OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lisa received her BBA in Business Management at Texas A&M University in 1978. After graduation she took a job with Shell Oil Company, working in the business sector, and ended her career operating as an internal consultant for Shell’s north American businesses, implementing best practices in Supply Chain Management.

In 1995 Lisa left Shell to form Liles Peters and Associates, a consulting company, working primarily in the energy sector assisting companies in implementing process redesign, value engineering and marketing best practices.

After retiring, she led various nonprofits, specializing in increasing donors and funding. She and her husband, Dwight, spend most of their year in Pagosa Springs and less and less time in Sugar Land, Texas. They have one daughter, Lilli.

Dr. Linda M. Espinosa, is currently Co-PI for the Getting on Track for Early School Success: Effective Teaching in Preschool Classrooms project at the University of Chicago and former Co-PI for the Center for Early Care and Education Research—Dual Language Learners (CECER-DLL) at Frank Porter Graham CDI at the U of NC. She is Professor Emeritus of Early Childhood Education at the University of Missouri, Columbia and has served as the Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University and Vice President at Bright Horizons Family Solutions. Her recent research and policy work has focused on effective curriculum and assessment practices for young children from low-income families who are dual language learners. Dr. Espinosa also served on the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) Technical Advisory Group as well as the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation and was recently appointed to the National Academies Committee on Fostering School Success for English Language Learners.

Dr. Espinosa has worked extensively with low-income Hispanic/Latino children and families throughout the state of California as a school administrator and program director in San Francisco, San Jose, and Redwood City. She has published more than 90 research articles, book chapters and training manuals on how to establish effective educational services for low-income, minority families and children who are acquiring English as a second language.

Dr. Espinosa is the past treasurer of the NAEYC Governing Board and participated on the National Academy of Sciences Research Roundtable on Head Start. Dr. Espinosa also was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Board Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy project and a contributing author to Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, published by the National Academies of Science. She completed her B.A. at the University of Washington, her Ed.M. at Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Chicago.

Lauri Heraty has served on multiple local and regional boards, is extremely community involved and is a consummate volunteer. Lauri is currently the President of the Colorado Regional MLS of Southwest Colorado, as well as Vice Chair on the Pagosa Springs Tourism Board. Lauri and her husband Mike moved to Pagosa Springs in 1995 and opened Pagosa Source Real Estate Advisors in 1997. They have been working together 25 years which is quite an accomplishment.

However, Lauri’s proudest accomplishment are her two sons Michael and Gabriel. Gabriel is currently a Sophomore at Arizona State University on the West Campus studying Business and Entrepreneurship. He is a Seeds of Learning graduate, featured in their ads as early as 18-months old. Gabriel became the first Seeds graduate to dance in Pagosa Springs Dancing with the Stars and took home the Mirror Ball Trophy in 2020.

On the rare occasion when Lauri can sneak away from board service and work responsibilities, she loves skiing at Wolf Creek.

Bob received his B.A. in Mathematics from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He continued his academic studies at the University of North Dakota where he received his M.S. in Industrial Management. Finally, Bob gained his PhD in Information Technology from Louisiana Technology University.

Upon graduation from university, Bob enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1968 and was honorably discharged in 1972 as a Captain. Bob began his career in 1975 as a professor of Information Systems at the University of Texas at Arlington. During that time he was also President of Decision Support Systems, a Market Research company based in Arlington, Texas. He joined Alcon Laboratories in 1989, holding positions of increasing responsibility and in 2001 was named Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. He retired from Alcon in January of 2007.

After retirement Bob and his wife, Robin, continued to travel extensively and also became actively involved in their community. Bob served on the Creede Repertory Board for five years before resigning in order to be more involved in the Thingamajig Theatre of Pagosa Springs. He and Robin have financially served a number of organizations in Pagosa, including Seeds of Learning. The most fun he had raising money for Seeds was as a Star in the first Dancing with the Pagosa Stars in 2018.

Bob and Robin have two children and eight grandchildren.

Stewart Bellina works as the principal of San Juan Mountain School, an alternative high school in the Archuleta School District. She began her work in education as a preschool teacher in Crested Butte, Colorado before obtaining her first masters degree in School Counseling at Chapman University.

After working for 13 years as a school counselor at Pagosa Springs High School, she went back to school for another masters degree in Educational Leadership. Stewart enjoys spending her free time with her husband and 2 children (both of whom attended Seeds of Learning) in the mountains of Colorado.

Bob Scott has been in investments and investment banking since 1987. Bob began his career as a financial analyst at Kidder, Peabody & Co., in New York City. Later he accepted a position with Alex Brown & Sons in San Francisco as a senior analyst. As an analyst he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and raising capital for companies in the public market.

In 1993, he moved to Denver and became managing principal at Rockmont Capital Partners, a private investment company that invests in and acquires public and private companies.

In February 1999, Bob and his family relocated to Pagosa Springs and opened an office for Edward Jones Investments where he became a limited partner. In February 2007, Bob formed Scott Strategic Investments, LLC.

Bob received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and international relations from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of Denver. Bob is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and completed the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) professional education program offered by the College for Financial Planning.

He has been involved in the community serving on various non-profit boards. Recently, he served a 6 year term on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

Livia Cloman Lynch was born and raised in Pagosa where she attended local schools and developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and agricultural life. She earned her Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University, followed by a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Georgia.
Dr. Lynch’s early career was in western livestock marketing information, specializing in data analysis and economic research. Her contributions to monthly market outlook publications helped producers and stakeholders navigate the complexities of livestock markets with timely, data-driven insights.
Over the years, Livia built a diverse academic and professional portfolio blending business management consulting, research, and teaching at several universities. In 1996, Livia and her husband Bob—a fifth-generation Pagosa Springs resident—returned home to their family cattle ranch. Their daughters Jessica and Mesa attended local schools.
Dr. Lynch served as Coordinator for the Pueblo Community College (PCC) Pagosa Southwest Center, managing the local college classes and dual college-high school enrollment program. Later, she became Executive Director of the Archuleta County Education Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering an alternative high school education, GED and ESL programs, and community classes. She also served as the Executive Director of the Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) at the archaeological site.
Since retiring, Livia has remained engaged in community service. She has served three terms as President of the Pagosa Springs Rotary Club and chaired the Rotary Scholarship Committee for over a decade, awarding $20,000–$30,000 annually to graduating high school seniors. Her nonprofit leadership roles have included Vice President of the Regional United Way Board, board member of the Archuleta County United Way, a member of the Region Nine Economic Development Loan Advisory Committee and the Ruby Sisson Memorial Library expansion fundraising task force.

mily is the new Executive Director at Seeds of Learning. She is a 5th-generation Pagosa resident and has lived in Pagosa her entire life, except for the few years she attended college at Fort Lewis in Durango, Colorado. While in high school and college she worked at various City Markets, here in Pagosa and in Durango. In 2016, she joined the team at Seeds of Learning as a teacher’s aide and found her love of teaching. After moving up to an assistant teacher position, she decided that she wanted to get her Large Center Director certificate. She left Seeds of Learning in 2019 to attend college where she received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Secondary Language Learning. She taught the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Our Savior Lutheran School after she graduated and became the Preschool Director for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. She is currently the Fair Board President for the local Archuleta County Fair and enjoys helping two of her close friends on their local food trucks for events. When she has some downtime, she enjoys spending time with her family and one-year-old niece. She also enjoys lake days and collecting and reading books. Early Childhood Education is where her passion lies, and she is looking forward to working with the families and staff members at Seeds of Learning.