Staff Writers
Susan Viebrock -
Susan is Telluride Inside… and Out’s founder and editor-in-chief, the visionary on the team, in charge of content, concept and development. For 19+ years, Susan has covered Telluride’s cultural economy, which includes non-profits and special events. Much of her writing features high-profile individuals in the arts, entertainment, business, and politics. She is a former Citibank executive specializing in strategic planning and new business development, and a certified Viniyoga instructor. Read the latest posts from Susan.
Clint Viebrock -
Clint is TIO’s Publisher and a staff writer. Clint first arrived in town in 1985 just to check out the views, spent most of his life as “CEO” of a giant business, a 747-400 airplane in the Northwest fleet. Since his retirement in 1998, Clint has taught for the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program. Read the latest posts from Clint.
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Jesse James McTigue -
Jesse James McTigue moved to Telluride when she was eleven. She has left many times –to attend a ski academy and college on the East Coast, to travel in South America, and to teach middle school in Oakland, CA –but she always seems to return. She returned (again) in 2008, married with kids, and thinks this time it may be for real. When she’s not chasing her kids, she’s searching for sanity on her skis or bike and makes her living freelance writing, grant writing and tutoring. Read the latest posts from Jesse.
Emily Shoff -
Emily Brendler Shoff found true love when she moved to the Rockies for her freshman year at Colorado College in 1994. Her love affair with the mountains hasn’t wavered since. She writes, teaches, and makes cookies for her favorite people in Telluride, Colorado. Read the latest posts from Emily.
Cynthia Zehm -
Cynthia is a third generation astrologer living in the high mountain desert of the American Southwest. She was introduced to astrology by her maternal grandmother, Alice Wood Carter and she grew up reading her American Astrology and Dell Horoscope magazines. By age 12, she had a general working knowledge of Sun-sign astrology. In 1977 Cynthia moved to Telluride, CO and began doing readings in the upstairs loft of the Ritzy Gypsy, a boutique above the infamous Moon Gypsy Saloon, with her partner, Ginette Petrie. In 1988 Cynthia began writing Alacazem: Astrology and Metaphysics for the Telluride Times. The column has been published for over 20 years, and currently appears each week in Telluride Inside and Out. Read the latest posts from Cynthia.
Other Contributors
Daiva Chesonis -
Daiva is a Baltimore-born transplant since 1992 when she came to Telluride with the CTEC crew to build the Gondola and decided to stay put for a while. That “while” has included stints as owner/operator of Vision Design, Art Director at Telluride Magazine and Telluride Production Group, snowboard instructor, bookseller, and time served as board member for the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company, Horizon Program, and Mountainfilm. In 2005, she achieved her original academic goal by receiving a Masters Degree in Diplomacy and International Conflict Resolution. When not reading, Daiva’s favorite pastimes, aside from lots of tennis and snowboarding, include hiking and cross-country skiing with her daughter Olivija, often found in BTC’s kids section gobbling up (and recommending) books.
Sonchia Jilek -
As Executive Director of the Pinhead Institute, Sonchia offers locals and visitors cultural programming centered on science that rewards curiosity and provides a connection to the scientific world. Her favorite thing about Pinhead is its reach into the region: she loves turning kids in Telluride onto physics via rockets and traveling with leading scientists to Nucla and Naturita, where they open up the worlds of biology and chemistry in schools that may otherwise lack rich scientific programming. Sonchia also sends kids to M.I.T. and the California Academy of Sciences for summer internships, which refines their scientific pursuits. It’s her great hope that, through Pinhead, kids can find and nurture a scientific passion that lasts their entire lives. Sonchia worked as the Director of Programming and Outreach at the Telluride Historical Museum before taking over at Pinhead in 2007.
Amy Lauberstein -
For Program Director Amy Laubenstein, the Pinhead Institute represents a culmination of everything exciting about science: Whether it is leading after-school programs and camps that take scientific principles from the pages of a text and turn them into illuminating experiences, or the enthusiastic yells that punctuate a Punk demonstration, Pinhead creates an undeniable buzz about the fascinating world of science. Amy loves to develop experiences that help make science exciting and accessible to children of all ages and backgrounds. She looks forward to creating more opportunities that reach an even wider audience to show just how incredible science is.Prior to joining Pinhead in 2010, Amy created Eco Adventures for the Telluride Ski and Golf Company and developed a curriculum accompaniment for the film, “Bag It.”
Deb Dion -
Deb Dion Kees is a writer and the editor at Telluride Magazine. Her freelance writing has appeared in Salon, SKI Magazine, The Huffington Post, Book Magazine, Shelter, Colorado Biz, Aspen Sojourner, Mountain Gazette, Paraglide and Paragliding Magazine. Her fiction appeared in the Valley Floor Anthology and she is currently working on a novel titled Learning to Fly. She lives on the west end of San Miguel County with her husband, two children and a one-eyed cat named Flash.
Suzanne Cheavens -
Suzanne Cheavens has called Telluride her home since 1985. Here, she is living her dream of living a life in music. The former editor of the Telluride Daily Planet, she is now the KOTO Music Director, plays guitar and writes songs in a rock and roll band, and draws power and inspiration from these mountains.
Lauren Metzger -
Lauren Metzger is the Marketing & Exhibitions Director at the Ah Haa School for the Arts. After graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York, Lauren moved to Telluride to escape mass transit and pursue life in a small town. To her great surprise, she found an opportunity to pursue a career in her major, Communication Design. However, thinking she was still a city girl, Lauren left Telluride for Chicago, where she spent seven years working as a freelancer at design firms and custom publishers. In the end, she realized she was a mountain girl after all. Ah Haa is an organization Lauren believes in, one that nurtures her creative spirit and helps others nurtures theirs. Read the latest posts from Lauren.
Tracy Shaffer -
Tracy Shaffer is a Realtor/writer who lives, works and plays in Denver, Colorado. Active in the arts & cultural scene, Tracy is an award-winning playwright, a member of the Denver Center Theatre Company (12 years) and has appeared on stages around Denver and the nation. Ms. Shaffer fell in love with Telluride during the Telluride Playwrights Festival, where her scripts have received readings in 2008 & 2011. With her heart in the arts and a mind for business, Tracy co-founded Thriving Artist Alliance @ Your Castle Real Estate, helping people buy, sell and invest in real estate. As well as TIO, Tracy’s blogs can be found on Huffington Post where she covers art/culture/community and the occasional stint on the real estate page.
Gavin Anstey (Telluride Newb) -
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado and a year under his belt working multiple journalism and online marketing jobs in Argentina, Gavin Anstey co-founded the Telluride Newb in November 2010 to keep up his journalism craft and document his transition from a “NEWB” to a local. When not running his media and content provision company, Open Exposure Media, Gavin can be found coaching mogul and big mountain skiing for the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club. His posts can be seen weekly within the “Best of the NEWB” on Telluride Inside…and Out.
Dutch Simpson (Telluride Newb) -
Though living in Telluride for over a year, Dutch Simpson still considers himself a “NEWB,” hence the reason he co-founded the Telluride Newb in November 2010 and subsequently the content provision and media firm Open Exposure Media. Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production from the Art Institute of Colorado, Dutch has worked for such clients as REVO, The North Face and Aspen Snowmass, won a regional Emmy in 2009 and recently returned from winning the 2011 World Traveler Internship, an all-expense paid trip around the world, producing short, travel videos for the travel agency STA. His videos can be seen within the “Best of the NEWB” on Telluride Inside…and Out.
Eliot Muckerman -
A passionate writer, music lover, and life-long Telluridian, Eliot Muckerman is Telluride Inside… and Out’s music blogger, writing specifically about the scene at the Llama. After graduating Hampshire College with a degree in journalism and creative writing, he returned home to start the next chapter in his life. Eliot attended his first Bluegrass Festival when he was 8 days old and hasn’t missed one since. His credentials are spotty, his abilities, suspect; and under no circumstances should he be trusted with a deadline. But he loves what he does, and hopes you will too.
Luke Brown -
Luke Brown is a Colorado native who finds himself eternally bound to the sun, snow and seasons of the Centennial State. He is a world traveler and is always looking for the next adventure whether it is around the globe or around the bend. His early years were spent traveling and exploring the western United States in the back of a Volkswagen bus with his gypsy parents and he blames them completely for his affinity and addiction to motion and movement. Luke is currently the Program Director for Telluride Academy, a Colorado non-profit youth enrichment and adventure organization. He now shares his passion for play and exploration with nearly 800 students annually and takes pride in creating future ambassadors for those committed to working hard but playing harder.
Bill Masters -
Bill Masters has been the Sheriff of San Miguel County for over 30 years and a peace officer in Telluride since 1975, He is a publish author (“Drug War Addiction, 2001”) , an expert skier, an emergency medical technician and the principal of Masters Company a security firm specializing in the protection of high profile, high net-worth clients and a partner in The Alarm Company of Telluride. Bill has a bachelor degree in Criminal Justice and has attended over four dozen police and executive protection training seminars. He and his wife Jill live on Main Street in Telluride.
Jerry Roberts -
In his youth, Jerry left home in his old man’s pickup on a long road trip “in search of the American Dream.” It was the beginning of a new life (post-Beat/pre-hippie) but, more accurately, he drove head-on into the counterculture and had a pretty smooth ride all the way in.
After some digging we’ve found that Jerry has been in the snow/avalanche/guiding business for 40 yrs. and after “worrying for a living” forecasting and mitigating avalanches on Red Mountain Pass, Colorado and in the Chilean Andes, it was time for him to wander a different trail. Jonathan Thompson, editor at High Country News while accompanying Mr. Roberts on an avalanche control mission referred to him as a “Zen Redneck.” We’re not sure what that means so you would have to ask Mr. Thompson.
For access to a warehouse of cultural, social, environmental digressions, a haiku or just the need to wander a bit, go to The Rōbert Report (pron: Rō’bear Re’por).
Barbara Brattin -
Barbara Brattin was first inspired to become a librarian when her first grade teacher walled off a part of the classroom to create her own room of books. As an undergraduate history major, she spent the majority of her free time in the bowels of the university library, the place old newspapers went to die. While blowing off the dust in the stacks, she decided to pursue a master’s degree in library science. After years working in both Ohio and Illinois libraries, Barb joined the Wilkinson Public Library in 2005 as Library Director. Under her leadership, the Library has won the 5-Star designation 4 years in a row.
Ryan Wilson -
Ryan Wilson has worked for over a decade as a teacher, filmmaker, copywriter, and historian. His study of revolutionary culture in El Salvador was published in both Spanish and English. Ryan continues to seek opportunities to communicate issues of social justice through various mediums including film, classroom instruction and the written word. Ryan Wilson holds a B.S. In Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Masters of Arts in History and a Masters of Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University. Currently, Ryan is the marketing coordinator for the Wilkinson Public Library where he shares the vision of making information and education accessible to everyone in the Telluride community.
Werner Catsman -
Born and raised on the San Miguel River, Werner Catsman continues to call Telluride’s dead end canyon home. Having managed the Scott Fly Rod Company for 10 years, he had a long and distinguished career in the fly fishing industry. In 2006 he co-founded Finbro Construction and switched from building fly rods to building custom homes and condominium projects. An avid writer, with articles published in Fly Tyer, Telluride Magazine and a chapter in the recently published book, Why Liberty, Werner is thrilled to share his adventures once a month with Telluride Inside and out.
Mark Stevens -
Mark Stevens was raised in Massachusetts. He’s been a Coloradoan since 1980. He’s a print reporter, national news television producer and school district communicator. He’s now working in the new economy and listed under “s” for self-employed. Stevens has published two Colorado-based mysteries, Antler Dust (2007) and Buried by the Roan (2011). The third book in the Allison Coil Mystery Series is under production and tentatively slated for release in 2013. For more about Mark, check out his website.
Brian Eyster -
Brian Eyster is the Director of Communications for Planet Bluegrass, producers of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival as well as the RockyGrass and Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, CO. A life-long musician and music obsessive, Brian worked as a software engineer for 10 years before joining Planet Bluegrass in 2005.
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer -
Lifelover Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer lives in Southwest Colorado, where she is Poet Laureate emeritus of San Miguel County. She teaches poetry for Think 360, The Aesthetic Education Institute of Colorado, Ah Haa School for the Arts, and Camp Coca Cola. Her poetry has appeared in O Magazine and on A Prairie Home Companion. Her poetry collections include The Miracle Already Happening: Everyday life with Rumi, Intimate Landscape, Holding Three Things at Once (Colorado Book Award finalist) and If You Listen. She performs with Telluride’s seven-woman a cappella group, Heartbeat, and sings nightly for her two children, Finn and Vivian. She and her husband, Eric, own a 75-acre organic fruit farm, where she learns the art of letting go. Favorite three-word mantra: I am learning. Favorite one-word mantra: Adjust. For more about Rosemerry, visit her WordWoman Website.
Patty Denny -
Founder and owner of Telluride Truffle, Artisan Chocolate the local chocolate company with locations in the Town of Telluride and Lawson Hill. Patty began the company 14 years ago selling her chocolate treats through local stores and online @ her website, TellurideTruffle.com. Six years ago, she put in her own kitchen and shipping facility in Lawson Hill and followed it up with a second retail location on Fir Street in the heart of town. Her company has been featured on “Roker on the Road” on the Food Network and this the Huffington Post. year named Telluride Truffles “One of the Top Ten Chocolate Shops in Colorado.
Julia Wentworth -
Julia Wentworth moved to Telluride in Spring 2008 and has worked for the Sheridan Arts Foundation from the get-go. After two years of bookkeeping and office assistance, Julia moved into the PR and Marketing Director position, promoting all organization events, fundraisers, concerts and programs. Julia is excited to work for an organization that is so integral and essential to Telluride’s cultural life.
David Feela -
David Feela, recently retired from a 27-year teaching gig, was a “Colorado Voice” for the Denver Post. He worked for over a decade as a contributing editor and columnist at Inside/Outside Southwest magazine and now contributes occasional pieces to High Country News’s “Writers on the Range”, as well as a monthly piece for the Four Corners Free Press and the Durango Telegraph. David’s first full-length book of poetry, The Home Atlas, was released in 2009 through WordTech. A book of his essays, How Delicate These Arches: Footnotes From the Four Corners (Raven’s Eye Press) is now available.
Dr. Paul Hokemeyer -
Part-time Telluride local Dr. Paul Hokemeyer is a nationally recognized expert on Eastern philosophies, relationships, and emotional healing. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, he holds a PhD in psychology, as well as a doctorate in the law. A part-time Telluride resident, Dr. Hokemeyer is based in the New York City office of the Caron Treatment Center. He is also a weekly contributor to “The Dr. Oz Show,” CNN’s “Headline News,” and other media outlets, including “Good Morning America,” “truTV,” and “Oprah Radio.” His new column, Shrink Rap, is scheduled to appear at least bi-monthy every Thursday on Telluride Inside… and Out.
Victoria Crawford & Robyn Shaw of Tweed -
Victoria Crawford and Robyn Shaw, both longtime locals, are the dynamic duo behind Tweed Interiors, in the business of beautifying homes in the Telluride region since 2007, remodels and new constructions. Crawford originally hails from Vermont, where she received a B.A. in Studio Art from Middlebury College. Her artistic background has proved instrumental in the success of her design house. Shaw, originally from the Boston area, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She left Telluride briefly to pursue a career in interior design in New York, while working for the Swiss furniture company, Vitra. In October 2011, Victoria and Robyn opened the Tweed Interior boutique at 151 South Pine Street in downtown Telluride.