Prior to his appointment by Governor Hickenlooper to serve as the Department of Local Affairs' Executive Director, Reeves Brown served as Executive Director of CLUB 20, a non-profit political advocacy organization representing the interests of the 22-county Western Colorado region. Based in Grand Junction, Reeves has led the organization in cultivating dialogue amongst the region’s diverse interests to develop consensus recommendations for state and national public policies on a wide range of issues including public lands management, economic development, transportation funding, energy development, water management, education and health care.
Reeves grew up on a cattle ranch in eastern Montana and later received a B.S. in Agriculture Business and a minor degree in Economics from Montana State University. Having spent his formative years working in and around cow manure, Reeves believes that he is uniquely qualified to work in the public policy arena.
After working for the National Cattlemen’s Association for two years, Reeves served as Executive Vice President of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) from 1989-1997. During his tenure, Reeves established the CCA as a nationally-recognized leader in the natural resource and animal care arenas. Under Reeves’ leadership, the CCA created the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) in 1993 – the first land conservation trust in the nation fostered by an established agriculture organization. The CCALT currently holds conservation easements on over 250,000 acres of agriculture land across Colorado, and has served as a catalyst for the creation of similar ag land trusts in other western states which now collectively hold conservation easements on over 1 million acres of agriculture lands.
Reeves and his wife, Penny, have three children – Kyler, Keaton and Abigail – a cat with an attitude and one genetically-challenged dog.
