Carrie Besnette Hauser

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser is the president and CEO of Trust for Public Land (TPL), where she drives the organization’s mission to ensure everyone has access to the benefits and joys of the outdoors.

Before joining TPL in 2024, Carrie served as president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, where she led the institution to record graduation rates, closed equity gaps, expanded affordable housing for students, and developed academic programs aligned with the outdoor industry.

Her extensive board service includes the American Council on Education, Vail Valley Foundation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Great Outdoors Colorado, and American Rivers.

Carrie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, her master’s and Ph.D. from UCLA, and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of Business.

An avid outdoorswoman, Carrie has summited Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, and Colorado’s 58 “fourteeners.” She has also climbed to Mount Everest basecamp and worked many summers on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. She and her husband, Jeff, live in Colorado and spend their free time outside with their yellow lab, Gracie, and exploring remote places around the globe.