Ann A. Pritzlaff is the founder and producer of the Youth Summits. She is a nationally recognized Preservation and Policy Consultant working on historic preservation, public lands, heritage education and tourism outreach and policy. 2012 marks Ms. Pritzlaff’s nearly forty years in the field of preservation. With an M.S. in Historic Preservation, her career highlights include serving as State Historic Preservation Officer in Arizona, and appointments by Colorado Governor Bill Owens, Governor Bill Ritter and Governor John Hickenlooper to the State Historic Preservation Review Board and President George W. Bush to serve as a “Historic Preservation Expert” for two 4-year terms on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, where she also served as chair of the Preservation Initiatives Committee and on the Executive Committee. Ms. Pritzlaff currently serves as Board Chair of History Colorado and on the boards of the Center for the American West at the University of Colorado and the board of the National Western Stock Show.

Ms. Pritzlaff has published numerous articles in preservation publications and is a frequent presenter at preservation and received state, regional and national awards and recognition. In 2014 she was awarded the Dana Crawford award for leadership-Colorado’s highest award for preservation. She has also been recognized with involvement in national awards presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, including 2011 for HistoriCorps; 2008 for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center for educational efforts; 2006 for Colorado Preservation, Inc. for organizational excellence, and 1998 for Stratford Hall for Excellence in Stewardship as well as individually receiving the 2008 National Award for Excellence from United States Forest Service and with the Regional Foresters Award for Partnership by the United States Forest Service. In 2009, Colorado Preservation, Inc. presented Ms. Pritzlaff with the Saving Places Leadership Award-- named in her honor and now awarded annually to other preservation leader. In 2011, she received the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation for the Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit and in 2010 was honored with for leadership in the Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and also was presented the Advisory Council’s Chairman’s Award for excellence. In 2010 she graduated with distinction from the Leadership Program of the Rockies.

For over thirty-five years, Ms. Pritzlaff has been a leader in the field of historic preservation. She currently serves as a Preservation and Policy Consultant working on historic preservation, heritage education, volunteer programs and policy. Particular areas of expertise include development of education and volunteer programs, working with elected officials and advocacy. Ms. Pritzlaff is associated with the development of numerous programs and efforts to promote and advance saving and sharing historic places on the national, state and local levels. These include creating and producing the Preserve America Youth Summits, other educational events for youth. She was instrumental in development of the national Preserve America program and volunteer programs for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and HistoriCorps. She produced and coordinated the Saving Places Conference, an event widely recognized as the leading statewide historic preservation conference in the country.

With a BA in American Studies and an MS in Historic Preservation, her career highlights include serving as State Historic Preservation Officer in Arizona, and appointments by Colorado Governor Bill Owens, Governor Bill Ritter and Governor John Hickenlooper to the State Historic Preservation Review Board and President George W. Bush to serve as an “Historic Preservation Expert” for two 4-year terms on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, where she also served as chair of the Preservation Initiatives Committee and on the Executive Committee.

In addition to work as a consultant on national programs, Ms. Pritzlaff is the current Board Chair of History Colorado-the state agency for history in Colorado and also serves on the boards of the National Western Stock Show and the University of Colorado’s Center for the American West and is a 2010 graduate with distinction from the Leadership Program of the Rockies.

Ms. Buell is the owner of Lucky Services, Inc. in Durango which provides support services for business including planning, events, marketing, organization, advertising, social media. Starting her professional career as an English and Math teacher in the Durango Schools, she then transitioned into a marketing, business development, and project executive role for one of the largest construction firms in the country. She understands the complexities and strategies of working for a multi-million dollar company with the background and knowledge of being a part of the local community.

Ms. Pearson has been the education and teacher liaison and curriculum director for the Youth Summits since 2007. With a BA in Historic Preservation, Ms Pearson has worked as a teacher and a preservationist. She currently serves as Historic Preservation Education Grants Coordinator at History Colorado. She has worked as middle school teacher for over 20 years teaching Social Studies and Language Arts. In 2011, she was honored as Colorado Teacher of the Year. As Teacher of the Year, Ms. Pearson was a nationally recognized spokesperson on educational initiatives and also served as an American education expert and representative in worldwide forums. Since 2007, Ms. Pearson has been the teacher liaison for the Colorado Preserve America Youth Summits and instrumental in the development of a national Youth Summit program. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation and in 2008 Colorado Preservation Inc. awarded her with its State Honor Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for her work as an educator and preservationist. A pillar in the preservation community, Michelle is the author of two books: Historic Sacred Landmarks of Denver (2004) and Historic Landmarks for Children and Families, Historic Denver, Inc. (2007).