Biography
Gibbs' parents were both public school teachers and later school principals; they divorced when Gibbs was young and he split his childhood between Gunnison, Colorado and East Lansing, Michigan. He was influenced at an early age toward public service after meeting former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Gibbs earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Western State College, and then attended the University of Colorado at Denver, where he worked towards a graduate degree in political science.
Gibbs has worked in the timber industry, as a manager with a whitewater rafting company in Lake Luzerne, New York, and as an outdoor adventure guide in Gunnison, Colorado. As a local businessperson, he was a member of and diplomat for the Summit Chamber of Commerce, and was elected to their board for a three-year term in 2006.
An athlete and outdoorsman, Gibbs has competed in marathon and ultramarathon running races (including the Leadville Trail 100) and helped coach the Battle Mountain High School cross-country ski team. He has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Eagle River Clean Up, and the I-70 Clean Up Team, and sat on the boards of Club 20, the High Country Conservation Center, the Vail-Eagle Valley Rotary Club, and Vail Valley Hospital Home Health/Hospice. He has cited being a volunteer youth mentor with the Buddy Mentors program as his most meaningful volunteer experience.
Gibbs worked in the Washington, DC office of U.S. Congressman Mark Udall before becoming the director for Udall's Western Slope office in Minturn in 2003. As a Congressional staffer, Gibbs sat on the Congressional Legislative Staff Association Board of Directors. He also helped launch the Summit County Young Democrats in 2004.
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