Board of Directors

Jeff has been a Hillcrest member for four years. In his third year on the board, he was elected as Vice President. He is a member of the Golf Operations Committee and, with a golfing daughter, has a particular interest in the youth programs.

Mark is a retired retired physician and an enthusiastic Hillcrest Golf Club member for 30+ years. He has previous Board and committee experience, including former Chief of the Medical Staff at Mercy Hospital and prior President of the La Plata County Medical Society. He is committed to being receptive and responsive to the needs and concerns of all players and the Hillcrest community at large, and to work cooperatively to maintain the high quality of play, excellent staff, and financial health of the club.

Brian retired from the Southern Ute Growth in February, 2020. His responsibilities included accounting, budgeting, system development, treasury and bank reporting for the Southern Ute Growth Fund. His career has spanned multiple industries, including upstream energy, real estate, distribution, private equity, and semiconductor manufacturing prior to joining the Growth Fund in 2007. Brian's professional responsibilities have primarily included accounting and finance, with significant operations duties as well as human resources. He is licensed CPA and holds a BS in Accounting from Arizona State University. He have previously served on the Board as Treasurer. Now retired, he will try to balance playing golf, serving on three boards, and checking off some bucket list items for travel.

Britt is a Colorado native who grew up in Bayfield. He has an MS Degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arizona. He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado. In a four-year sabbatical, Britt and his wife Ilana outfitted and lived on a sailboat traveling the east coast of the US from Maine to Florida and on through the Caribbean to South and Central America. After extensive travel researching where next to live, they chose Durango in 2003. Britt and partners founded Calcom Energy (a CA solar company with an office in Durango). They sold the company to its employees in 2019. Britt was elected to three terms to the La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) Board of Directors and retired as board president in 2021. Britt completed the Arrowhead Ridge Subdivision in 2019 which borders Hillcrest Golf Course on its northern side, nearest par 3 hole #5. With the golf course as a neighbor, he took lessons and is now hooked!

Jesse was originally elected to the board in 2017 and was re-elected in 2020 for a second term. He is one of the owners of Pine River Pawn, a pastor of Life Church in Bayfield, and an assistnat coach for men's and women's soccer at Bayfield High Schoool. Jesse is a native of Irving, TX, and started playing golf at the age of 8, playing tournament golf since age 9. He has been a member at Hillcrest for 18 years. Serving is a foundational part of Jesse's life, and it is an honor and privilege for him to serve on the Hillcrest Board of Directors. His wife Amber and him have four amazing kids and they love the Four Corners area.

As a Durango native, Darby has seen and heard about how Durango has changed over the years through the eyes of her parents and grandparents. One thing that hasn’t changed is what Hillcrest has done and continues to do for the community. From the days when her Grandpa Ernie helped start the Navajo Trail Open to growing up at Hillcrest with her dad as her high school coach. You could say that she grew up at the course. Darby strongly believes that Hillcrest is one of the best public golf courses in the state. It has always been and continues to be an amazing course within the heart of Durango and an amazing community to be a part of. Darby strives to make Hillcrest a place for kids to grow up with a love for the game.

Bill has been a Durango resident over 20 years. After attending Fort Lewis College, Bill moved away from Durango for 13 years but came back in 2003 because he loves Durango's small town vibes. He's a real estate agent for eXP Realty, a rangeland specialist for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and coaches football at Ignacio High School. Bill has been on numerous boards, including the Youth American Football League (YAFL), the local Boy Scout Council, St. Columba Parish Council, and the President for his Homeowners Association. He's been a casual golfer for years but got really interested in the game in 2020. Bill has been a member at Hillcrest for several years. He brings the perspective of being a a newer golfer to the Board to help spread the excitement of golf to grow this great game. We have such a beautiful golf course that is easily accessible to so many and he is honored to serve on the board and be a part of it.

Rory has been an accounting professional for 16 years, and those years of experience have taught me the value of building and maintaining relationships. Southwest Colorado has an abundance of riches when it comes to high quality courses, but no course combines quality and accessibility like ours. From the NTO professional to the first-time youth golfer, Hillcrest offers a uniquely memorable experience to golfers of every level without being cost prohibitive. I believe maintaining this balance should be the goal of the board, and as such, safeguarding Hillcrest’s financial health so that it can grow the game into the foreseeable future is my first priority.I played Hillcrest for the first time over 25 years ago, and much like my driver, I was hooked immediately. My love of the game was sparked and I’ve been an aspiring mediocre golfer ever since. As a board member, my goal would be to ensure Hillcrest provides and nurtures that same spark for every golfer who sets foot on the tee box.

Leah currently works at Mountain West Insurance and Financial Services. She is a Partner and serve as the Vice President of Commercial Lines. Prior to that, Leah was the majority owner of a large electrical contracting company in Dallas, Texas. As far back as Leah can remember, she has always been in a leadership-type coaching role in sports and business. Leah is very passionate about leadership, coaching, and mentoring others. Over the last few years, I have seen great improvement with the course and throughout Hillcrest operations. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Hillcrest Golf Club and would be honored to be a part of the growth within.