The Colorado State University Administration Building with tall columns, a red-tiled roof, and green CSU banners, framed by green trees and a pathway leading to the entrance.

CSU Office of Engagement
& Extension Leadership

James Pritchett Vice President of the Office of Engagement and Extension Leadership team at Colorado State University.

James Pritchett

Vice President for Engagement and Extension

James Pritchett serves as Vice President for Engagement and Extension at Colorado State University. Guided by the land grant mission, Pritchett leads strategic planning, directs administration, and oversees operations for research, learning and engagement activities.  The Office of Engagement and Extension (OEE) is the home for CSU Extension and its service to Colorado’s 64 counties. OEE also contributes to the citizens of Colorado by guiding CSU Online, the Colorado Water Center, and programming that supports learners of all ages.

Originally from southeastern Colorado, Pritchett is a two-time alumnus of CSU and received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Pritchett is trained as an agricultural economist whose work spans agricultural policy, agribusiness management, water resource economics, community development and interdisciplinary land management strategies.

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Headshot of Lindsey Shirley, Associate Vice President for Engagement and Extension and Deputy Director for CSU Extension.

Lindsey Shirley

Associate Vice President for Engagement and Extension and Deputy Director for CSU Extension

Lindsey Shirley, Ph.D. serves as Associate Vice President of Engagement & Extension and Deputy Director of CSU Extension at Colorado State University. Whether in Wichita, Kansas, or Rome, Italy, she has shared innovations in teaching and learning implemented into secondary, post-secondary, and Extension learning environments worldwide.

As a professor, Lindsey found herself exploring innovative strategies for the land grant university and higher education to respond to the growing outdoor recreation economy. This investigation led her to develop the first-of-its-kind Bachelor of Science degree in Outdoor Product Design and Development at Utah State University. Today, Lindsey’s focus is on the intersection of the needs of Coloradans and the programs convened by CSU Extension and the Office of Engagement and Extension. In 2021, the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship recognized her work with communities by inducting her into the Academy.

Before coming to CSU, Lindsey served as Associate Vice Provost for Extension and Engagement and Associate Director of the Extension Service at Oregon State University. During her time at OSU, she worked closely with the governor’s office to affect change on a statewide level that has been critical and transformational in fulfilling the First Gentleman of Oregon, Dan Little, and Governor Kate Brown’s mission to improve the mental and physical health of Oregonians.

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Paula Mills, Chief of Staff and Assistant Vice President for Strategic Partnerships is a member of the Office of Engagement & Extension Leadership team.

Paula Mills

Chief of Staff and Assistant Vice President for Strategic Partnerships.

Paula Mills serves as Chief of Staff and Assistant Vice President for Strategic Partnerships in the Office of Engagement and Extension at Colorado State University. In this role, Paula serves as OEE’s foremost strategy officer, oversees a team responsible for linking campus-based resources to community partners, and acts as the primary liaison for intra-university initiatives and collaborations in response to critical community issues.

Paula’s career at CSU has been characterized by leading and collaborating across institutional boundaries to mobilize big ideas in service of the land-grant mission. Most recently, Paula served as Chief of Staff and Operations for the College of Agricultural Sciences, where she stewarded effective strategy development, implementation, and investment and guided efforts in information technology, communications, and strategic partnerships in alignment with the college mission. Paula’s private sector background in consumer packaged goods and small entrepreneurial ventures informs and motivates her interest in working horizontally to maximize innovation and collective impact.

She earned an Honors B.A. in business administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University.

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Headshot of Karen Schlatter, Interim Director, Colorado Water Center.

Karen Schlatter

Interim Director, Colorado Water Center

Karen Schlatter serves as interim director of the Colorado Water Center, joining the Center as associate director in January 2023.

Schlatter brings academic, nonprofit, and public sector experiences in managing complex water challenges with a deep commitment to building partnerships with diverse stakeholder groups. Before coming to CSU, she facilitated multi-agency/academic teams at the University of Florida Water Institute to identify and achieve shared goals around water management through collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Schlatter previously led landscape-scale restoration efforts in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico for a decade, combining the hydro-ecological-social science of restoration and monitoring with binational partnership building at the local, state, and federal level. At the Colorado Water Center, Schlatter is focused on expanding water education and workforce development initiatives and promoting sustainable, equitable water management for the benefit of Colorado communities.

Schlatter earned a BS in biology from McGill University and an MS in environmental studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. She served as an agricultural extension volunteer in the Peace Corps in Paraguay.