Bonnie Buckingham
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER
Bonnie is the co-founder and first Executive Director of the Missoula-based nonprofit Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC). She has over 15 years experience with food security and hunger reduction issues as Program Operations Manager of Missoula Food Bank, and Director of Women’s Opportunity & Resource Development. Bonnie served on the steering committee of the original Community Food Assessment (2002-2004). She organized subsequent community meetings leading to the formation of CFAC in 2005, and worked to get a joint resolution passed by the City and County government sanctioning the formation of CFAC, as well as funding to start the coalition. She initiated the Farmers Market EBT Food Stamp program in Missoula and actively participates in several coalitions associated with food security and non-profit organization and collaboration. A social worker by training, Bonnie has considerable experience with community development, Public Policy development and advocacy, strategic planning, Community-based Participatory Research, and group facilitation.
Jill Davies
STAKEHOLDER MEMBER
Jill Davies is farmer and pure food activist living in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana. She speaks and writes on current trends in the production of foods with a focus on organic agriculture and seed saving. In 2003 she initiated and was the first coordinator of the Montana Organic Association. She is currently the director of a non-profit called Sustainable Living Systems that is focused on building a local food system in the Bitterroot Valley and teaches about ecodesign homes.
Jesse Dodson
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER
Jesse Dodson is a real estate developer and real estate attorney with over a dozen years of experience in affordable housing. Jesse spent ten years as the outside counsel for the Chicago Community Land Trust. He was also involved in drafting the inclusionary housing program for the city of Chicago that has facilitated an ongoing influx of affordable homes for low income people in that area.
Brian Guyer
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER
Brian Guyer has worked for over twelve years in the realm of affordable housing and land trusts, in both Montana and Utah. He is the acting director of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust (BSCHT), a fledgling non-profit established in Big Sky, Montana to address the communities growing need for workforce and affordable housing. Creating and maintaining a land trust in Big Sky is a top priority for the organization with the land trust being utilized to create and preserve the affordability of new units in perpetuity. Prior to moving to Bozeman, Brian worked for Mountainlands Community Housing Trust (MCHT) in Park City, Utah for ten years – one of the largest land trust non-profits in the West with a portfolio of over 200 affordable units with a variety of affordability preservation measures. Brian was responsible for the stewardship of all land trust and deed restricted homes in the organization’s portfolio. He was recently selected to the 2017 cohort of Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) Michael Rubinger Fellows to do a year-long case study on the effectiveness of tiny homes in land trusts to address the issue of affordable housing in Bozeman and Big Sky, Montana. He is a dedicated affordable housing advocate with experience in housing policy and advocacy techniques.
Jo Ann Eder
STAKEHOLDER MEMBER
Jo Ann Eder 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 and Trust Montana among other organizations. She has a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale University and a M.S. in Cross Cultural Education from the University of New Mexico. She is very active in the philanthropic community with a special emphasis on giving in Indian Country.
Philip Maechling
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER
Historic Preservation Officer, Missoula OPG, 2001-2013. Historic and cultural resource documentation, evaluation, planning and education, City of Missoula and Missoula County. Advisor on historic and cultural resources for land use and development projects, Section 106, NHPA compliance. Completed Missoula Then & Now (Arcadia Publishing, 2010) with Stan Cohen. From 1991 – 2001, Philip was supervising planner for Current Planning, and Long Range Planning. His responsibilities included the 1998 Urban Comprehensive Plan update for Missoula, and the Southside Riverfront, Miller Creek and Rattlesnake Valley plans. He completed a number of resource conservation and protection standards, including the historic preservation ordinance, and cell tower and riparian area regulations. He has a B.A. in Art History from Yale, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil. In 2007 and 2010 he was appointed by Governor Schweitzer to the Montana Heritage Commission (MHC). 2013, reappointed to the MHC by Governor Bullock.
Danielle Maiden
NON-PROFIT MEMBER – SECRETARY
Danielle is the Cooperative Housing Specialist for the Resident Owned Communities program of Neighborworks Montana. She works to help mobile home communities gain cooperative ownership of their land and maintain their communities.
Danielle is a 4th generation Montanan who loves all things Montana. She holds a BS in Political Science and Nonprofit Administration from the University of Montana and a MA in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Most of her professional career has been spent working in various human service agencies.
Marney McCleary
VICE PRESIDENT
Marney is the Vice President for both the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition and Trust Montana. She has extensive experience with housing development and working with low-income families. Marney brings over 30 years of housing experience and expertise to this role. She has developed both single- and multi-family housing, been a Community Development Corporation (CDC) director and housing agency director in a resort community as well as in an urban setting, and has been acquisitions manager for a Low Income Housing Tax Credit syndicator.
Bob Oaks
STAKEHOLDER MEMBER – BOARD PRESIDENT
Bob Oaks is 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 worked to establish Trust Montana as a non-profit.
Sheila Rice
NON-PROFIT MEMBER – TREASURER
Sheila Rice has been the Executive Director of NeighborWorks Great Falls and NeighborWorks Montana since 2003. 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.
You can read Trust Montana’s By-Laws here.
