 |
Board & Staff
 |
Jon Holtzman, Chair
Jon has served with the Task Force from the beginning of the organization in 2000. He began coming to the Gallatin Canyon in 1965 and has been a full time resident since 1999. He is currently chair of the Wastewater Solution Forum, an organization investigating ways to manage wastewater in the growing Big Sky community. Jon holds bachelors and masters degrees from Indiana University in journalism and mass communication. He is a former chair of the Ophir School Board, the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce growth and development committee, and a former board member of Gallatin County Big Brothers Big Sisters. He retired from a 30- year career in industry public relations and public affairs in 1998, is a former editor of a prize-winning weekly newspaper in Oregon and served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot.
|
 |
Mindy Nowakowski, Vice-Chair
Originally from Florida, Mindy has been visiting Big Sky since 1989, and moved here permanently in 2001. She has undergraduate
degrees in Sociology and Anthropology and graduated from law school with certification in Environmental and Land Use Law. After
practicing law for several years, she sold Nowakowski Law to Nemelka & Restum, where she still is of counsel. She is now a full
time Project Manager and Covenant Compliance Specialist for the Big Sky Owners’ Association. In addition to serving on the BWTF
board, she is a Director for the Big Sky Community Tennis Association and a member of the Big Sky Association for the Arts. She
lives in the canyon with her husband Joe and four black labs, which they breed and train professionally. |
 |
Simon Trautman, Secretary/Treasurer
Originally from Lander, Wyoming, Simon now lives in Four Corners with his wife Laurie and some goats. After serving as a US Navy Medic, Simon earned a BS in Geology from Western Washington University. Recently, he completed a master's degree in earth sciences from Montana State University in Bozeman. Simon joined Moonlight Basin as a ski patroller in 2004. He became an avalanche forecaster and currently serves as an environmental compliance officer. He is an avid skier and if it were up to Simon, it would be winter all year long.
|
 |
Eric Becker, Board Member
A fifteen-year resident of Big Sky, Eric is owner and operator of Geyser Whitewater Expeditions and is one of two river recreation
representatives on the board. Eric attended Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, another recreational mecca. Eric has also served
Big Sky on the advisory committee for the Chamber of Commerce and as a Search & Rescue volunteer and a volunteer fire fighter. Eric
enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and young daughter, especially Nordic skiing, kayaking and biking. |
 |
Ron Edwards, Board Member
Ron has been the General Manager of the Big Sky County Water & Sewer District 363 for the past 10 years. Prior to this position he served
as the Manager for the Green Lake Sanitary District, a summer lake resort community located in Green Lake, Wisconsin from 1988 to 1995.
He has a Masters degree in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and a Bachelors degree in Geology from
the University of Montana. Prior to 1988 he worked as a petroleum geologist in the Williston Basin. Ron and his family have lived in the
Four Corners area since 1997. He and his wife Karla have 3 children; a daughter 24, and 2 sons 22 and 18. Ron enjoys golf and hunting
and serves as the President of the Bozeman American Legion baseball program. |
 |
Caroline Henley, Board Member
Caroline was raised in suburban Chicago, IL, but after a summer in Glacier Park, she knew she had to make Montana her home.
Eighteen years ago, after studying Political Science at Michigan State University, she moved to Big Sky to fulfill that dream.
She pursued her passion for politics and the environment by continued studies at Montana State University and the University of
Montana. She now practices real estate for a living, and serves the area by volunteering for the Ophir School Council, participating
in church activities, and assisting with the Big Sky High School strategic planning effort. She spends much of her free time with
her husband and three children boating, hiking, camping and skiing. |
 |
Sue Barton, Board Member
Sue is a seventh-grade teacher at the Ophir School in Big Sky, primarily teaching life science and language arts. One of her main goals in teaching is to share her love of science and reading. "I want my students to get as excited as I am about discovery and to follow where it leads". Sue is originally from Wisconsin and moved to the mountains of Montana and finally to Big Sky in 1998. She has a B.A in psychology and a Master's in social work from the University of Wisconsin, a high school certification for psychology and biology from Carroll College in Helena and a B.A. in elementary education from Montana State University in Bozeman (MSU). Working on freshwater sponges with Dr. Addis at Carroll College was the aspect of her schooling that she loved the most. Sue published her thesis at Carroll College on freshwater sponges in Montana in a peer reviewed journal. She is now working on a Master's of Science in Science Education at MSU. In her free time, Sue enjoys reading, running, hiking, biking and skiing.
|
 |
Jack Crowther, Board Member
Jack, who began visiting Big Sky as a part-time resident in 1974, has resided in the community with his wife Debbie since 1997. Jack is a retired insurance executive from the Minneapolis-St. Paul and a graduate from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Since moving to Big Sky, Jack served on several B.S.O.A committees and was served on the Big Sky Water and Sewer board from 1998 through 2001. He was a key negotiator of the agreement with the Yellowstone Club which assured treated wastewater would not be released in to the Gallatin. Jack is an avid fly fisherman and bird hunter.. He also enjoys golf, skiing and fishing.
|
Staff
 |
Kristin Gardner, Executive Director
Kristin recently moved to Big Sky from Bozeman, where she is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Science and Ecology at MSU with a focus on streamwater quality. Kristin has worked in the Big Sky community for many years, conducting her PhD research in the West Fork watershed and serving as a Big Sky Institute fellow at Ophir School. Along with a passion for the area and a love of the outdoors, she brings a background in Water Resource Engineering and Environmental Planning and experience working for nonprofit organizations. For her Master's research she worked closely with the Nantucket Land Council, a non-profit land trust in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the Nantucket community on groundwater quality issues. In her free time, Kristin enjoys playing outdoors with her two partners, Jeremy and Thailer, hiking, rock climbing, running, skiing and biking, listening to live music and traveling.
|
|
|
|
|  |
