2024 Board Elections

Our up and coming generations are exciting. We are speaking out and advocating in a way that hasn’t been seen before. Forward Montana providing an empowering space in a sometimes intimidating space is really exciting. Heck I still get intimidated but it is so important to have a community that has the same values and mission. It’s great seeing this type of movement in Montana.

I’m interested in being involved in the community. Although not a native, Bozeman has become my home over the past 2.5 years. I love what it is but see so many gaps. I think our community is strong enough to build not only a better Bozeman, but a better Montana for generations to come. I am growing in the nonprofit and political space and finding a voice. I would love to continue that growth with Forward Montana.

I currently work for Veterans for Responsible Leadership as an Engagement Manager. This organization is a Super Pac but working to get a 501c19. I manage everything from budget, compliance, reporting to volunteer events and engagement. I also sit on the board for the Sweet Pea Festival as an advertising chair. I love being a part of the community and helping with advertising and marketing efforts. A few years ago I interned with Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance and worked on grants, in-kind donations, and event organization.

operational skills (prior to my current role I was in payroll + accounting for 3 years), event planning, volunteer engagement, partnerships, communication and outreach skills. Any skills that I lack on I am eager to try to revamp them.

I love FMT and FMF because it’s sometimes the only place I can see my values and voice reflected in the Montana political process; when I engage I know I’m being heard and advocated for. I love this state with every piece of me, and because I love it I want to fight to make this a place that I, and the people I love, can live safely. FMT and FMF give me an avenue to do that.

I’m approaching the end of my first term as a board member and am currently the Vice Chair of the Forward Montana board. I would be honored to continue working with wonderful people who care about the future of the state, and advocating for the most vulnerable in this current economic and political climate. I feel strongly about continuing to work towards a future where there is bodily autonomy, climate justice, housing justice, and equity for all Montanans.

I have 10 years of nonprofit experience as an employee, volunteer, and board member for various nonprofits. I am the Executive Director for a nonprofit in Livingston and serve as the Vice Chair for the FMT board and sit on the finance committee.

I have experience in nonprofit communications, development, strategic planning, and management. But more importantly I love to have a good time with likeminded people!!!!

Forward Montana isn’t afraid to embed care and creativity into the ways they engage with politics and the communities they serve– so many of the conversations we see around politics are more of the same, reenforcing status quos and what have you, but it’s evident that Forward Montana strives to make political engagement inclusive, expansive… and, dare I say… fun? When we talk about harnessing collective power to create new worlds, so much of that is intertwined with our capacity to imagine, radically— and I think that Forward Montana is committed to imagining, and helping other imagine.

Much of why I’m interested joining the Forward Montana Board is reflected in my answer to “What excites me about [the org.],” but I would add a couple things. Firstly, I am somewhat driven by a sense of obligation— I consider the privileges that I’ve enjoyed, for example access to education and gainful employment in the nonprofit sector, and I feel like the thing I “ought to do” to leverage those privileges, is to apply my skills toward where they can do the most good. I believe I could do some of that good through this board appointment, supporting Forward Montana’s sustainability and capacity to empower Montanas to acknowledge and cultivate their unique spheres of influence.

Secondly, I’d just say that I’ve lived in Montana for two years— I moved here to take a development job with the ACLU, where I am still working. The job, and, moreover the connections that I’ve been able to make through the job have been incredibly rewarding. I see this board service as an opportunity to grow the amount and depth of my connections with fellow residents, while exercising different “muscles” than I get to as a fundraiser.

From 2020 to 2022, I worked as a paid Senior Storytelling and Communications at an antiracist policy advocacy nonprofit in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, called Forward Through Ferguson. From 2022 to present, I’ve been working as a fundraiser at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Montana.

I’ve picked up a lot of hard skills in my time in the nonprofit sector— some that may be relevant to this board service include cross-departmental project management, familiarity with budget drafting and fundraising data analysis, fundraising itself, and event planning.

Equally important are the soft skills I’ve gained— I think the most important one I’d like to share about, is the ability to show up to professional environments as the fullest, most authentic version of myself possible, even when it may feel a little uncomfortable. This has allowed me to build relationships with colleagues based on feelings of mutual safety and trust. My work style is marked by organization and attentiveness to detail, frequent and inclusive communication at all stages of a particular project, and a willingness to try new things.

As far as my personal background, my heritage plays a big part of who I am. I’m an American, born to a mother who emigrated here from the Philippines–her late-father was a senator, who sought asylum in the U.S. under threat of assassination by the dictatorship in-power at the time. My father’s side of the family is made up of Jewish immigrants who left Europe between World Wars. I think about these things often, as I reflect on the “team sports”-ness of modern politics. For my family who came before me, “politics” wasn’t some ambiguous concept that they could tap into and out of caring about on a whim. Their lives (and by extension, mine) were drastically shaped by their contemporary leaders and policies. Therefore, I feel that “politics,” whatever that may mean, is an inextricable part of my being.

Beyond this, I’ll share that I grew up in a low-income environment, that my education path has been non-linear, and that I have a history of dealings with the criminal legal system, including multiple arrests for non-violent offenses. I raise these things only to help indicate what different types of perspectives I might be able to speak from.

FWMT helped me run a voter registration drive at my high school in 2015. It really jumpstarted my interest in activism. I am excited to see FWMT still doing the great work that helped me get involved when I was young.

I feel like I would be a great addition to the board given my experience in the political arena and unique upbringing.

Currently I am employed at a non-profit (Big Sky 55+) where I serve as the political director. I also am a volunteer of many non-profits, most recently knocking doors with the AFL-CIO and collecting signatures for a ballot measure for PPMT.

I am organized, thoughtful, and trustworthy. I believe my experiences would bring diversity to the board. I am a first generation college graduate and homeowner. I grew up in a home filled with addiction and learned a lot from growing up in that type of home.

I am blown away and energized by this organization and all the critical work that they do to GET OUT THE VOTE, get out the YOUNG vote, educate voters, use litigation to keep this crazy supermajority and greg in check, and of course, advance progressive policy that supports ALL in Montana.

I came to the board because I wanted to give back to a cause in which I deeply believe. I’d love to stay for the energy! I am in awe of the mightiness of both the staff and board members. It is palpable. The future of our beautiful state depends on its youth and I look forward to the work that Forward Montana will continue to do to GOTV, create community, lean on those with power to do the right thing, and celebrate diversity. I’d love the chance to help in these endeavors!

I have been on the board of Forward Montana for two years. I was on the board of the Sweet Pea Festival for 5 years. I am grateful for the opportunity to round out my private sector career by volunteering for causes that I believe in.

Leadership, HR, hiring, communications, process, efficiency, and coaching. My team at Avalara supports several thousand software engineers to deliver incrementally on Avalara priorities, achieve Avalara KPIs, embrace change through Agile methodologies, routinely optimize through data insights, ensure a mind-nourishing culture of continuous learning, extend team-ability with powerful tooling, maximize value delivery and value capture through minimally sufficient, accessible, easy-to-follow policies and processes, and delight customers by responding to their issues and taking their feedback improve products.