Board of Directors

Lissa Howe grew up in Durango, has a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in geography and ecology from Colorado College and University of Wyoming. She has experience in science education as the curriculum developer for a nonprofit focused on water resources education and as a classroom teacher. She currently manages the A Bar A Ranch in southern Wyoming with her husband, Justin.

Their daughters, Christine and Kenna, are active in Stillwater Music programs. Lissa’s interests include being outdoors, riding horses, reading, yoga, and listening to live music!

Laura is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where she developed a passion for music early on as a child while sitting underneath the grand piano while her father played anything from classical to contemporary music. She earned her bachelors degree from the University of Florida in TV & Film Production in 2006 and earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Utah in 2013, with many adventures in Colorado, Washington state, and Utah in between.

Laura has lived in Durango since 2014 with her husband, Patrick, and young son, Silas, and is a physical therapist at Tomsic Physical Therapy, where she teaches people how to move better and with less pain on a daily basis. She is excited for the opportunities her young son will have growing up in Durango and looks forward to him joining Stillwater groups as he gets older. Laura continues to play the piano and guitar at home whenever she gets the opportunity and when she is not outside enjoying the outdoor adventures that southwest Colorado has to offer.

Daniel Gottlieb moved to Durango in 2016 and works as the Director of Investments for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.  He previously worked in Chicago as the Chief Investment Officer of a private investment partnership and has also worked in the arts as a staff member of The Juilliard School and the Saint Louis Symphony, and as a project manager for AMS Planning & Research, a consulting firm dedicated to the arts and culture.  

He has performed on the cello in community orchestras and sang in the Saint Louis Symphony Chorus. Daniel is the only member of his family who does not perform in a Stillwater band – his wife Shari sings in Groove Casters, his daughter Diana sings and plays in Vox Harmonix and Superbad, and his son Jonah plays in Superbad.  (Their dog Ivy seems to lack musical talent, but they still love her.)

Nancy Shanks started Summit Public Relations in 2016, after retiring from the Colorado Department of Transportation as its public relations manager for the Western Slope. A graduate of Durango High School, she attended Fort Lewis College, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CU-Boulder in Communications and Journalism.

Nancy and her husband, Robert, moved from Denver back to Durango in 2002 to raise their daughters around skiing, hiking and biking. Their oldest, Mallory, is a Stillwater alum and recent graduate of Northern Arizona University (with a full-tuition scholarship – music skills CAN pay for college!) Their youngest, Raeden, is also musical, playing the guitar and ukulele at college, a creative break from work and political science studies.