Sheila Rice
President
Great Falls, MT
Sheila has been the Executive Director of NeighborWorks Great Falls and NeighborWorks Montana, and has served as the interim Chief Operating Officer for Neighborworks America. In 2007, she completed the NeighborWorks America Achieving Excellence Program at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Sheila has served on several national committees, including the Board of Directors of the National NeighborWorks Association and the Fannie Mae National Advisory Committee. She is currently a member of the Montana Board of Housing. Prior to joining NWGF and MHN, she was a senior officer of ENERGY WEST, a natural gas utility and energy marketing firm located in Great Falls. Sheila is a graduate of Great Falls Central High School, holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Montana and an MBA from the University of Montana. She served in the Montana House of Representatives in 1991 and 1993 legislative sessions and was a member of the Montana Redistricting Commission in 2000.
Bob Oaks
Vice President
Missoula, MT
Bob Oaks recently retired as the Executive Director of the North Missoula Community Development Corporation, which has been operating Montana’s longest-running community land trust for over 15 years. As the NMCDC Director, Bob led the feasibility study about a statewide Montana CLT, and established Trust Montana as a non-profit.
Tatyana Schmidt
Secretary
Missoula, MT
Tatyana is a community land trust homeowner living in Missoula. She was one of the first homeowners in the Trust Montana program and has recently become more active in the HOA and the CLT. She was elected as the Treasurer during the November, 2022 board development training in Livingston, and served in that position for over a year. She recently transitioned to become the Secretary. She works as Lead Billing Specialist for a federally qualified health care clinic and pharmacy serving the community of Missoula.
Larry Philips
Treasurer
Great Falls, MT
Larry works as the Real Estate Lending Director at NeighborWorks Montana. In his role, Larry leads the Real Estate Development and Acquisition (REDA) program at NWMT, focused on supporting affordable housing development and preservation through their various loan products. He also works in NWMT’s capital growth efforts and on grant compliance. Larry holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Great Falls as well as a Housing Development Finance Professional Certificate from the National Development Council. Larry is passionate about assisting hardworking Montanans in achieving the dream of homeownership.
Jesse Dodson
Missoula, MT
Jesse is a real estate lawyer and developer. Prior to moving to Missoula in 2015, Jesse practiced law for an international law firm in Chicago, where he contributed to complicated development projects including redevelopment of the World Trade Center, the Chicago bids for the Obama presidential library and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Art Institute of Chicago expansion, the historic rehabilitation and renovation of Wrigley Field, and redevelopment of the former U.S. Steel South Works brownfield site, among many others.
Jesse opened his solo practice shortly after moving to Missoula, and now represents clients primarily in the world of real estate and property law. Jesse has provided pro bono legal services to CLTs for over 15 years. Jesse has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana School of Law, teaching the Land Use & Environment course. As a developer, Jesse has developed several market-rate, multi-family housing projects in Missoula and other locations. Jesse is also currently Chairman of the Board of the Missoula Urban Transportation District (Mountain Line).
Jo Ann Eder
Red Lodge, MT
Jo Ann is the President of the O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation, located in Red Lodge. In that role, Jo Ann has learned the importance of the nonprofit sector to the life of a community. She is proud to serve as the board chair of the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation, a board member of the Montana Community Foundation, and is the former co-chair of the Montana Children’s Trust Fund Board. She is a former board member and present volunteer for the Baretooth Cupboards – Carbon County’s Community Food Bank and Philanthropy Northwest, a regional association of foundations. She is also a member of Leadership Montana. She has a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale University and a M.S. in Cross Cultural Education from the University of New Mexico.
Beth Heilig
Belgrade, MT
Beth is a community land trust homeowner living in Belgrade, Montana, in one of the homes built through the Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley program. She built her own home with her family, and is a stay-at home mom who homeschools her children.
Dorothy Young
Missoula, MT
Dorothy Young is a CLT homeowner who built her home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Missoula in 2022. She is employed as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the State of Montana and is currently working on obtaining her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from George Washington University. Dorothy also serves on the board of the Montana Association for Rehabilitation, and is involved in various efforts to address behavioral health and substance abuse issues affecting Montana communities. She strongly believes that access to stable and affordable housing is an integral part of the solution to these problems.
Tom Zavitz
Missoula, MT
In 1977, Tom moved to Montana to study Land Rehabilitation at the University of Montana. After graduating with a Masters of Science in Land Reclamation from Montana State University, he was employed as a consultant on major pipeline construction eventually leading a company with a staff of 200 overseeing pipeline construction in the west and midwest. Tom then worked as a Senior Planner for the City of Missoula leading growth policy and other local legislative and neighborhood planning projects during the last 15 years of his career. He recently retired from his position as Senior Planner to pursue landscape painting and spending time with his daughters full time. He currently lives outside of Missoula with his daughter, Annie.
You can read Trust Montana’s By-Laws here.