Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee serve two three-year terms. The committee is comprised of three Denver customers, two West Slope residents, one suburban customer, one environmental representative, one public interest group representative, one representative from the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and one suburban distributor representative. Committee members are selected as a result of the committee’s recommendations to Denver’s Board of Water Commissioners.
Alyssa Quinn — Chair, Distributor representative
Alyssa Quinn represents suburban distributors. Alyssa is a Colorado native and has been at Platte Canyon Water and Sanitation District for 20 years. While at Platte Canyon, she has overseen the conservation, asset management and GIS programs. She has also been on the Board for Colorado WaterWise for 9 years. Alyssa works with Denver Water, The One World One Water Center and the Distributors of Denver Water on an annual children’s water festival. She is currently the Chairperson of the Distributor Conservation Committee. In her spare time, she loves being with her husband and two boys.
— Second term, ends September 2025
Andrew Ross — Vice Chair, Denver citizen representative
Andrew Ross represents Denver residents. Andrew grew up in Arvada and now lives in north Denver. Andrew has almost two decades of experience working in environmental management at state and local levels in Colorado.
— Second term, ends December 2024
Nona Shipman — Secretary, Public Interest Group representative
Nona has been with the One World One Water Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver since 2013 and is currently the Associate Director. Before coming to the OWOW Center she had worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Water Education Colorado on the Colorado Water 2012 initiative. Originally from Northern Virginia, Nona moved to Colorado in 2011. She has a BA in Communications from Lynchburg College in Virginia, an MA in Biological Sciences from Miami University in Ohio and welcomes the opportunity to incorporate her degrees with her passion for raising the awareness of precious environmental resources.
— First term, ends July 2023
Alan Hassler — West Slope representative
Alan Hassler represents West Slope residents. While growing up in Kremmling and through college, Alan was involved in agriculture and small business. His subsequent law practice developed into two primary areas: local government law and all aspects of real estate.
While water matters were important throughout, Alan's term as County Attorney for Grand County brought new challenges and greater understanding of the relationship between the West Slope headwater counties and the East Slope water users. He gained familiarity with governing documents, such as the CRCA and the Blue River Decree, and worked with municipal, agricultural, and recreational water users. Alan resumed his private practice in Kremmling, focusing on business, small estates and real estate law. He was president of the Clifton Water District. Community involvement now includes serving on the Kremmling Fire Protection District Board and helping with community events such as Kremmling Days and the Middle Park Fair. He and his wife enjoy the myriad of outdoor recreational opportunities of the state.
— Second term, ends December 2025
Emily Meek — Suburban customer representative
Emily Meek represents suburban customers. Emily works on a national level in water resources and developing standards for the health and safety of the water sector. Locally, she advances water issues through community and education, working with the Colorado Water Congress, Water for People's education initiatives, and the Denver Metro Regional Science Fair. She is an educator for the South Metro Water Supply Authority, enlightening south metro K-12 students to be better stewards of their Colorado water. Originally from the Midwest, Emily received her Master of Science in Environmental Science from Indiana University, and her Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University. Emily enjoys sharing the Colorado sunshine with her husband and daughter, and can't wait to connect the suburban community with their water source.
— First term, ends December 2024
Mike Eytel — West Slope representative
Mike Eytel is a career water resource professional with over twenty-six years of experience in Colorado water rights administration and accounting, water quality regulations, and project development. He also manages complex long-term projects with diverse stakeholders and values building client relationships based on trust and respect.
A graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources, Mike has worked at both the Colorado River Conservation District and the Office of the State Engineer Division of Water Resources. While at the Colorado River Conservation District, he developed and implemented the Upper Colorado Wild & Scenic Alternative Management Plan and was a collaborative partner in the development of Learning By Doing. Mr. Eytel was also involved in the creation of the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement.
He currently serves on the Middle Park Water Conservancy District board of directors and is Co-Chair of the Colorado Water Congress Water Quality Committee.
Mike is a long-time Summit County resident and outdoor enthusiast and enjoys our state’s most precious resource by sliding on our snowpack in the winter and floating our rivers in the summer. Mike, his wife, Kim and two girls, Avery and Ashton, live in Breckenridge.
— First term, ends December 2025
Jim Fitzmorris — Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver representative
Jim Fitzmorris joined JR Engineering’s Denver offices in 1984. A civil engineering graduate of Colorado State University, Fitzmorris’ vital role at JR of Vice President and Project Manager oversees preliminary and final engineering design, major client management and quality control for diverse residential, commercial, and municipal projects.
Design responsibilities include construction plan preparations for roadway, utility and grading design site planning, complex hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, and report preparation. In addition, he is responsible for client and agency contact throughout each project. Mr. Fitzmorris has extensive experience with flood plain analysis and design and Master Drainage Planning, and has successfully processed numerous projects through the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Jim Fitzmorris has a predominant presence amongst local affiliations and chapters lending to the individual support of council and organization focus. Bringing added value to community endeavors, Jim is highly active in the Home Builders Association as a board member, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Jefferson County Economic Development Council as chair for 2020, and the Metro North Chamber of Commerce on the development council.
JR Engineering provides professional engineering, land surveying and planning, consulting services to help clients plan, design, build and operate diverse land development, public and private infrastructure projects.
— First term, ends April 2023
Lisa Mathai — Denver citizen representative
Lisa Mathai represents Denver residents. For over 25 years, Lisa has worked in the environmental cleanup arena, supporting government projects with their community outreach and education needs. She has worked with all types of stakeholders to understand their information needs, identify the best ways to incorporate them into a cleanup project, and ensure their voices and opinions are heard. She is very interested in water usage and security, and understanding what those might look like going forward. She has lived in Colorado since 1997, and the Denver area since 2015.
— First term, ends December 2024
Charles Garcia — Environmental representative
Charles is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver. He is a certified public accountant and worked in international tax with Arthur Andersen in Milwaukee, New York and Toronto. He also worked with Price Waterhouse in Denver while attending law school. Charles was a Colorado Public Defender for over 20 years, the last seven of which he managed the Denver Office. Charles was the Denver Manager of Safety for the City and County of Denver and special counsel to Governors Bill Ritter and John Hickenlooper.
Charles is a past Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commissioner (vice chair) and currently serves on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Great Outdoors Colorado Board (program committee chair), the U.S. Forest Service Greater Rocky Mountain Citizen Resource Advisory Committee (chair) and the Trout Unlimited Headwaters Chapter Board. He is a past president of the Colorado Bar Association, served in the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is a U.S. Army veteran.
— First term, ends December 2025
Zach Parker—Denver citizen representative
Zach Parker was born and raised in the Denver metro area in a family of outdoorsmen. As a life-long Coloradan and fly fisherman, he gained an interest in maintaining local water resources alongside Colorado’s natural beauty. Zach recently graduated with a degree in environmental engineering and environmental sciences from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Through academia, he learned about water from a variety of perspectives with a focus on sustainable practices in water and wastewater processing. At MSU Denver, he joined the One World One Water Center to further his education and actively participate in the world of water.
Zach is currently pursuing a career in environmental engineering with a focus on sustainable water resource use in the Denver metro area and beyond. Currently volunteering with Engineers Without Borders, he is working to make clean water a reliable resource for more people around the world. As a young voice in the Denver community, he hopes to grow his understanding of contemporary water resource practices while offering new ideas for a better tomorrow.
— First term, ends August 2026
Questions?
For questions regarding the CAC, please contact:
Ashley Denault
Liaison to CAC at Denver Water
1600 W. 12th Ave.
303-634-3429
CitizensAdvisoryCommittee@denverwater.org