Speaker Biographies
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
Harriet Crittenden LaMair
Former Chief Executive Officer, High Line Canal Conservancy
Harriet founded and for 11 years served as CEO of the High Line Canal Conservancy, a nonprofit formed to preserve and protect the historic 71 mile-860 acre irrigation channel. Under her leadership the Canal has been repurposed as an 860 acre legacy greenway connecting 15 distinct communities, 24 schools, and 8000 acres of open spaces connecting the socioeconomic and geographic mosaic of the our region.
The Conservancy built a public private partnership for the Canal that has engaged many thousands of residents, inspired a large corps of volunteer stewards, received national planning awards, and secured endorsement from all jurisdictions for the Community Vision Plan and the Plan for the High Line Canal. Today, due in great part to the Conservancy’s inspiring vision and its $33M private campaign for the Canal, the High Line is protected in perpetuity with the Conservancy deeded a conservation easement and is being enhanced with a total of over $100M in private, federal, state and local investments over the next 5 years.
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Harriet has degrees from Colorado College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she worked in Alaska on public art programs and social programs in DC at the office of Senator Stevens. In Colorado, she served as a policy analyst for the Colorado Legislature, and government relations director for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. As dedicated volunteer leader, Harriet was elected twice to the City Council in Cherry Hills Village, served on the board of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Board, co-founded a small land preserve, started a floral design business and has advised and served a variety of nonprofits.
Harriet was the 2017 Jane Sileverman Ries Awardee, recognized for “a pioneering sense of awareness and stewardship of land-use values in the Rocky Mountain region by the Jane Silverman Ries (JRS) Foundation with support from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
In 2022, the Conservancy received the Denver Regional Council of Governments Metro Vision Award
Other awards have been received from the American Association of Landscape Architects, the Colorado Open Space Alliance, the Arapahoe County Take Flight Award and recognition in national and state publications.
Suzanna Fry Jones
Current Chief Executive Officer, High Line Canal Conservancy
With a background in design and communications, Suzanna brings a keen eye for detail and a deep passion for the environment and community connection to her leadership of the High Line Canal Conservancy. Raised in Maryland and a graduate of Duke University, she has applied her expertise in urban environments across San Francisco, Brazil, and Denver, focusing on creating inclusive and sustainable spaces.
Since 2015, Suzanna has helped shape the Conservancy’s vision and approach, building authentic partnerships and engaging communities along the 71-mile Canal. Now as CEO, she is leading the next chapter of the organization’s work to create welcoming public spaces and strengthen the Canal’s role as a vital community resource through collaboration, storytelling, and shared stewardship.
Suzanna loves exploring Colorado’s outdoors—especially the Canal—with her husband, two kids, and their pup.