The Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer association with headquarters in Pagosa Springs, CO.  CRIA’s Board of Trustees is composed of volunteers who support the mission to preserve and protect the Monument while educating the public. CRIA promotes public education, interpretation, and stewardship of culture and history through guided tours and special events at Chimney Rock National Monument.

The 2017 Board of Trustee members were elected at CRIA’s annual meeting on Thursday, October 13th and are as follows:
Board President – Alan Saltzstein: Alan has lived in Pagosa Springs for the past seven years. He and his wife, Grace, moved here from Southern California to enjoy the mountains, clean air, and less man made craziness and to be closer to family members in Albuquerque. He is a retired Professor of Political Science from California State University, Fullerton.  Alan’s teaching and research emphasized urban politics and management and Public Administration. He developed and, for many years, headed a Masters program in Public Administration. He served as Chair of the Political Science Department in his last few years at Fullerton and as Chair of the Division of Politics Administration and Justice. That position included oversight and coordination of programs in Political Science, Public Administration, and Criminal Justice. He also wrote two books and several professional publications.  Alan loves being a tour guide at Chimney Rock. He finds it a wonderful experience for an ex teacher because it includes the best features of teaching; learning new things, meeting people and explaining sometimes difficult concepts; and none of the negative features; no papers to grade, no students who really don’t want to be there, and no musty classrooms.

Vice President – John Harris: John grew up in rural western Ohio and, after graduating from The Ohio State Univ., served four years on active duty as a US Naval Officer. Until his retirement in 2000, John worked as a civilian Special Agent with the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). In retirement, John has worked as an investigator with the US Office of Diplomatic Security(State Department) and as an investigative consultant with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (Team ADAM). John’s past volunteer service has included training with the US Army in Germany as a domestic violence victims advocate and with the American Red Cross.  For the past two years, John has worked with the National Audubon Society’s Four Mile Ranch Elementary School Education Program as a volunteer child educator and most recently as a tour guide and Kiva interpretive host with CRIA.  John’s focus as a CRIA Board member is on maintaining the highest quality interpretive and educational programs in a way that accurately reflects and respects the views of the present day descendants of the Ancestral Puebloan People.

Treasurer – Lynnis Steinert:  Lynnis has been enchanted with Chimney Rock since the first tour she took when the Forest Service was providing them.  Before CRIA, she joined Glen Raby’s Chimney Rock Archeological Group and was on the Board when the organization made the transition from San Juan Mountain Association to the Chimney Rock Interpretative Association.  She served until 2005.  Lynnis started doing tours in 2000 and continues to do so.  She also helped with special programs such as Lunar Standstill, Pueblo dances, Life at Chimney Rock, night programs, and several others.  She enjoys working with the volunteers and meeting guests from all over the world.  She would like to continue to help CRIA meet challenges in the future.

Secretary – Sue Fischer: Susan grew up in Bethesda, MD and, after obtaining a PhD from the University of Wyoming, moved first to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and then became a faculty member in the Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis at the Univ. of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  There she carried out research on the role of inflammation in the development and progression of skin and pancreatic cancer and was involved in teaching and training graduate students. She recently retired and is now a full-time Pagosa Springs resident.Susan also has a long-standing interest in archeology and spent many Sunday mornings working on a dig in central Texas (archaic hunting camp). She has always loved the southwest, especially its canyons and archeological sites, which is one of the reasons she is a tour guide at Chimney Rock. She feels it is very important that the public appreciates and understands what Native Americans have contributed to our history and culture.
Trustee at Large  – Bob Curvey :Bob has lived in Pagosa Springs for 47 years. After 5 years of active duty military in the US Navy, he moved to Pagosa Springs where he had a variety of employment experiences. You may recognize him from his 20 – year career with City Market. Since retirement in 2014, he has been an active volunteer at Chimney Rock in a variety of roles: cabin host, mesa host, Life at Chimney Rock, and the Night Sky Program.  He’s been called the local atlatl expert and it gives him great pleasure to give demonstrations and instructions on using an atlatl.
Trustee at Large – Gloria Bissmeyer: (To be supplied)
Trustee at Large – Pat Hassenbeuler: (To be supplied)
Trustee at Large – Lynne Stinchfield: Lynne and her husband, Rick, arrived in Pagosa Springs 10 years ago from Iowa, by way of Fort Collins. In Iowa, she operated an antique shop for 15 years and volunteered at her neighborhood elementary school inthe library and the Talented & Gifted program. While in Fort Collins, theStinchfields began spending Aprils and Octobers volunteering as interpretive park rangers at Capitol Reef NP in Utah and, 13 years later, continue to enjoy the experience. Here in Pagosa, Lynne served as a library board member for 5 years and continues to help with shelving and summer reading programs. For the past 6 years, she has volunteered at the information desk at the Forest Service office and conducted summer programs and guided hikes in the Forest. Though she has only volunteered at Chimney Rock for two years, her knowledge of the Forest Service and her interpretive experience at Capitol Reef NP might be useful in helping CRIA through the transition to, and growth caused by, designation as a National Monument.