Invited Speakers

Tim Hansen

Tim Hansen, is a member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Director of the Appraisal and Valuation Services Office (AVSO) within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.  AVSO provides valuation services for five Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus that collectively manage 500 million acres of surface estate: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Tim’s responsibilities within the Department include overall executive leadership, coordination, and direction for the development and administration of national policy, standards, methods, and procedures for the valuation of real property and real property interests including mineral economic evaluation and mineral commodity valuations associated with real property transactions. 

Tim’s leadership resulted in two significant achievements to improve the ability to recruit and retain appraisers from diverse backgrounds.  In 2021, a special pay rate for appraisers was approved by Congress as part of the annual appropriation bill allowing appraisers to be paid at a rate of up to 15% above the General Schedule and in 2022, the AVSO apprentice appraiser program was recognized by the Department of Labor as a Registered Apprenticeship Program which was the first of its kind within the Department of the Interior.  The recognition by DOL improves AVSO’s ability to lower barriers to entry for all people interested in becoming appraisers with a focus on increasing the diversity of the profession.

Tim was recently appointed to a 3-year term on the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation, which is responsible for writing, amending, and interpreting the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).  Tim previously served as the Chair of The Appraisal Foundation Advisory Council (TAFAC), the President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) and as a board member of the Colorado Coalition of Appraisers.  As Chief Appraiser for the Department he served as the Department’s valuation expert and was a named contributor to the 6th Edition of the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition (UASFLA or Yellow Book).  He has also participated in multiple rulemaking efforts and drafted legislation related to appraisal licensing.

Tim has a diverse work history that ranges from owning a truckstop/restaurant to being a forensic lab technician and a wildlife technician for a large wind energy development project.  He also served in the Army National Guard of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado at various times for over 12 years in the Field Artillery Branch. 

Tim holds a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management and a Master of Public Administration degree with a graduate minor in Environment and Natural Resources from the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming.  He is an accredited member of the ASFMRA and holds the Real Property Review Appraiser credential from that organization.