Holland & Hart LLP partner Thorvald Nelson has been elected to the Colorado Humanities board of directors. Providing expertise and relationships throughout the state, board members monitor the Colorado Humanities’ mission, provide fiscal oversight, approve programs, make personal contributions, and participate in conferences and continuing education activities.
“I’m inspired by the organization’s dedication to expanding every Coloradoan’s ability to make
the humanities an every-day part of our lives,” said Thor Nelson, a regulatory lawyer and former
economist. Nelson, who represents a broad spectrum of utility consumers and utilities in regulatory matters at the local, state, and federal level, said he is looking forward to his new board position. “I’m excited to be working with the outstanding team at Colorado Humanities,” he said. “History. Culture. The arts. Those are the things that make life worth living.”
The Colorado Humanities board of directors comprises 20 members. Five board positions are filled by appointment of the governor and 15 through the nonprofit organization’s ongoing nominations process. Colorado Humanities Board Chair William Wei, who is a professor of history at the University of Colorado-Boulder, said, “Once again, Colorado Humanities has attracted stellar board members who are committed to its mission of promoting the humanities in the Centennial State. I look forward to working with them to do so.”
Also joining the board are: Vectra Bank Colorado Market President for Roaring Fork Valley Charles T. Bantis; University of Colorado-Denver Sr. Project Manager in the Office of the Provost/Chancellor Michel R. Dahlin; The Durango Herald Publisher (retired) Richard G. Ballantine; Colorado Northwestern Community College Vice President of Instruction and Student Affairs David M. Smith; and NEX-U President Paulette Grant Tate. Retired Law Partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP George B. Curtis was reappointed by the governor in May for his second term.
During his career, Nelson has appeared before state utility regulatory commissions throughout the Mountain West including Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico. He also represents clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in state and federal courts, and before state legislatures.
At Holland & Hart, Nelson has represented large electric consumers and electric consumer coalitions, independent power producers, renewable energy developers, competitive local exchange carriers, cable companies, rural local exchange carriers, natural gas local distribution companies and pipelines, water utilities, and utility consumer organizations.
Nelson's clients value the industry understanding he gained from serving as an economist with the Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel. While there, he had opportunities to serve as a testifying expert on regulatory law and policy. He was a member of several federal and state bodies responsible for economic and policy recommendations to regulators, including the Staff of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service.