Board of Directors

Ryan Applegate - Missoula

Ryan Applegate lives in Missouala, MT.  His  education  includes a BS in  Biology and Environmental Studies and a MBA in sustainable business practices  from Bainbridge Graduate Institute.  Briefly out of college he worked summer jobs as a wild life biologist before moving out to Montana in 2001.  At first living, in Bozeman,  Ryan coordinated after school activities for a small private high school.  In 2002 he moved to Missoula, where he worked mainly for the city of Missoula as the outdoor recreation manager for the Parks and Recreation department.  After obtaining an MBA, Ryan did a stint in New York City working briefly for a sustainable asset  management firm in the heart of the financial district and then found more kindred spirits as a sales associate  for the clothing company Patagonia which helped land him back in Dillon, MT helping to manage The Patagonia Outlet from 2008 till early 2011.  His latest professional adventure took him to Oakland, CA where he taught seventh grade science. He is an avid outdoors men with a passion for volunteerism, building community, gardening and having fun.

Jim Baerg - Livingston

Jim Baerg was raised on a farm on the Hi-Line and graduated from Glasgow High School. After attending the University of Montana for several years, he moved to the Gallatin Valley. He was an early proponent and practitioner of Energy Efficient residential construction, starting in the mid 1970s. He also has considerable experience with historic restoration and remodeling. He is particularly proud of his work restoring the Tinsley Homestead House at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. Jim lives with his family in Livingston. His design and consulting business, Montana Energy+Design focuses on sustainable building design, consulting on technical energy issues, and supporting sustainable community projects.

Barb Brant - Whitefish

Barb lives and works in Whitefish, Montana. As Special Projects Coordinator for Montana Coffee Traders it is her mission to have everyone asking “Who’s your Farmer?” whether they are talking about Kale or Coffee, and to bring Flathead Valley residents and tourists the delights and bounty of Montana local foods. She is a founding member of Nourish the Flathead and Farm Hands—non-profit organizations that are educating the Flathead about Food systems, creating gardens, farmers markets, and hosting fun food events.

Courtney Lowery Cowgill - Conrad

Although she cut her journalism teeth in the traditional media with Lee Newspapers and the AP, co-founding NewWest.Net in 2005 made Courtney into a reluctant new media maven. In 2006, Courtney also founded the Rural News Network project at the University of Montana, which connects UM students with rural Montana while helping small towns revive their newspapers online. To really complicate things, she and her husband, Jacob Cowgill, who works as the agriculture liaison for Montana Senator Jon Tester, run a small organic farm near Conrad, where they raise vegetables, heritage turkeys and heritage and ancient grain.

Judith Fraser - Hamilton

Judith is a former Program Manager, of Wilderness and Trails, for the Bitterroot National Forest. In this capacity she supervised over 20 employees, managed a large budget, administered numerous trail contracts, and was involved in strategic planning. Before this position she spent many years in magnificent wilderness. She has an MS in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on resource management and a passion for plants, especially wildflowers. In retirement, she is an avid, non-linear gardener and addicted to Farmer’s Market. Her grapevine climbs a huge crabapple tree.

Jeffrey Funk - Bigfork

Jeffrey has been an avid organic gardener all his adult life, and has been deeply interested in energy issues for much of that time. He believes that how we envision agriculture and energy issues will largely define the future of our society, and that the challenges we will face on both fronts are nothing short of extraordinary. The grassroots work and consensus building in AERO is important in contributing to that vision, and to fostering a practical approach to community life in the twenty first century. A resident of Bigfork, Jeff has worked as an artist blacksmith since 1976 — an artist producing both sculpture and architectural forged metalwork on commission, from plowshares to public sculpture. He has a particular interest in the history of metals and fuels.

Kiki Hubbard - Missoula

Kristina “Kiki” Hubbard’s own farming experience has been limited to a jaunt on a combine in Iowa, butchering turkeys, and keeping a modest garden at her home in Missoula, but she has always had a profound respect for farmers and ranchers. Her roots extend to Wisconsin’s gentle green terrain, but it’s in the Rocky Mountain West where she works as a researcher, writer, and organizer for food and agricultural organizations. She is Director of Advocacy for the Organic Seed Alliance, and is a consultant for the Center for Rural Affairs. Kiki loves to sip coffee, tell terrible jokes, and bake crackers.

Erin Janoso - Roundup Board Secretary

Erin raises veggies, salad mix, and egg-laying hens on pasture in Roundup, a small town in cetnral Montana’s Musselshell County. Badger Rock Farm is in its second year, and sells its sustainably-raised products to Roundup residents and cafés, as well as the Yellowstone Valley Farmers Market in Billings. During the winter months, Erin works with her husband, Jim, on his microscope sales and service business, and on the renovation of the 100-year-old bank building that is their home.

Lyra Leigh Nedbor - Bozeman

Originally from New York State’s Hudson Valley region, Lyra moved to Montana in July of 2008 to work as an AmeriCorps VISTA in the FoodCorps program sponsored by Grow Montana and Montana Campus Compact (MTCC). In the last two years she has worked with MSU’s Farm to College-Montana Made Program helping to boost local food purchases to 15% and organize events like the Local Food Fair. Lyra attended Green Mountain College for her undergraduate studies where she received a BA in Environmental Studies. At Green Mountain Lyra fostered her passion for sustainability in energy and food production and lead her to Montana for a post graduation job. In the fall of 2009 she began her graduate studies at Montana State in Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems. She has continued her work as coordinator of the Montana Made Program and is working on a master’s project around tools for farmers related to on farm food safety regulation.