Presenter Bios

Michael Olsen, Ph.D., has taught history for over 30 years and is a professor emeritus in New Mexico Highlands University. His major research interests are in the history of the American West, the American Southwest, and the Santa Fe Trail. Mr. Olsen was a presenter at the 2006 and 2007 Pikes Peak Regional History Symposia. He has published widely especially on the cultural and ethnic aspects of Southwestern and Santa Fe Trail History. Mr. Olsen was a popular speaker at the “To Spare No Pains”: Zebulon Montgomery Pike and His 1806-1807 Southwest Expedition symposium and his paper, "Zebulon Pike & American Popular Culture, or, Has Pike Peaked?" appears in the symposium proceedings. He is a past vice-president and board of directors member of the Santa Fe Trail Association. He recently served as Sheriff of the Pikes Peak Posse of Westerners International in Colorado Springs.