Jessica Counts

Executive Director

Jessica is an ecologist at heart with a deep passion for rural communities and the resilient people who steward these landscapes. Jessica joined YVPS3 as the founding Executive Director in March of 2023, with a driving desire to support local educators and redesign the educational experience for young people in the Yampa Valley.

Jessica’s foundational career began at the age of 15 when she obtained her first job in federal land management through the U.S. Youth Conservation Corps. This career exposure opportunity helped to guide her decision to pursue a career in natural resources. Through college, she worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management under the Student Career Employment Program (SCEP). Following graduation, Jessica pursued her new found interest in oil & gas reclamation and environmental compliance. Here she realized her talent for systems development on the local and national level.

After 8 years in oil & gas and two kids later, Jessica shifted her focus towards serving the community of her children. While working under the Moffat County Board of County Commissioners, Jessica led a community-driven revision of the county's Noxious Weed Plan for the first time in over 30 years, and here she discovered her love for community engagement & empowerment. She went on to serve as Moffat County Extension Director for Colorado State University, and then Director of Concurrent Enrollment for Colorado Northwestern Community College. While serving on the YVPS3 Steering Committee for CNCC, Jessica identified the positive impacts this work could have on our Yampa Valley communities and she wanted to contribute.

Jessica is a proud native of the rural Klamath River region in Northern California, and she has lived in the Yampa Valley since 2007. She is equally proud to be raising 6th-generation Yampa Valley kids, Cashton & Francesca, with her Moffat County native husband, Frank Jr. Along-side this labor of love, you will find Jessica outdoors somewhere tending to plants and animals or challenging herself with a constant rotation of obscure crafts and activities. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in Rangeland Ecology & Watershed Management, with minors in Soil Science and Reclamation Ecology, and she is actively pursuing her M.Agr. in Integrated Resource Management from Colorado State University.