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COLORADO SECTION OFFICERS
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Chair: Sean Stevenson
sean_stevenson@mines.edu
Sean Stevenson has been a practicing geologist for 9 years now in various areas of the country. He has been in the mining industry for 4.5 years in Alaska and Colorado. Spending 2 years underground at Greens Creek with Hecla and 2.5 years at Climax Mine with Freeport McMoRan here in Colorado. Before serving as the chair of the Colorado Section, Sean served as the chair of the Rocky Mountain SME Chapter.
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Vice Chair: Nick Gow
nick.gow@patersoncooke.com
Nick is Sr. Study Lead and Sr. Laboratory Manager with Paterson and Cooke, focusing on early-stage project development and late-stage/brownfield process optimization. He also serves as a MMSA Qualified Professional for Mineral Processing, ABET program evaluator, CN code auditor, and research associate at the Colorado School of Mines.
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Secretary: Katie Chehowy
kathryn_chehowy@mines.edu
Katie is a geologist from Calgary, Alberta, with experience in both mineral exploration and energy resources. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Calgary in 2023 and has worked on gold and silver vein-hosted systems as well as oil and gas projects throughout northern Alberta. In 2025, she began pursuing a Master of Science in Geology at Colorado School of Mines. Katie is particularly passionate about structural geology and its application to understanding mineralization, fluid flow, and resource distribution.
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Treasurer: Ramsey Fowler
ramsey.fowler@hdrinc.com
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Publicity & Programs: Richard Schwering
rschwering@hardrock-consulting.com
Richard is a consulting geologist with specialties in geologic modeling and mineral resource estimation. He is a Registered Member SME as well as a Professional Geologist licensed by the National Association of State Boards of Geology in the State of Wyoming. He is an active member of the SME Colorado Section and served as Chair from July of 2018 to July 2020. He is committed to public education and outreach about mining and geosciences and is currently serving as chair of the Minerals Education Coalition, Colorado Section.
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Golf Tournament: Brendan Fetter
bfetter@fortedynamics.com
Brendan is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer and SME Qualified Person with over 13 years of experience supporting NI 43-101, SK-1300, and JORC-compliant studies. Extensive expert-level specialization in heap leach facility design, metallurgical recovery modeling, site-wide water balance development, economic evaluation, and project optimization. Experienced technical lead supporting feasibility studies, permitting, operational optimization, and technical review.
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| DIRECTORS |
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Past Chair: Jon Pianetti
jon.pianetti@gmail.com
Jon Grew up the Pittsburgh coal seam and graduated from Virginia Tech’s mining engineering department. He has worked with several forms focused on business development in the mining industry and has been involved in almost every aspect of the mine’s life cycle from production, engineering, operations, crushing and conveyance, ventilation, and energy. He also operates an interior design firm with his lovely and talented wife. He has been active in SME since 2006
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Minerals Education Coalition (MEC): Richard Schwering
rschwering@hardrock-consulting.com
https://mineralseducationcoalition.org
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Mineral Processing Division (MPD): Alex Holtzapple
alex@metsim.com
SME Mineral & Metallurgical Processing Division
Alex currently serves as the President of Metsim International, LLC, based in Denver, Colorado, owners of the METSIM® software, where his focus remains on process simulation primarily for hydrometallurgical processing. He first joined the METSIM® team in early 2008, spending his first 10 years primarily in Brazil, though working on numerous projects around the globe, including base and precious metals, PGMs, rare earths, salt and potash, and finally some iron ore projects as well. Alex rejoined SME in 2019 upon moving back to Denver and immediately took on roles within the SME Colorado and MPD committees, on which both he remains active today.
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Colorado Rocky Mountain (CRM): Sloan Dworian
nadiasloan45@gmail.com
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Director-at-Large: Heather Lammers
hlammers@mines.edu
Heather is a geological and mining engineer, currently serving as a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Mining Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines and as a Senior Engineer at Hatch Ltd. Her goal with SME is to promote professional development, networking, and knowledge sharing opportunities for students, young professionals, and mining industry experts.
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (non-voting)
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Pro Tem: Jordan Kengue
jordan.k@xplarion.com
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AFFILIATE (non-voting)
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Extractive Metallurgy Chapter of Denver (EMCD):
Kim Mills
kimills@srk.com
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STUDENT CHAPTERS (non-voting)
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CSM Chapter President: Forest Olsen
forest_olsen@mines.edu
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CSU Chapter President:
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