Missoula Downtown Association Board
The Missoula Downtown Association (MDA) Board of Directors is the largest board under the Downtown Missoula Partnership (DMP), with 19 current members. These members consist of local business owners, corporate professionals, and city employees.
The board members play a role in helping guide the operations and promotion of the MDA, along with serving across a variety of committees and as event volunteers. The Missoula Downtown Association has been operating in Missoula since 1975, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. To serve on the MDA board is to support the continued impact and legacy of this organization. Meet the board below.
Missoula Downtown Association Board Members
Bryan Hickey has been affiliated with Big Dipper Ice Cream for more than 20 years, starting out as an ice cream scooper and now serving as President of the company that employs more than 70 people during peak season. He has grown up with Big Dipper, serving as the first manager, then co-owner of the Coneboy Ice Cream Truck. Hickey and Charlie Beaton have worked together for almost 25 years.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Hickey grew up in a military family and lived a lot of difference places in the United States. While visiting his older brothers, Shane and Colin, Bryan discovered the magic of Missoula and moved to Zootown in the late 1990s.
Hickey studied business at the University of Montana and played music during his free time. Fascinated by all aspects of the business, he has filled every role of the small but mighty ice cream shop.
Bryan is married to Sarah, who is a CPA with Boyle, Deveny and Meyer. Together they have four young children: Evelyn, Elliot, Elijah and Eloise. His parents relocated to Missoula a few years ago, so now all the Hickeys live near each other in Western Montana.
Matt Mellott is the owner and lead commercial real estate advisor with the Sterling Group, which includes Sterling Commercial Real Estate Advisors, Sterling Commercial Management Group and Sterling Capital Investment Group. He is also a partner with Renewal Real Estate Services which builds modern, sustainable and affordable homes inside the city limits of Missoula. Mellott specializes in commercial realty and affordable housing development.
Originally from Lancaster, Penn., Mellott has a B.A. in Real Estate from Penn State University. After starting a career in commercial real estate in Atlanta, GA and Harrisburg, PA, he served with the United States Marine Corps. He spent twelve years on active duty flying F/A-18 Hornets and then moved with his family to Missoula where he returned to the world of commercial real estate.
Matt and his wife have five children. Together they have a deep appreciation for the Missoula lifestyle.
Ellen Buchanan has served on the MDA Board of Directors since 2003 and stepped into leadership as a vice president in 2017. She chairs several committees and was the visionary behind the creation of River City Roots Festival.
She came to Missoula in 2003 from Johnson City, Tenn., to oversee Missoula’s tax increment financing program. Under her direction, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency created several urban renewal districts and leveraged significant investments all across Missoula. Her priorities are community sustainability, Downtown vitality, and residential development in the heart of city.
Buchanan chairs the Downtown Master Plan Implementation Team, as well as the committees that plan and produce Winter BrewFest, Garden City BrewFest, and River City Roots Festival. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Business Improvement District and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
She has B.S. in Architecture from the Pratt Institute in New York City. She has worked in redevelopment in New York, California, Florida and Tennessee. Ellen is married to Michael Hornick. She has two grown children, Jason and Keenan, and a granddaughter, Tess. When not working, you will find her at live music events and festivals.
Paige Livingston is the owner of One Eleven Boutique at 111 N. Higgins. She bought the store in 2010 after managing the business for nearly a year. A native of Missoula, Livingston managed a fine dining restaurant in Portland before returning home. She previously served on the Mayor’s Downtown Advisory Commission in 2015-16 and will serve on the MDA’s Retail and Festival of Trees committees. Paige married Randolph Chitwood in 2017.
Conor Newman was born and raised in Missoula and graduated from the University of Montana with a BS in Accounting in 2010 and a Masters of Accountancy in 2011. He started working at Boyle, Deveny & Meyer, PC as a tax season intern in 2008, was hired on full time in 2011, and became a shareholder in 2016. Newman’s practice centers around individual and business tax return preparation and planning. He is a Downtown resident and previously served on the Habitat for Humanity Board. He enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and snowboarding/skiing in the great Montana outdoors with his wife, Rose, and two daughters, Eva and Hadley.
Jed Liston is a lifelong Grizzly, having spent 30 years in Admissions, overseeing many years of record enrollments. He served as the Director of Marketing in Integrated Communications from 2014-2016. Liston, a fifth-generation Montanan, originally from Helena, has two degrees from UM, a BA in Communications Sciences & Disorders and a Master’s in Educational Leadership. Jed is married to Jorrun Liston, and they have three kids who all attend UM.
Mimi Hall Gustafson is in her second stint as Director of Sales & Marketing at the Holiday Inn Downtown. She moved to Missoula for the same position in 2013 with Sage Hospitality and served in that role for four years. She worked for Destination Missoula and the Tourism BID as the Director of Sales and Services from 2017-19.
Prior to her arrival in Missoula, Hall Gustafson was on the leadership team at Northern Quest Resort in Spokane for four years. She has spent the majority of her adult life in sales and marketing, specializing in destination resorts. With a breadth of sales and marketing experience in the hospitality and destination resort industry, Hall Gustafson has served in leadership roles with world-class destination resorts, an innovative full-service marketing firm, a successful destination marketing organization, and a unique, luxury resort representation firm.
Hall Gustafson has a B.A. in Advertising & PR from the University of Idaho. Originally from Cincinnati and Washington, D.C., she and her husband, Frank, enjoy hiking, skiing and boating, as well as spend time exploring Montana with their three dogs.
A native of Livingston, Montana, Bob Burns has served as the Missoula Market President for Stockman Bank since October of 2014.
He earned his degree in Business Administration & Finance from The University of Montana in 1996 and has worked in finance for over 25 years. Since its start in Missoula, Burns has grown the staff to 78 employees in the Missoula market, offering full service banking along with Stockman Wealth Management and Stockman Insurance. Under his leadership, Stockman Bank has opened three full service Missoula branches since 2014.
Burns is active in the Missoula community, serving as Chair of The Missoula Fairgrounds Foundation Board, and the University of Montana College of Business Management & Marketing Advisory Board. He is also a past State Board member of Make-A-Wish Montana. Bob is married to Katrina and they have one daughter, Maeve.
Bailey Durnell has been a Downtown business owner since 2021, opening the Missoula Makers Collective, alongside her
business partner Rachel Cowan, at 420 North Higgins. They represent more than 80 makers who sell their artwork year-
round. Bailey is a maker herself, creating jewelry under the name Warm House Designs. She has been an artist at River
City Roots Festival for three years and played a significant role in coordinating the new Missoula Makers Market at the
Downtown ToNight Summer Series. She also brought the Missoula Makers Market to the Holidays on Higgins event the
last two years.
Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Bailey served as a student resource coordinator, event planner, and teaching
assistant at the University of Montana. She has a BA and an MA in Political Science and Gender Studies from UM. She
has volunteered for Planned Parenthood and the Missoula Promise Initiative, as well as numerous ballot initiatives.
Bailey grew up in Great Falls and is interested in how local businesses can help mobilize citizens to be stewards of their
community, the way in which a strong community ethic can affect development, and the impact that women's financial
autonomy through entrepreneurship translates to community benefits.
A proud Missoula native, Josh Eder has worked in Financial Services since 2006 and has been with MDA Member SG Long & Company since 2009. He earned a BS in Finance from the University of Montana in 2005 and has earned multiple licenses, including Series 7, 53, 63, 65 & Montana life and health, annuity, and long-term care insurance. He has been a CFP® designation holder since 2018.
Josh has a passion for service and has served on the Board of Directors for the Missoula Downtown Foundation, Missoula Downtown Association, Habitat for Humanity, and Missoula Interfaith Collaborative. He most recently served as the president of the Missoula Downtown Association in 2022.
He is married to Chanda, and they have 2 daughters, Ellery & Haddy.
A native of Billings, Mont., Ashley Waldron started working at First Montana Bank in 2011 and is currently AVP Commercial Loan Officer. She earned a B.S. in Business Finance from the University of Montana and more recently completed the Pacific Coast Banking School program.
Waldron joined the board in 2018 and served as board president in 2021 and has served as a volunteer for Downtown event and committees for several years. In addition to the MDA, Waldron serves on the Jadyn Fred Foundation and Missoula Chamber Red Coats.
Aimee McQuilkin is the creative entrepreneur behind the beloved Betty’s Divine on the Hip Strip.
Originally from Portland, Ore., McQuilkin graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in Psychology and a Minor in Women’s Studies in 2000. She started her retail career as a manager for Rainbow’s End and then took the leap to business owner when she opened Betty’s Divine in 2005. She then leaped again into property owner when she purchased the building next door to her original location and moved.
Aimee is married to Matthew McQuilkin, co-owner of Black Coffee Roasting Company, and they have two daughters: Quinn and Macy. In her free time, she likes to watch birds, bake bread, fly down mountains on bikes and skis, camp in the woods, read voraciously, garden-eat-read about food, play kickball, and comb garage sales and junk stores for treasures.
Heidi Starrett is a dedicated community advocate and Advertising Executive at Missoula Broadcasting Company. She has spent over two decades building deep community ties through her professional work and tireless volunteerism.
Active with the Missoula Downtown Association since 2006, Starrett has served on the board since 2011, including terms as Board President (2015) as well as VP of Marketing, Membership, and Advocacy. She has participated in nearly every MDA committee and volunteers at almost every event.
A two-time MDA Board Member of the Year and the 2024 recipient of the Arts Missoula John Engen Cultural Ambassador Award, Starrett is widely recognized for her leadership, volunteerism, and cultural diplomacy. She currently serves on the boards of Friends of the Children – Western Montana and Sculpture Missoula, and previously served with City Club Missoula and Arts Missoula.
Originally from Massachusetts and a graduate of Endicott College, she has proudly called Missoula home for over 20 years. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and supporting the local arts and cultural scene.
Scott Whittenburg is the Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship at UM, a position he has held since coming to Missoula in 2013. He is also the President of MonTEC, as business incubator located adjacent to Missoula College. Prior to coming to UM, he held similar roles at the University of New Orleans. In these roles Scott leads the university’s efforts in research, creative activities and economic development. Scott has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Oregon State University and a doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Utah. Whittenburg and his two kids moved to Missoula to be closer to his mother. They have lived downtown on the Hip Strip, in the Wilma, and on North Higgins before moving to the Ranch Club. Scott loves North Higgins and would love to see it become a destination for residences and multi-use buildings.
As the CEO of the Missoula Economic Partnership, Grant Kier is brings excellence and a balance of mission focus, analytical depth, and executive leadership to Missoula’s economic development agency. Prior to his appointment as lead staff, he was a committed and passionate board member to the MEP, including service as the Treasurer.
Kier provided a decade of executive leadership to Missoula’s Five Valleys Land Trust from 2007 to 2017, establishing it as one of the most respected and successful conservation organizations in the state and one of the most successful land trusts in the country. Kier’s work in conservation helped families expand their businesses and helped communities around Missoula County tap into the growing recreation and tourism economy.
Grant holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Geology from the University of Colorado. He is married to Rebecca Bendick, Ph.D. in Geosciences at the University of Montana, and they have one daughter, Fiona.
Born and raised in Missoula, Jodi Pilgrim has worked for the Missoula Parking Commission since 2016.
She started as a frontline administrative assistant, then moved into the position of Business Services
Manager in 2018. In December 2023, she was promoted to the Parking Services Director, where she is
responsible for all operations and staffing for the Commission. Pilgrim is fascinated by the parking
industry and the role it plays in supporting thriving Downtowns.
Prior to her arrival at the MPC, Pilgrim worked at a local health club. She currently serves on the Board
of Directors for the Clark Fork River Market. As a native Missoulian, she attended Hellgate High School
and studied physics at the University of Montana.
Jodi is married to Dan Brooks, and they have one son, Anthony. She is an avid fan of Downtown
shopping and dining and loves to help Downtown employees find parking options and alternatives. In
her free time, she enjoys working out, reading, cooking, and walking with her dog, Crackers.
Joan Redeen is a long-standing Downtown advocate and is delighted to serve as an ex-officio member of the MDA Board
of Directors. She currently serves as the Executive Assistant - Communications for the Montana Department of
Transportation’s Western District.
She was the Community Director for the Great Falls Business Improvement District (BID) from 2009-2022, where she
was responsible for revitalizing Downtown Great Falls. She renewed the BID twice and created and implemented the
citywide wayfinding plan. She was responsible for the creation of the Pedlet program and the mural festival, ArtsFest
MONTANA. She was also instrumental in the creation and implementation of the Downtown Master Plan, and led
implementation of the organizational workplan.
Joan is married to Jeff, and they have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons. The daughter of a Navy
Commander, she was raised moving frequently from east coast to west coast. She has an AA degree from the College of
Great Falls and is also actively involved with Special Olympics Montana and the Montana Down Syndrome Association.
Joan is a Griz Football fan – alongside her husband Jeff and sons – and she loves the walkability, shopping and dining
options in Downtown Missoula. She is most excited about bringing more public art to the Heart of Missoula.
After graduating from the University of Maine Engineering School, Jamie Mitchell spent seven years with one of the nation’s largest construction companies, traveling from one mega project to another. In pursuit of a better quality of life and a community to call home, Mitchell moved to Missoula in 2017 with her now husband, Ryan.
With a passion for construction, Mitchell started with Dick Anderson Construction that same year. Some of her most notable projects in Missoula include the Mercantile Residence Inn and AC Hotel in Downtown Missoula. Jamie feels very lucky to have spent her first four years with DAC working in Downtown Missoula, which ultimately led to her engagement with the Missoula Downtown Association. While Jamie’s roots may not be from Missoula, she has never felt more at home. Missoula is a special place, and she is excited to continue building community in Missoula with both Dick Anderson Construction and as part of the MDA Board of Directors.
