Missoula Downtown Association Board

Following 10 years of sales and service for the daily newspaper in Missoula, Brooke Redpath started her own business – METTLE Marketing – in 2015. She has a lot of experience with small business development and marketing, and has served on the MDA Board since 2012. She will serve as President in 2018. Redpath has been involved with a variety of community organizations and projects including River City Roots Festival, Team Up Montana, Special Olympics, Graduation Matters, Providence St. Pat’s and the Missoula Art Museum. A native of Anaconda, Mont., Redpath has a B.S. in Business Marketing from the University of Montana, and she recently completed the intensive summer program at Rocky Mountain School of Photography. Brooke is married to Van Redpath, and they have one son. In her free time, she loves golf, yoga, snowboarding and hiking.

Anders Brooker opened The Runner’s Edge on Main Street in Downtown Missoula in 2001. In 2006 he moved into property ownership and a larger space on the 300 block on Higgins Avenue, and then he expanded his business again in 2013 into another building across the street. The Runner’s Edge is a retail store and central running hub that draws hundreds of runners to the heart of Missoula each year. Brooker grew up with a passion for running and competed in track and cross country for Plains High School, as well as the University of Montana. He continues this passion through work at the store and through coaching high school athletes at Hellgate High School, where he has earned Coach of the Year honors by the Missoula High School Association. Closely connected to the local running group, Run Wild Missoula, Brooker is the coach for the Missoula Marathon training class, a 300-person plus group that meets twice a week for 18 weeks leading up to the marathon in July. A huge force behind the Missoula Marathon, Brooker also serves as the race director for one of the largest races in the state. Voted “Best Overall Marathon” by Runner’s World in 2010, the Missoula Marathon attracts runners and walkers from all over the world. A native Montanan, Anders is passionate about growing this well-loved race as it is has a large economic impact on the state. He is married to Meg Brooker, and they are oftentimes seen running the streets and trails throughout Missoula.

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.

Lynda Brown is the principle and owner of Lynda Brown Human Resource Management Consulting in Missoula. As an adjunct instructor in the School of Business at the University of Montanan she teaches classes in the Management and Marketing Department and in the MBA program. Brown has over thirty years of HR management experience with employers in Missoula including the University of Montana, St. Patrick Hospital, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Western Montana Clinic. She has served on the MDA board since 2013 and is beginning her second year as a member of the board of the Downtown Missoula Partnership. Brown has previously served on the United Way Board of Directors, and she volunteers with local government and other non-profit agencies assisting with human resource issues. A native of Pittsburgh, Penn., Brown has a Ph.D. from Florida State University, a M.Ed. from the University of Oklahoma, and a B.S. from the College of William and Mary. She is a regular bicycle commuter, an avid skier, endurance rider, sailor, and a spinning instructor. She is married to Bill Brown, DVM and owner of Western Montana Equine.

A native of Livingston, Mont., 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 20 years.  Since its start in Missoula, Burns has grown the staff to 38 employees in the Missoula market, offering full service banking along with Stockman Wealth Management and Stockman Insurance. Burns is active in the Missoula community, serving as a State board officer for Make-A-Wish Montana as well as other various non-profit boards and committees and he served as a basketball referee for the Montana Officials’ Association for 20 years. Under his leadership, Stockman Bank just completed a $35 million dollar branch location at the corner of West Broadway and Orange Street. He and his team will begin construction on Stockman Bank’s second permanent location at the corner of Brooks and Dore in 2018.

A native of Missoula, Josh Eder has worked in financial advising since 2006 and has been with S.G. Long and Company since 2009. He earned a B.S. in Business Finance from the University of Montana in 2005 and has earned multiple licenses, including Series 7, 65 and 63, and health and disability insurance. Eder has served on the Board of Directors for the Missoula Downtown Foundation since 2015 and has also served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, Pheasants Forever, and the Clark Fork Coalition. He is married to Chanda, and they have one daughter, Ellery.

Kim Klages-Johns is a lifelong retailer in Downtown Missoula and has served on the MDA Board since 2002. She owned and operated J. Elaine’s Boutique from 1997-2011. She has been the merchandise manager of MSO Hub since 2011 while also working in the front office of the Missoula Osprey baseball team. A native of Pittsburgh, she earned a B.S. in Marketing from Texas A&M in 1987. She worked in national retail in Florida before moving to Missoula in 1994. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her five children, cooking, and camping.

Jeff is an attorney in the Missoula office of Crowley Fleck PLLP.  He is a Montana native and grew up in Florence.  He attended the University of Arizona, and then served six years in the military as a medic. He returned to college and earned a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Public Management from Northern Arizona University in 2009. Jeff returned to Missoula and earned his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in 2013.  Jeff’s legal practice is devoted primarily to commercial litigation, including significant work in real estate litigation and litigation involving financial institutions. Jeff is married to Meagan, a nurse practitioner in Missoula.  They have a son, Preston, who attends high school, and three rambunctious dogs.

Heidi Starrett is an Advertising Executive at Missoula Broadcasting Company, a locally-owned and operated radio company. Prior to that she was the advertising sales manager at the Missoula Independent from 2014-2016, and she owned her own business, Computer Solutions, from 2005-2014.

Starrett has been a board member since 2011 and has served as chair on the Out Lunch Committee since that time. She was the Board President in 2015 and has held three vice president positions: VP of Marketing in 2013, VP of Membership in 2014, and VP of Advocacy in the latter half of 2017. Since getting involved with the MDA in 2006, Starrett has served a role on nearly every committee, plus she volunteers for almost every MDA event.

Originally from Massachusetts, Starrett has a B.A. in Interior Design from Endicott College. She moved to Missoula in 2004 after falling in love with the Garden City.

In addition to MDA, Starrett serves on the Arts Missoula and City Club Missoula boards. In her free time, she helps with the Milltown Garden Patch and enjoys hiking, biking, cross country skiing and attending a plethora of Downtown events.

Rod Austin has served as the Director of the Missoula Parking Commission since 2016. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Operations for the Downtown Business Improvement District from 2007-2013. He semi-retired from that position and relocated to Port Richey, Florida, but returned to Missoula to lead the parking commission.

With the exception of that three-year hiatus in South Florida, Austin has served on the MDA Board of Directors since 2001.

Originally from Vermont, Austin first moved to Montana in 1972 with the United States Air Force in Great Falls. A 1981 graduate of the University of Montana Business School, Austin has lived in Missoula four separate times over the years.

A lifelong community servant, Austin has previously served as a board member and volunteer with the following Missoula organizations: Mount Jumbo East Little League, American Heart Association, Ronald McDonald House, and the Heart of Missoula Neighborhood Council.

He is married to Tina and they have six children and 12 grandchildren. In his free time he enjoys fly fishing, gardening, coaching baseball, camping and spending time with his kids.

As the President/CEO of the Missoula Economic Partnership, James Grunke has years of successful experience guiding economic development efforts across the Western United States. His involvement with economic development efforts in Missoula began in 2010 as a contracted project director with National Community Development Services. As a consultant with NCDS and through his previous work with economic development organizations, Grunke has worked with both nonprofit and local government economic development organizations.

Prior to joining NCDS, Grunke served as director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership, where he managed all entrepreneur and venture capital efforts, attracting millions of dollars in capital investment to the state of Idaho. Grunke has been active in public policy and economic development at the local, state and federal levels throughout his career.

Grunke and his wife, Jenny, are the parents of three daughters, Tara, Jordan and Leah. They enjoy travel and outdoor activities, and are avid tennis players.