Paul W. Hansen, a resident of Jackson, Wyoming with decades of experience in public policy work and civic engagement efforts around the country, has been named as The Concord Coalition’s Rocky Mountain states regional director.
Paul W. Hansen, a resident of Jackson, Wyoming with decades of experience in public policy work and civic engagement efforts around the country, has been named as The Concord Coalition’s Rocky Mountain states regional director.
“We are delighted to have Paul head up our efforts in this critical region of the country,” said Robert L. Bixby, Concord’s executive director. “He is known for his ability to work across party lines and to help build grassroots support for responsible policies aimed at leaving a better future for our children and coming generations.”
Hansen served for 12 years as executive director of the Izaak Walton League of America and for 11 years as director of the conservation organization’s Midwest office. In recent years he has also worked for The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming and has received the Keystone Center’s Leadership in the Environment Award.
Hansen served as chair of the “Green Group” — the leadership forum of the CEOs of the major national environmental groups – and was a founding member of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners. He was also on the board of the Louisiana Pacific Corporation from 1999 to 2007.
“The national debt will soon reach $15 trillion,” Bixby said. “The solutions we seek must be bipartisan, with everything on the table: domestic and defense spending cuts as well as tax and entitlement reform. Paul is uniquely qualified to engage with Rocky Mountain residents to find specific solutions and urge their implementation.”
Hansen noted parallels between conservation work and fiscal reform: “Both require long-term vision and the ability to work out our differences with each other in a civil manner. It is an honor to join a group that is so committed to the defining issue of our time.”
In his new position, Hansen will be working in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, a co-chairman of President Obama’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, applauded Paul’s new position with Concord: “To be sure, our Rocky Mountain region needs a clear full-time voice for fiscal sustainability. Paul is the perfect person to do this. He has a national reputation for his ability to work honestly with people from differing political perspectives.”
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The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to fiscal responsibility. Former U.S. Senators Warren B. Rudman (R-NH) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE) serve as Concord’s co-chairs.
