Peter Dea hitchhiked to Crested Butte in 1972 from Massachusetts to ski Colorado powder. Inspired by the Elk Mountains, he subsequently earned geology degrees from Western Colorado University and University of Montana. With friends from Crested Butte, he launched several ski mountaineering, climbing and hiking expeditions in the Arctic. He has climbed many high-altitude peaks in the western hemisphere, all of the Colorado “Fourteeners” and kayaked many western rivers. Focusing on responsible energy development to bring quality of life to Americans, he served as CEO of two NYSE-listed energy companies and co-founded two private companies.

Peter has served on educational boards such as Western Colorado University and ACE Scholarships and currently the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He also sits on three publicly traded Boards of Directors. He and wife Cathy reside on the East River from where they enjoy horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, fishing and all forms of skiing. They have three sons and a grandson. They enjoy adventure travel around the world from the Arctic to Antarctica and special places in between including skiing the ice floe edge with narwhals and polar bears off Baffin Island, digging mastodon bones in Snowmass, trekking in Bhutan and horseback riding through the Maasai Mara and hills of Patagonia. Education, conservation, science and community causes in Colorado receive their steadfast support.