Health Economics Research Institute

Greg Walcher

Greg is one of the most recognized and respected national leaders in natural resources policy.

He is President of his own firm, the Natural Resources Group, and a member of several other firms. He serves as Managing Director for Global Energy and Natural Resources at the executive search firm of LeaderBridge. He is also a senior associate in a global public affairs firm, The Stillwell Group, and in the respected environmental permitting firm of Dawson and Associates.

Walcher served in the Governor's Cabinet, leading the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, a department of 2500 employees, 8 divisions, 14 boards and commissions, and a $180 million budget. Its jurisdiction includes wildlife, parks, water, forestry, public lands, oil and gas, minerals and geology.

His national colleagues elected him president of the national organization of natural resources/environment cabinet secretaries, and he has been a national leader in conservation policy debates. Leveraging a decade of Capitol Hill experience with Senator Bill Armstrong, Walcher spent ten years as President and CEO of Club 20, a non-partisan, non-profit association of 75 cities, 20 counties, and hundreds of businesses, and individuals serving the interests of Western Colorado - a region larger than most states.

The group's budget and membership tripled during Walcher's tenure through activism on important regional issues: energy, water, forest health, tourism, transportation, telecommunications and public lands. He also served on the national policy committee for the American Society of Association Executives.

In 2004, Walcher was the Republican nominee for Congress in Colorado's 3rd District, a race that attracted national media attention as the top targeted House race in America (over $8 million). He won a hotly-contested five-way primary and shattered previous Colorado records for congressional fund raising and organization.

Despite Colorado's radical shift from red to blue, and despite Walcher's close association with an unpopular Administration, he came within 2 points of victory and remains a frequent and popular speaker in the State and around the country. He is the author of Backlash: the Theft (and Pending Recovery) of the Conservation Movement, slated for publication in 2009.

Natural resource issues are also personal to Walcher. He and his wife Diana own Walcher Orchards, a Colorado operation including a peach orchard, direct marketing and fresh fruit shipping business with customers in over 40 states. The company was featured in Gourmet magazine as a cutting-edge example of niche marketing and high quality.