Carrie Besnette Hauser, Ph.D.

In July of 2024, Hauser was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Trust for Public Land.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser held the position of President and CEO of Colorado Mountain College for over a decade (2013-2024). For her exceptional leadership and historic tenure, CMC’s Board of Trustees honored her as the first President Emerita in the history of the institution.

During her tenure as CMC President, Hauser led the uniquely financed, public, Dual Mission, Hispanic Serving Institution enrolling over 12,000 students annually at 11 campuses in the central Rocky Mountains. Previous to CMC, Hauser held executive leadership roles at the Kauffman Foundation, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Daniels Fund. While at Daniels, she was a loaned executive to Denver's then-mayor, John Hickenlooper, and to the Metro Denver Sports Commission where she focused on an initiative to attract and host top-tier sporting events, including the Olympic Games. She co-chaired the 2012 Women’s Final Four Basketball tournament held in Denver.

Hauser is a member of the Vail Valley Foundation and Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities boards of directors, the PBS-12 Community Advisory Board, and El Pomar Foundation’s Northwest Regional Council.

From 2017-23, Hauser served two terms on the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission (including two years as chair during a ballot-initiated wolf reintroduction process). Other prior board service includes Great Outdoors Colorado, American Council on Education, American Rivers, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Economic Advisory Council, Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, Vail Valley Partnership, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and its Leadership Foundation, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, Metro Denver Sports Commission, American Red Cross Mile High Chapter, and Visit Denver. Previous gubernatorial appointments were to the Colorado Women’s Centennial Vote Commission and Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform. She has been recognized as Citizen of the Year by the Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce, 9News Leader of the Year, and one of the Fifty for the Future of Colorado.

Hauser’s background includes teaching assignments at UCLA, the University of Denver, and Colorado State University. She has held policy, research, and legislative staff roles as well as positions with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and the University of Arizona, her undergraduate alma mater. She earned her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from UCLA and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of Business.

An avid outdoorswoman, Hauser has climbed to the Mount Everest basecamp and has summited Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Rainier, and Colorado’s 58 highest peaks (14ers). She held the proud title of “Swamper” while working many summers for Hatch River Expeditions in Grand Canyon National Park near her beloved hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona. She and her husband enjoy skiing, hiking, boating, biking, and exploring remote places around the globe.

Last updated: July, 2024