Board Spotlight: Elizabeth Erickson

Our series celebrating our fantastic board members continues! Bios for all board members can be found here; however, there's so much more to know about their service, skills and passion below.

Elizabeth has spent much of her career working in land conservation in the public and private sectors as an attorney and an advocate for open space and wildlife habitat conservation. She joined the Climate Smart Missoula board in fall 2025.

Why did you decide to serve on the Climate Smart Missoula Board of Directors?
I saw an opportunity to help try and solve seemingly intractable climate issues through supporting the direct advocacy work of Climate Smart Missoula.

What skills / perspectives are you proud to bring to the board?
I have spent the past 25+ years working on land and wildlife conservation efforts and in private law practice focused on real estate, easements, conservation real estate, environmental litigation, and property law. I am hopeful I can put my technical expertise to work on Climate Smart Missoula’s efforts to solve interconnected challenges around climate and renewable energy development in Montana.

What are you most looking forward to about serving? And / or what program at Climate Smart Missoula gets you most excited?
A focus of my current private law practice is land use and real estate and I look forward to bringing those technical skills to bear to help promote more climate resilient communities and employ creative land use solutions that protect our country’s vast natural resources while also promoting health and climate solutions. I am particularly excited to help plan for and advocate for greater renewable energy development in Montana and the west.

What is your hope for our community, related to your goals and our work at Climate Smart Missoula?
I hope to continue moving from vision to implementation of climate solutions in everything from our built environments to our local, state, and national policies. The more we can make small, consistent changes to the status quo, the easier it will be to implement larger policy shifts.

Thank you for your service, Elizabeth!