Will Shafroth

Will Shafroth
Democratic candidate for Colorado's 2nd congressional district
Election date November 4, 2008
Opponent(s)	Jared Polis, Joan Fitz-Gerald
Incumbent	Mark Udall
Personal details
Born	(1957-06-03) June 3, 1957
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Boulder, Colorado
Alma mater	University of California, Santa Barbara John F. Kennedy School of Government
Website	http://www.shafrothforcongress.com//

Will Shafroth was a candidate in the Democratic primary to replace Mark Udall in Colorado's 2nd congressional district in 2008. Will is a fourth-generation Coloradan and the great-grandson of one of Colorado Governor John Shafroth, a man who was the principal author in the U.S. House of the Antiquities Act, which gives the President the authority to set aside lands for conservation and cultural resource preservation purposes, as well as the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park. Born in Arapahoe County in 1957, Will has devoted his adult life to public service, particularly to conservation of land, water and wildlife.^[1] Despite winning the endorsement by both major newspapers (The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News) and many local and state leaders, he was defeated in August 2008 by Jared Polis, who outspent Shafroth 5-1 in the primary. Polis was eventually elected as the Member of Congress from the 2nd congressional district.^[2]

Committed to making a difference on national issues, Shafroth sought an appointment in the Obama Administration after the November 2008 elections. When Colorado Senator Ken Salazar was tapped to become the Secretary of the Interior, Shafroth joined the Salazar team in February 2009. From February 2009 – June 2011, Shafroth served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior. In that capacity Will worked to advance the missions of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their 35,000 employees, 394 national parks, and 555 national wildlife refuges. Specific projects in which Will played a leadership role included reopening the Statue of Liberty, establishing new units of the National Park system and new National Wildlife Refuges, representing the Secretary on the National Park Foundation board of directors, and developing a robust youth conservation service corps.

Starting in June 2011, Shafroth was promoted to become Counselor to the Secretary for America's Great Outdoors. Shafroth’s primary responsibility was to lead the Department’s work on America’s Great Outdoors—President Obama’s initiative on conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors. Interior had the lead responsibility for this initiative within the Administration so Shafroth worked closely with leadership at the White House, USDA, EPA, NOAA, and DOD as well as local and state officials, nonprofit organizations and private sector interests in all 50 states.

In early 2013, Shafroth was assigned by Secretary Salazar to oversee the Department’s work on Hurricane Sandy recovery and to advance an innovative partnership with Mayor Bloomberg’s administration to establish a great urban park in Jamaica Bay.

In September 2013, Shafroth launched Red Sheep Consulting to support strategic philanthropy, help nonprofit leaders to achieve their goals, and assist conservation groups to navigate the complexities of Washington D.C. Clients have included the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund (CA), Land Trust Alliance, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), Gates Family Foundation (CO), Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, Woodcock Foundation, America’s Conservation PAC, the Chesapeake Conservancy, American Alpine Club, and The Federal City Council.

In July 2015, Shafroth joined the National Park Foundation as president and CEO.^[3]

Prior to running for Congress (from 2000-2007), Shafroth served as the Executive Director of Colorado Conservation Trust,^[4] a non-profit environmental organization that raised money for conservation projects that help preserve Colorado landscapes from development.^[1][5] The Trust has since merged with Colorado Open Lands to better focus and coordinate the conservation community's work.

Prior to his creation of Colorado Conservation Trust, Shafroth was the first Executive Director of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO)^[6] which has "distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for open space, parks, trails and wildlife."^[1][5] He continued in that position from 1994 until 2000.

Shafroth has also served on and chaired the boards of the Land Trust Alliance and the Resources Legacy Fund and was a member of the Marin County, (CA) Planning Commission. He currently serves on the board of The Water Institute of the Gulf.

Shafroth received a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1991 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1980.

Shafroth, a 4th generation Coloradan, enjoys biking, hiking, fishing and canoeing, and plays competitive tennis and platform tennis. He is married and has three children.

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