Interview: Matt Baker

Matt Baker is the outgoing director of Environment Colorado. He helped found the organization in 2003.

What is your favorite memory at Environment Colorado?
My favorite memories come from the people I worked with and the enthusiasm of our members. In 2003 Environment Colorado had about 3,000 members and it was very difficult to advance environmental policies in the Legislature. Today, we have 30,000 members and have built a coalition capable of enacting far-reaching environmental policy on issues from global warming to protecting our natural heritage. This is the result of a dedicated staff, people like Matt Garrington who built our Internet list and Pam Kiely, who is responsible for advancing our legislative agenda.

What is the campaign victory you are most proud of during your work with Environment Colorado?
My proudest moment was Environment Colorado’s successful campaign to pass Amendment 37—the renewable energy initiative in 2004. We were able to bring together farmers, business, organized labor and local governments to pass the nation’s first renewable electricity standard through a voter approved initiative. In many ways, Amendment 37 transformed energy issues in Colorado and demonstrated to policy-makers that Colorado voters wanted a new direction on energy policy.

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of Matt Baker during an interview which took place before his appointment to the PUC.