Director of Policy
Holly Propst has spent the past 25 years working on energy, environmental and natural resource issues within the U.S. Congress, state legislatures and in corporate environments.
In addition to serving as Director of Public Policy for the Roundtable, she also served as a Commissioner of the Colorado State Land Board from 2003 - 2007. The five-member board oversees and serves as trustees for over 3 million acres of Colorado state trust lands.
Propst comes to WBRT from Xcel Energy where she has served as the company's Manager of Public Policy. She was responsible to developing and managing the company's internal public policy development process.
Prior to joining Xcel Energy, Propst spent 16 years as a senior staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1990-1998 she served as Chief of Staff to then- Representative Dan Schaefer of Colorado, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In 1995, Schaefer was named Chairman of the House Commerce Energy and Power Subcommittee and tagged Propst to oversee his subcommittee activities.
Among the key public policy issues Propst worked on during her tenure in Congress:
Devised Chairman Schaefer's strategy to launch the national movement toward deregulation of the electric utility industry, including development and drafting the first major federal restructuring legislation.
Legislation to speed the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy's nuclear Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) facility.
Legislation of reform the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.
Federal Facilities Environmental Compliance legislation.
Clean Air Act Reauthorization.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Reauthorization (RCRA).
Reform of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Various public lands and water issues impacting Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.
A Colorado native, Propst earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Denver and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Colorado and District of Columbia Bar Associations.