Sheila Rice
PRESIDENT
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.
Nicole McKeith
VICE PRESIDENT
Nicole is the Multifamily Program Manager at Montana Housing. Before moving to Helena to accept her position, Whyte lived in Missoula where she was the Building and Development Program Manager for the Missoula County Public Works Building Division. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration, both from University of Montana.
Bob Oaks
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 established Trust Montana as a non-profit.
Jesse Dodson
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
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.
Philip Maechling
Philip was the Historic Preservation Officer at Missoula Office of Planning and Grants from 2001-2013. His expertise is in historic and cultural resource documentation, evaluation, planning and education, with experience working at the City of Missoula and Missoula County. Philip is an advisor on historic and cultural resources for land use and development projects, Section 106, NHPA compliance. 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). In 2013, he was reappointed to the MHC by Governor Bullock.
Tatyana Schmidt
Tatyana is a community land trust homeowner in Missoula. She works at Partnership Health Center as a Billing Specialist for the pharmacy.
Beth Heilig
Beth is a community land trust homeowner in Belgrade. She built her home with her family and Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley, which is one of Trust Montana’s organizational partners.
Autumn Tigart
Autumn works in the Resident Owned Communities program as a ROC Program Specialist at NeighborWorks Montana. Autumn provides post-purchase technical assistance to manufactured home communities that have become resident-owned. Prior to her role with NeighborWorks Montana, Autumn worked in executive support roles for over 10 years and has volunteered for various human service agencies in the Great Falls area. She is passionate about connecting Montanans to resources and opportunities that protect and preserve homes, families, businesses, and communities across the state.
You can read Trust Montana’s By-Laws here.
