the BettyFlies Foundation

Board of Directors

Suzanne is the founder of The BettyFlies Foundation, and the eldest daughter of Betty Haas Pfister. Suzanne was born and raised in Aspen, Colorado. She grew up on a ranch at the base of the Buttermilk Ski Area with her parents and two younger sisters. She raised two sons and was very active on the Board of Directors for both the Wildwood School and the Aspen Education Foundation when her children were young.

Throughout her adult life, Suzanne has remained involved in the Aspen community. She has been a real estate broker since 1999 with the Pitkin Land Company and also owned and operated a successful property management company.She has always been very much a part of our vital and growing valley and remains passionate about giving back to the town where she grew up. Suzanne is an avid paddler, skier, and hiker. She loves the Aspen area and still calls the Roaring Fork Valley home.

Sue is of counsel with Alpine Legal Services, and a Partner at OSC Law & Mediation. Starting her career as an electrical engineer, she eventually obtained MBA and law degrees, and worked as a Patent Attorney for the prestigious Ackerman Senterfitt law firm in Palm Beach, Florida. Seeking a better quality of life, Sue and her family relocated to Aspen in 2004 where she joined Alpine Legal Services, allowing her to pursue her passion for helping those less fortunate in the areas of domestic violence, family law, and Elder issues.

Sue is now transferring her extensive experience practicing law and litigation into focusing primarily on Mediation, with a specialization in all aspects of Family Law. She has completed formal training in Mediation, including working with the Jeffco Mediation Program in Golden, Colorado. Moreover, Sue has completed formal training in Collaborative Divorce Law with a focus to minimize trauma and suffering on families going through transition by employing alternative, humane approaches, such as Collaborative Law and Mediation.

Sue is the mother of two adult children, Secretary of the Board of Aspen Words, and enjoys the gamut of activities available in our beautiful valley. 

Charles, FAIA, is a leader in the architectural profession in quality design; championing and reinforcing community goals of thoughtful community growth, educational opportunities, the arts and human welfare.

Charles arrived in Aspen in 1979 when he was enlisted by Thomas Wells, Architect, to be the Project Architect for the Master Planning, design and approvals for the renovation and addition to the historic Hotel Jerome. Followed by a year with Robin Molney (who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesen West), Charles subsequently established the firm of Charles Cunniffe Architects (CCA) in 1981, in order to pursue his design philosophy within the studio environment of a progressive architectural, interiors and planning firm.

Charles has served as President Elect and President of AIA Colorado West from 2013 through 2016. He is actively involved in community affairs acting as Founding Board Member and Chairman of Governance of Jazz Aspen/Snowmass, and was a Founding Board Member of Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation. Charles is the elected Pitkin County Representative on the Board of Trustees of Colorado Mountain College and its Foundation Board. He was a long-time Board member of the Aspen Art Museum. He served six years as the Aspen Historic Preservation Chair, and is responsible for countless historic renovations throughout the region. Charles is a Founding Board Member of the River Bridge Center. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute’s National Solutions Council, Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows, Aspen Science Center, the Aspen Rotary, and the Aspen Elks Lodge #224. In addition, he has served on AIA committees on design, urban planning and historic preservation and the AIA International Committee. Charles was appointed to the US/UK Fulbright Commission in 1999.

Ryan is our youngest board member. Ryan is a former investment banker turned entrepreneur who currently spends his time advising start up-ups and executive teams from a management consulting approach toward restructure, growth, and fundraising efforts. Ryan was the Co-Founder and COO of Wallplay, a real estate technology company based in New York City that focused on solving the retail vacancy crisis in commercial real estate. The company programmed and operated empty storefronts for landlords and developers by generating short term pop-ups until they secure long-term leases. Prior to Co-Founding Wallplay, Ryan worked as an investment associate across multiple fund strategies for a private family office. He began his career in finance working for two different boutique M&A Investment Banks as an analyst covering real estate, technology, health care, and sports. 

Ryan’s purpose in life is to help others and carries that into everything he does; his longtime personal philosophy has been to, “Invest in humans,” which was the thesis for his original venture. The first business he started in New York was an art gallery focused on emerging local artists holding events in art, fashion, entertainment, and philanthropy. 

Ryan has served as a board member and brand ambassador to a handful of non-profits throughout his career but has maintained a lifelong relationship with the national organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters. As a flight enthusiast having grown up all over the world, he has a passion for STEM & STEAM programs. He is excited to share his belief that The BettyFlies Foundation’s Flight School Scholarships provide a unique opportunity for our next generation to build self-esteem through a sustainable career path that allows them to acquire financial, social, and cultural capital. He currently lives with peers in New York City and enjoys spending time with his family and three dogs in Southport, Connecticut.

Taylor is a longtime friend of the Pfister family.   Taylor has been engaged in the Colorado business community for over 40 years in banking, real estate and private business.  He has an extensive background as a Chief Financial Officer in the corporate world and has served in leadership positions on non-profit boards and foundations throughout his career.  Presently, he is working as a financial advisor in estate planning, trusts and investment management.

Taylor is a fifth generation Coloradan who grew up and went to school in Aspen.  His passion is the outdoors and he has hiked, skied and fished many of the mountains, trails and rivers of this beautiful state.  Taylor is married with two fine sons and spends time with his family at their cabin located near the Lost Park Wilderness area in South Park.  He is grateful for the opportunity to work with The BettyFlies Foundation, its dedicated board of directors and the Aspen community.  

Chris was born and raised in Aspen Colorado. He and Suzanne Pfister were neighbors growing up. Chris’s father, Friedl Pfeifer, was instrumental in the installation of the first lift on Aspen Mountain and in developing the Aspen Ski Company. Friedl and Art Pfister collaborated in building the Buttermilk Ski Area. 

Chris brings a lifelong enthusiasm for aviation to The BettyFlies Foundation. He received his private pilot license at eighteen years of age. By age twenty he had earned his Instrument, Multi-engine and Commercial ratings. Chris also has previous experience on the boards of the Aspen Historical Society and the White Horse Water District. In 1999 Chris built a 10,000 sq ft Hangar in Rifle, CO, where for five years he operated and managed an aircraft maintenance facility under the name AvTech LLC, which now operates two hangars, leasing aircraft storage to long term locally based pilots. Prior to this Chris negotiated with Garfield County, actively persuading them to extend the lease terms at Rifle airport from 30 to 40 years. This created much needed incentive for development and new construction at that airport.  

Chris lives and works in Aspen and continues to support the preservation of its history. With special attention to the evolution of skiing worldwide, Chris is working with his brothers to publish transcripts gleaned from his father’s autobiography. He has three daughters and three grandchildren and loves admiring his grandchilden and hanging out with family.

The BettyFlies Foundation

Advisory Board

Dr. Terry Gotthelf Sims
Acting President

Richard “Dick” Arnold

Josh brings a lifelong passion for aviation to The BettyFlies Foundation. His grandfather owned an Aircraft brokerage in Chicago and helped him log his first hours at 9 years old in their family Cessna T-210 and C-150. In high school he detailed aircraft for the family business and spent any spare time at the local airport. He holds Private, Instrument, Multi-engine and Seaplane ratings. Joshua’s professional background is in sales and has over 20 years of experience in the in high-end automobile and aircraft industries. He lives in Aspen, Colorado with his wife Allison and his daughter Sloane. Sloan at age nine, is one of our youngest BettyFliers!

Dr. Dee Bielenberg

Kim was a close friend of Betty’s and has always been a friend to the entire Pfister family. She was a pilot and Flight Department Manager for Aspen Aviation from 1988-2006. From 1984 - 1999, Kim was the Director of the Aspen Air Show. She was a volunteer at the Aspen Valley Hospital Pet Therapy Program from 2011-2018. At the same time, Kim was the Client Relations Manager for Atlantic Aviation from 2006-2018. Kim has her commercial, Instrument Rated Pilot CE-500 Type Rating and is currently the Co-chairman of 99’s Aspen Chapter.

Landon Deane

Bruce Gordon

George Gordon

Peter Hutter

John McBride

Erin Miller

Tom Morrison

Jill has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of aviation and aerospace. She spent eight years in the U.S. Air Force followed by more than 20 years as an Aerospace Systems Engineer, Engineering Manager, Program Manager and Business Leader at several defense and commercial companies. 

In 2017, Jill was the primary support person for Dreams Soar Inc. founder Shaesta Waiz’s solo flight around the world in a single-engine aircraft. Jill handled flight and ground logistics for the 145-day “Global Flight for STEM” and led the planning of 32 Outreach events in 14 countries. 

Jill obtained her pilot’s license at age 17 and earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering from UT-Austin. She is now an aviation/aerospace consultant based in Albuquerque, NM. Jill has been a public speaker on STEM, Commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems, Aerospace Engineering and Women in Aviation & Aerospace for over four years. In 2019, Jill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

Klaus Obermeyer, Jr.

Michael is one of the founders of the agricultural OTC industry and has launched several highly profitable ag OTC operations. Michael’s clients include commodity producers of all sizes, hedge funds, other financial institutions and corporate end users.

Michael is a rated helicopter pilot. He and his wife Bobbi operate a helicopter leasing company and have an interest in Aspen Heli Ops.

Doug Paley

Christina Pfister

Juliana Pfister 

Dr. David Swersky

Lucas Van Arsdale