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Linda Reed, President/CEO
Linda moved to Montana in 1992 to become the president of a Helena bank. She subsequently joined the administration of Governor Marc Racicot as his economic development adviser. She also worked for US West (Qwest) in its Policy and Law division before joining the Foundation as its executive officer. Linda has served on the boards of many arts and economic development nonprofits and now fulfills her community responsibilities by writing checks. She is a strong supporter of downtowns as centers of community life and recently purchased a retail building on Last Chance Gulch (Helena’s main street) and converted the second-story warehouse to her residence. Yarn, fabric, wool and thread are the tools of her imagination. In her hands, they become designer sweaters, intricate needlework, whimsical baby hats and other cherished gifts. Linda describes herself as a gypsy, having lived in eight of the 11 western states. But she found a home in Montana and plans to stay.
Cathy Cooney, Program Director
As a program director for the Foundation, Cathy works closely with our local community foundation affiliates, our Local Community Foundation Leadership Program and other grant-making programs like Building Better Communities. She has also presided over the growth and increasing visibility of the Women’s Foundation of Montana, an affiliate fund of the Foundation. Cathy moved to Montana from California, where she worked in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, including eight years as the director of grant programs for a community foundation in southern California. Before that, she was the clinic manager for Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties for nine years. Cathy has been jazzercising for as long as she has been involved in philanthropic and nonprofit work. She teaches Jazzercise in Bigfork, where she and her husband, Ned, live with their Labrador and thee cats. A self-confessed fitness nut, she would probably be a fulltime Jazzercise instructor and personal trainer if she weren’t so drawn to the work of the Montana Community Foundation.
Jodi N. Medlar, Program Director
Jodi wears many hats at the Foundation. In addition to her responsibilities as program director for one of our affiliate funds—the Women’s Foundation of Montana—she works with agencies that have endowment funds held by the Foundation, and she advocates for the Foundation’s public policy goals. Jodi has a lifelong interest in social justice issues and enjoys advancing these ideals through philanthropy. She brings several years of experience as an activist, organizer and fundraiser in the nonprofit world. From her upbringing in populist North Dakota to her work with a mid-size family farm organization in Idaho and fundraising and organizing work for the Montana Human Rights Network and Montana Democratic Party, she is rooted deeply in the rural farm states of the northern Great Plains and Intermountain West. Jodi is an active Gen-Xer -- dancing, snowboarding or pumping iron when she is not working or pursing social justice.
Brian L. Lewis, Program Director
Brian heads our Fund for Tolerance and serves fund holders and donors. He works directly with fund representatives and advisors to our donor advised and scholarship funds. He oversees fund raising and grant making for our Fund for Tolerance. Brian also manages systems development for the Foundation, including our websites and databases. Brian holds degrees in Theology, Anthropology and Middle East studies; he speaks Hebrew, French, Greek, English and html. For balance, he hikes, skis, plays tennis, writes satire and science fiction, and pursues and preserves wild berries. He has yet to divulge his recipe for huckleberry chipotle sauce.
Valarie Osborne , Accounting Director
Valarie joined our administrative team as an accountant shortly after she returned to her native Montana in Spring 2007 with her husband, Phil. Before moving back to Montana, Valarie founded a nonprofit organization in Tacoma, Washington, and helped manage another one in Chicago, both in the human services field. In Tacoma, My Sister’s Pantry was the fulfillment of a 20-year dream of Valarie’s, to provide hospitality with respect and dignity to people in times of need. She opened the community food bank in 1999, serving home-cooked meals to her “guests” and providing them with food staples. By the time she left in 2003, the pantry was serving 500 meals each night and is now operating in the black. In Chicago, she worked with Claretian Missionaries to provide food and mentoring relationships to at-risk kids at La Casa After-School Program, Kids’ Café and Food Bank in Chicago. Clearly, Valarie is most at home in the nonprofit world.
Sheri Harlow, Grants Administration Manager
Not too many details slip past our grants administration manager, Sheri Harlow. She has been monitoring medical claims, government assistance programs and government payrolls for nearly 20 years. Sheri shepherds our scholarship endowment funds all the way from advertising the scholarships to putting the checks in the mail. Donor-advised funds require the same kind of vigilance. They all require countless details to ensure that scholarships and grants are awarded to people and programs that fulfill the original intent of the donor. A Helena native, Sheri worked as an eligibility caseworker in the Lewis and Clark County Office of Public Assistance and as a compliance technician for the Montana Department of Transportation before joining our staff. Her four children grown, she devotes her spare time to making music as a member of several Masonic organizations and specialized clothing for patients of Shriners’ crippled children’s hospitals. Sheri’s attention to detail and compassion for people are a welcome addition to our staff.
Nicole Rush, Executive Assistant
Nicole also comes to the Foundation from the nonprofit world. While finishing her degree in English from the University of Montana-Missoula, Nicole worked at the Poverello Center’s homeless shelter for families with children. In addition to helping Linda with day-to-day tasks, Nicole is putting her considerable writing skills to work on both internal and external communications, including correspondence, website content and her first-ever published piece, an op-ed on women and poverty she co-wrote with Jodi Medlar, program manager for the Women’s Foundation of Montana. “Guest Opinion: Communities flourish when girls, women prosper” was published Oct. 20 by the Billings Gazette. We welcome Nicole for the many skills she brings to the Foundation. Tamrah Hoffman, Accounting Manager
Another native daughter, Tamrah returned home recently after spending several years exploring the country. A native of Brady, Tamrah needed to explore the larger world after high school graduation. After working in California, Las Vegas and Kansas City, Tamrah moved to Mississippi just in time to lose nearly everything she owned to Hurricane Katrina. “It was awful to go through,” she said, “but as every cloud has a silver lining, my eyes were opened to the most important part of my life, which is my family.” Lucky for us, that meant a move back to Montana. Tamrah has joined our financial team as accounting manager, handling the administrative work associated with accounts payable, payroll, bank reconciliation and related duties. In the meantime, she is studying for her accounting degree online through the University of Phoenix. She spends as much of her spare time as she can outdoors with her two Labradors and loves anything having to do with Harley Davidsons and Corvettes..
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The Montana Community Foundation | 101 N.
Last Chance Gulch, Suite 211 | Helena, MT 59601 Phone: (406) 443-8313 | Email Us |
