AQCC commissioner profiles

Gary Arnold
Gary Arnold is a labor leader currently serving as the Business Manager/Financial Secretary Treasurer for Denver Pipefitters Local #208, Business Manager/Financial Secretary Treasurer for Rocky Mountain Pipe Trades District Council #5, and Financial Secretary Treasurer for the 5-states Pipe Trades Association.  Prior to being elected Business Manager, Gary served as Head Training Coordinator for Denver Pipefitters Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, leading one of the largest registered apprenticeship programs in the state. Previously, he was a General Foreman for multiple Mechanical Contractors overseeing installations, modifications, and servicing of HVAC/R systems, steam systems, and process piping systems; apprenticeship instructor for Denver Pipefitters JATC; and journeyman pipefitter. His community involvement includes an appointment to the Colorado Business Experiential Learning Commission, a term on the Denver Building Code Revision Committee, and the Governors Emergency Council on Economic Stabilization and Growth. He also served on the sponsorship committee of Imagination Library Denver a child literacy advocacy organization. In 2007, he finished 1^st place in the United Associations International Apprenticeship Contest, Welder Division, as the top apprentice in the US and Canada. Gary is a 6^th generation Colorado native and currently resides in Englewood.

Patrick Cummins
Patrick Cummins has been working with Western states and stakeholders on air quality and climate programs since 1987, including at the US EPA (1987-90), the Regional Air Quality Council (1990-94 & 1996-2000), and the Western Governors’ Association (2000-12). From 2014-2023 he served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University where he led the Center's work with Western states, utilities, and stakeholders on the transition to a low-carbon economy. He has also served as Executive Director of the Western Climate Initiative where he helped develop and implement the world’s first economy-wide cap-and-invest program for greenhouse gas emissions.  Patrick has worked in the oil and gas industry (Colorado Interstate Gas Co., 1994-96) and owned a farm in La Plata County (2003-13). He holds a Chemistry Degree from Fort Lewis College and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Policy from Indiana University. Patrick lives in Durango with his wife Miki Harder, an artist and Nordic ski instructor, and has two children, Carolyn (ecologist) and Daniel (law student).

Bill Gonzalez
Bill Gonzalez is the Director of Rockies Surface Land for Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Bill recently served Colorado as a Commissioner on the first full-time, professional Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission where he helped transition the COGCC through the mission change mandate directed by SB 19-181. Prior to his role as COGCC Commissioner, he held various roles in the oil & gas industry at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Occidental Petroleum Corporation across those companies’ business units in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. He has previously served as the President of the Denver Association of Professional Landmen and currently serves on the Board of Growing Home, Inc., a non-profit that serves communities in the northwest Denver metro area. Bill has expertise in many aspects of oil & gas operations including mineral and surface land, project management, operational planning and regulatory. He holds a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University. Bill lives in Denver with his wife Leslie and their dog Bauer.

Elise Jones
Elise Jones is the executive director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), a nonprofit dedicated to achieving energy efficiency and clean transportation in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Prior to this position, Elise served as a county commissioner for Boulder County for eight years, from 2013-2020. As a commissioner, Elise represented Boulder County on the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), which she chaired in 2016; as the DRCOG representative to the Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee from 2014-2020; and on the Regional Air Quality Council from 2009-2019. Elise holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University in New York and a master’s in Resource Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Michigan. Previously, Elise was the executive director of Colorado Environmental Coalition for 13 years, focusing on climate, energy, wilderness, land use, transportation and other conservation issues. Elise has also worked as a regional director for the League of Conservation Voters; a senior legislative assistant for Oregon congresswoman Elizabeth Furse; and a policy advocate for the National Wildlife Federation. Elise has dedicated her non-profit and volunteer time to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, Boulder Planning Board, Greenprint Denver Advisory Council, and Colorado Conservation Voters. Elise lives in Boulder with her partner, Karl, and their daughter, McKenzie.

Martha Rudolph
Martha Rudolph was the Director of Environmental Programs for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from 2007 to January 2019.  As the Director, Ms. Rudolph oversaw the Air Quality, Environmental Health and Sustainability, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management, and Water Quality Divisions.  In 2010, Ms. Rudolph served as the Executive Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment under Governor Bill Ritter. Martha is an advisory member of the Division on Earth and Life Studies of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an advisory member of The National Academies’ Environmental Health Matters Initiative, a member of the Board of Directors for the Environmental Research Institute of the States, Co-Chair of the Membership Committee of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and a state advisor for the Georgetown Climate Center. Martha was a recent chair of the Colorado Regional Air Quality Council, selected by Governor Polis in 2019 and serving until January 2021.  Martha was a past President of the Environmental Council of States, co-chair of the ECOS Shale Gas Caucus and chair of the ECOS Air Committee. Martha served as a member and vice-chair of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission from 2000 to 2007. An environmental attorney, Martha was a First Assistant Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, and was in private practice, and in-house at a natural gas pipeline company.  Martha received her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Curtis Rueter
Curtis Rueter is the Manager of LNG & CNG Development in U.S. Onshore Operations for Noble Energy Inc., where he is responsible for developing and implementing Noble’s LNG/CNG strategy for using natural gas as a transportation and motor fuel throughout its operations and in its supply chain. Prior to his current role, he served as environmental and regulatory manager and oversaw Noble’s permitting and compliance activities throughout the life cycle of their operations, including air permitting and compliance, and was engaged in a number of rulemaking processes with COGCC and other state agencies. Before joining Noble, Curtis had spent the previous 19 years of his career in environmental and engineering consulting. His consulting work focused on two primary areas: air quality issues (especially those related to the upstream oil and gas, refining and utilities) and natural gas processing technologies. Additionally, Curtis was an active participant in the ozone stakeholder processes in Colorado from 2003 to 2008. Curtis received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Texas A&M Univer­sity and serves on the board of NGVAmerica. He previously served as a representative of Colorado to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). Curtis and his wife, Ruth, have four children and reside in Westminster.

Jon Slutsky
Jon Slutsky is recently retired after working 41 years as a dairy farmer. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 1972 from the University of California-Riverside. Jon is a member of the Rocky Mountain National Park Ag Sub-Committee working with other Ag, State, and Federal partners to find ways to reduce nitrogen deposition in the Park. He was also a member of a USDA/NRCS funded group that produced a web-based tool to help livestock producers identify where air emissions on their farms originate and find ways to reduce them. Previously he served on both the Air Quality and Water Quality Control Commissions for a total of 11 years starting in 2007 and was the AQCC representative to the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization for five years. He was a member of the Larimer County Agricultural Advisory Board for 21 years and served as Chair for two years. Jon also served on other Ag related boards and helped them to advocate for worker and immigrant rights and other Ag causes. Currently he also serves on the Larimer County Planning Commission, and previously on the USDA Ag Air Quality Task Force, and the Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Jon and his wife, Susan, have an adult daughter, Raisa, and live in Fort Collins.

Gregg Thomas
Gregg Thomas is the Environmental Quality Division Director in the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE). This division is responsible for ensuring clean air, land, and water, minimizing the city’s environmental risk and liability, and furthering environmental initiatives across the city, in partnership with other city departments. Gregg’s experience also extends into solid waste management and he oversees Denver’s Environmental Services Enterprise Fund. Gregg has been with DDPHE for 25 years and started as an air quality specialist and policy analyst. Gregg previously worked as a meteorologist in the private sector for 5 years.  Gregg has served on several volunteer boards; he is currently the Board chair for the Air and Waste Management Association – Rocky Mountain States Section. Gregg has a Bachelors degree in Meteorology from the State University of New York at Oswego and a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from Montana Technological University in Butte, MT. Gregg enjoys spending time with his family (Denise, Simon) and he and his wife are avid golfers.