Laurie Milford’s first view of the Rockies came on a family ski trip to Colorado. She was seven years old and to that point had known only the rolling farm country of Iowa. Colorado filled her with awe. “I thought it was THE West,” Laurie recalls. “I looked forward to coming out to Colorado every year after that first taste.”

Eventually, after graduating from the University of Iowa, Laurie moved to Colorado to work for a publishing firm in Boulder. After a few years, her career took her to graduate school at the University of Wyoming where she fell in love with Wyoming’s wilder, emptier version of the western landscape. She and her husband, Jeff Rickerl, have lived in Laramie since 1996.

Laurie started out pursuing writing and teaching, but environmental work was always something she toyed with. She helped start a student environmental coalition and a recycling program in college. She also learned how to rock climb. These passions—for the outdoors, for environmental issues, and for writing— came together first in a job doing development work for Biodiversity Conservation Alliance; next grant writing for LightHawk, and now as the new development director at the Wyoming Outdoor Council. Laurie moves into this position from her role as the vice-president of the Outdoor Council’s board of directors.

“To be at WOC—it’s a cliche, but it has really been my dream,” Laurie says. “WOC is the bellwether environmental group in Wyoming. It is fulfilling to work for such a longstanding environmental organization.”

In her spare time, Laurie loves to be active. She’s a trail runner and this past fall she completed her first marathon. She climbs in the summer and skis—both backcountry and skate skiing—in the winter. She and Jeff enjoy traveling and have plans to visit Tanzania next summer. Someday she wants to learn to play the guitar, climb the Grand Teton, and live abroad for a stint. But for now, she’s thrilled to be at the Wyoming Outdoor Council and we’re thrilled to have her on board.

Laurie will be working out of her home office in Laramie. She can be reached at laurie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org or at 307-721-7610.