Former Democratic Rep. Millie Hamner of Dillon has joined the Keystone Policy Center, which facilitates discussions intended to resolve policy conflicts, as a senior policy director.

In her new role, Hamner will work on education and government initiatives in Keystone’s Center for Education Policy. The center is based at Keystone in Summit County.

Hamner served eight years in the Colorado House, including as chair of the Joint Budget Committee and the House Education Committee. Hamner was appointed to the House District 61 seat in December, 2010 to succeed  former Rep. Christine Scanlan, who resigned the seat to join the Hickenlooper administration as the governor’s legislative liaison.

Scanlan has served as Keystone’s president and CEO since 2013, although she also worked at the Keystone Center before becoming a lawmaker.

In a statement, Scanlan said: “Millie is a respected leader who forges collaborative policy solutions and is an effective facilitator. Her abilities were on full display during her leadership as chair of the General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee when she led both parties to negotiate and support a consensus on the state budget. She will play a substantial role in fulfilling Keystone’s mission of helping leaders find lasting shared solutions to our most significant policy challenges.”

Prior to her service in the General Assembly, Hamner spent seven years as superintendent of the Summit School District and 23 years as a teacher in the Eagle County Schools.

“Keystone has a long history of success working with diverse stakeholders on a wide array of complex issues in education policy and practice. I am thrilled to join the Keystone team and look forward to building stakeholder support in achieving world class educational outcomes for youth,” Hamner said in the statement.

Hamner earned a doctorate in education leadership from the University of Denver in 1996. She also holds an M.A. and a B.S. in elementary education.