Ucross Names S. James Nelson Chairman Emeritus

On June 23, the Ucross Foundation, the acclaimed artist residency program, announces the addition of three new Trustees to its Board: Deborah Koehler of Houston, Texas; Marisa Silver of Los Angeles, California; and Craig Jarchow of Houston, Texas. In addition, longtime Trustee S. James Nelson of Big Horn, Wyoming, has been named Chairman Emeritus.

“We are thrilled to honor Jim’s 45 years with Ucross,” said Ucross Board Chair Jesse Marion. “His legacy of commitment to our nonprofit continues with these three new Trustees, who bring a strong blend of nonprofit experience, as well as a proven commitment to the arts

Driven by her devotion for dance, music, photography and modern art, Deborah Koehler is a returning Trustee who has been involved with Ucross for over 20 years. While serving as Executive Assistant to Ucross Founder Raymond Plank during his Chairmanship of Apache Corporation, Koehler helped implement Plank’s ongoing philanthropic support of Ucross.

As successor donor of the Plank Philanthropy Fund, she has initiated and implemented significant grants to numerous arts organizations and grants for scholarships, including support for residencies at Ucross with institutions including the Schools of Art, Music and Theater at Yale University, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston and the Houston Ballet, among others. She also initiated and funded the Koehler Performing Arts Center at Ucross, which contains the Lauren Anderson Dance Studio and serves as a studio space for performing artists – in -residence. While continuing to oversee the Plank Philanthropy Fund, Koehler recently established the Small Difference Foundation to further her philanthropic initiatives with a focus on motivating and rewarding young people who make an impact in their community and inspire others to do the same. She previously had a 20-year career in healthcare management. Koehler lives in Houston with her husband, Edward Koehler.

Marisa Silver first came to Ucross as an artist-in-residence in 2023. She is a bestselling author of the novels, “At Last,” “The Mysteries,” “Little Nothing,” “Mary Coin,” “The God of War,” “No Direction Home” and the short story collections “Alone with You,” and “Babe in Paradise.” Her short fiction has won the O. Henry Prize, been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and appeared in numerous journals and magazines including The New Yorker and The Atlantic. Silver has received several fellowships in addition to Ucross, including from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Cullman Center for Scholars, Writers at The New York Public Library, MacDowell, Yaddo and The Dora Maar Foundation.

Craig Jarchow is President and CEO of TG Natural Resources (TNGR), one of the largest producers of natural gas in East Texas and North Louisiana. Prior to TNGR, Jarchow served as an investing partner in private equity at Pine Brook Road Partners and First Reserve. He started his career working in operational roles at Amoco and operational and management roles at Apache Corporation, which led him to Ucross over 20 years ago. Jarchow is President of the Board of Directors of the Alley Theatre in Houston. He holds a B.A. in Geological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. and Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from MIT. He is also a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

In addition to welcoming the three new Trustees, the Ucross Board named S. James Nelson Chairman Emeritus. Nelson was a founding member of the board and served as the Treasurer since the Foundation’s inception in 1981. Plank asked Nelson to take over as Chair in November 2013, when the founder elected to step aside from day-to-day activities. Nelson has a B. S. from Holy Cross College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.

In addition to Silver, Jarchow and Koehler, the Ucross Board of Trustees now comprises Chair Jesse Marion of Spring, Texas; Vice President Susan Miller of Sheridan, Wyoming; Treasurer Roger Plank of Ucross, Wyoming, and Houston, Texas; Secretary Kim Cannon of Big Horn, Wyoming; Tracy Boyle of Sheridan, Wyoming; Armand Brachman of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dick Davis of Sheridan Wyoming; David Leuschen of Roscoe, Montana; Christian Nelson of Fredricksburg, Texas; Anne Pendergast of Big Horn, Wyoming; Gerald Peters of Jackson, Wyoming, and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Scott Manning Stevens of Syracuse, New York; Naoma Tate of Cody, Wyoming; and Arin Waddell of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Learn more at ucross.org.

Photos courtesy of Ucross.