Richard Maestas, who since the summer of 2015 has been western regional vice president for Colorado Mountain College, overseeing the college’s campuses from Rifle to Aspen, has accepted the position of chief financial officer for the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
“We will miss the experience and perspective Richard has brought us, but we realize what a wonderful fit this is for him,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, the college’s president and CEO. “We thank him for the work he’s done to establish a more collaborative, regional approach to our western campuses, and wish him the absolute best in his new position.”
In recent months Maestas has also been acting campus dean at CMC Rifle, while Campus Dean Rachel Pokrandt served as interim campus leader at CMC Leadville and Buena Vista/Chaffee County. Pokrandt recently accepted the position of the vice president of Colorado Mountain College Leadville and Chaffee County.
Since 2015 Maestas’ territory has included the college’s five locations in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, where he has worked with campus deans and administrators in Aspen, Carbondale, Spring Valley, Glenwood Springs and Rifle. Before joining Colorado Mountain College he was vice president for administration and chief financial officer for the Community College of Aurora in Aurora, Colo.
President Hauser will provide additional leadership to Colorado Mountain College Rifle during the spring semester, spending several days each week on campus.