Elyse Hottel moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2005 for an internship with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Like many others, she fell in love with the Valley and stayed. In 2009, Elyse moved to NYC where she earned a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Overwhelmed by the big city, Elyse returned to Basalt in 2010, working for the Canary Initiative (now Climate Action) at the City of Aspen until joining the City of Boulder’s sustainability department as their first ever Sustainability Data Manager. In late 2016, Elyse moved to France for 7 months to pursue her dream of studying pastry, followed by a month in India earning her 200RYT yoga certification. After her travels, Elyse returned to the one place that felt like home, Basalt, CO, where she met her partner, a local business owner. Elyse served as the Basalt Community Garden manager for the past 2 years and works for Connect One Design landscape architecture and land planning as the marketing director.
Elyse was elected to office in April 2020 for a term of 4 years to expire in April 2024.