Dinosaur Ridge Staff
Jeff Lamontagne, Executive Director
Jeff joined Dinosaur Ridge as Executive Director in January 2017. Jeff has a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a J.D. from the College of William and Mary School of Law. In 2002, he co-founded and began serving as Executive Director of Second Wind Fund, a nonprofit providing professional counseling services to teens at-risk for suicide, for nearly 10 years. For the past five-plus years, he served as Executive Director of Bluff Lake Nature Center, an open space and environmental science center in east Denver. In both organizations, he oversaw all aspects of programming, administration, and fundraising.
(Office in Discovery Center): (303) 697-3466 x104; Jeff.Lamontagne@dinoridge.org
–> View important statements from the Executive Director and Board.
Dana Rinderknecht, Director of Development
In January 2021, Dana joined Dinosaur Ridge as Development Director. A Colorado and Jefferson County native, Dana has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Colorado State University and MBA from the University of Denver. Prior to coming to FODR, she served as the Director of Online Giving at Community First Foundation and helped launch ColoradoGives.org and was the driving force behind the introduction of Colorado Gives Day, the state’s largest online giving day. Prior to joining Community First Foundation, Dana served as the Director of Resource Development for Dental Aid and as the Executive Director of Family Pathways of Colorado. Throughout her career, she has volunteered and serves on the Boards of several Denver-area nonprofits. Currently, she sits on the Board of the Colorado Nonprofit Association.
(303) 697-3466 x 115; dana.rinderknecht@dinoridge.org
Barbara Farley, Director of Volunteers & Program Growth
Barbara Farley oversees the volunteer efforts, educational program growth, and evaluation for Dinosaur Ridge. She has more than 15 years of experience in experiential education, program outreach and management, and volunteer coordination. Most recently, she served as the Operations Director for MindDance, LLC, and previously managed programs for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Wildlife Center of Virginia. In her free time, Barbara tries to keep up with her two teenage boys, serves on the board for Family Nature Summits, and enjoys skiing, hiking, and gardening. She joined FoDR in October of 2017.
(303) 697-3466 x107; Barbara.Farley@dinoridge.org
Erin LaCount, Education Programs Director
Erin has been leading educational programs at Dinosaur Ridge since 2002, but her first visit was in 1990 as a five-year-old. Erin was in charge of guided tour programs from 2003-2017 and has been managing all Education efforts at Dinosaur Ridge since 2017. Erin re-established Summer Camps in 2012 and created three new camps in 2018, developed our preschool program in 2014, and designed exhibits in the Discovery Center in 2014. She has been maintaining/updating current exhibits in Trek Through Time since 2011.
(303) 697-3466 x101; Erin.LaCount@dinoridge.org
Sue Kaberline, Gift Shop and Office Manage
Sue is a Colorado native and has been with Dinosaur Ridge for ten years. She previously served as the Discovery Center Gift Shop Manager, as well as a gift shop clerk, and tour bus driver/guide. She has over 20 years of retail experience, seven years in retail management. She’s also studied geology and environmental science extensively.
(303) 697-3466 x102; Sue.Kaberline@dinoridge.org
Libby Landen, Marketing Director
Libby leads Dinosaur Ridge’s marketing efforts and is keenly focused on maximizing the organization’s resources, expanding its reach, and elevating its position within the philanthropic sector. Prior to joining Dinosaur Ridge, Libby worked in Washington, D.C. as the VP, Strategic Marketing for the National Retail Federation managing the association’s marketing team. She has a strong background in dynamic marketing and communications strategy as well as advocacy, membership, and event campaigns. Libby joined the Dinosaur Ridge in April 2019.
(410) 279-8158; Libby.Landen@dinoridge.org
Libby Prueher, Education Assistant and Outreach Coordinator
Dr. Libby Prueher is a volcanologist and a climate and sustainability specialist. She has a B.S. in Geology, a M.S. in Volcanology, and a PhD. in climate science. Dr. Libby first worked at Dinosaur Ridge in 2001. She volunteered over the years and re-joined the staff in September 2017. Dr. Libby is a volcanologist with specialties in climate change and sustainability. She is a professor at multiple colleges in the Denver area, teaching geology, environmental science, climate change, and sustainability. Dr. Libby is passionate about making science accessible for the community through Dinosaur Ridge school tours and outreach events.
(303) 697-3466; Libby.Prueher@dinoridge.org
Dennis Tesar, Maintenance Lead
Since arriving at Friends of Dinosaur Ridge over five years ago, Dennis has worked in the Maintenance department, half that time as Maintenance Lead. His responsibility is to preserve the physical integrity of the FODR properties. A variety of duties, from setting mousetraps to pouring concrete for Eagle Scouts project, repairing buses, locks, and doors, to customizing and installing barn siding, cleaning, weeding, designing, inventing, and the list is endless. Dennis enjoys the variety in work and the people he works with, creating innovative solutions for new and old problems alike; the joy of recognizing a problem and moving forward to solve it. He loves putting his mechanical engineering experience to good use for Dinosaur Ridge.
303-697-3466; Dennis.Tesar@dinoridge.org
Evan Weber, Education Assistant
Joining the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge team in January 2021 Evan overseas Adult Field Trips, facilitates educational programs, and assists with Collections and Exhibits. A native of the Pacific Northwest Evan graduated from Washington State University in 2015 with a Bachelors’s Degree in Anthropology and spend time in Western Colorado and North Dakota working as an Archaeologist. Living in the Denver Metro Area since 2018 he has worked in education at the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus and the Colorado Railroad Museum.
