world, and what characteristics he looks for in employees. We also discussed his love of mountain biking, the Leadville 100, our shared interest in books and history, and he offered some wise parting words to listeners.
If you care about protecting the West’s open spaces and communities, then this episode is a must listen. Enjoy!
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This episode is brought to you by Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Partners in the Outdoors program. The Partners in the Outdoors program brings together diverse interests from across the entire spectrum of the outdoors to advance and balance both outdoor recreation and conservation in Colorado. The program seeks to foster alignment and trust through three cornerstone initiatives: the Partners in the Outdoors Conference, the Colorado Outdoor Partnership, and the Colorado Outdoor Principles, as well as extensive resource sharing and network building.
EPISODE NOTES
Topics Discussed:
- 5:00 – The history of GOCO
- 7:30 – Similar programs in other states
- 8:30 – Why conservation matters during these crazy times
- 11:15 – GOCO’s new strategic plan
- 15:30 – A new holistic approach to community and conservation
- 18:45 – The evolution of GOCO
- 21:30 – Core values of GOCO
- 24:45 – Equitable access to the outdoors
- 28:30 – GOCO’s Equity Principles
- 34:00 – Inspiring work in Leadville, Colorado
- 37:45 – Growing up in Denver
- 38:30 – Life after law school
- 40:30 – Why pursue mission-based work?
- 45:00 – Transition into the private sector
- 47:30 – Changing mindset of the oil and gas industry
- 50:00 – Benefits of having business experience
- 56:00 – What Chris looks for when hiring people
- 58:00 – Favorite books
- 1:00:45 – Mountain biking, Leadville 100, Breck Epic, and other outdoor activities
- 1:07:00 – Favorite places in Colorado
- 1:08:45 – Parting words of wisdom
Information Referenced:
- Great Outdoor Colorado
- Governor Romer
- Governor Owens
- Ken Salazar
- GOCO’s new strategic plan
- GOCO’s Values
- Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler
- Get Outdoors Leadville
- Colorado Mountain College
- Steve Farber
- Anadarko
- Russ Schnitzer episode
- Generation Wild program
- GOCO Staff
- Hampton Sides episodes 1 and 2
- Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
- In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides
- Nothing in the World Like It by Stephen Ambrose
- Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
- The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
- The Principled Politician by Adam Schrager
- Leadville 100
- Breck Epic
- Ken Chlouber
- Gates Family Foundation
- Palmer Land Trust
- Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these as well:
- Dan Prenzlow – Generous Service, Humble Leadership
- Rachel VandeVoort – Harnessing the Power of Outdoor Recreation
- Gabe Vasquez – Advocate for Equity in the Outdoors
- Rebecca Jewett, Part 2 – Conservation’s Role During Challenging Times
- Carlos Fernandez – The Power of Partnerships
- Russ Schnitzer – A Life Devoted to Western Landscapes
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