Josh Hankes is the Executive Director of the Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council (RCWMC), based in Steamboat Springs, CO.  Prior to being hired in November 2022, he was President & CEO of a mid-size industrial contracting firm where he developed expertise in environmental health & safety, risk control, organizational growth and enterprise management.  It was Josh’s desire to transition to a more purposeful career that confronts our changing climate that led him to Routt County and the world of wildfire mitigation.

As the first employee at RCWMC, Josh was tasked with developing a functional organization in pursuit of their mission:  to create resilient, fire-adapted communities so that potential impacts of wildfire are minimized.  He quickly immersed himself in the subject matter while contributing to the development of Routt County’s most recent CWPP.  He developed a series of programs and initiatives to meet the local public need.  In 2023, he partnered with the Wildfire Research Center (WiRē) to conduct three studies in Routt County, for which he was acknowledged along with WiRē on a CO-Labs Governor’s Award for Pathfinding Partnerships.  More locally, Josh was also recently presented with YVSC’s Sustainable Community Leader award.