Ginger Aldrich
Ginger Aldrich, a Billings native, graduated magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 2001 with a B.A. in international relations, a minor in philosophy, and a concentration in Africana studies. During her undergraduate career, she studied in Cape Town, South Africa. She also spent a semester with Sea Education Association, performing oceanographic experiments in the Caribbean on the schooner, S/V Westward. After her graduation, she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, West Africa on sustainable efforts to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, and malnutrition. Upon her return to the United States, she assisted with federal emergency relief to Hurricane Katrina/Rita survivors. Aldrich has also worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of State, the Montana Department of Justice, and the ACLU. She has worked on local and national political campaigns over the last two decades, including as a 2008 legal election monitor for the Democratic National Committee. She also has studied international law topics such as human rights and Islamic jurisprudence in Egypt and Tanzania. Most recently, she was awarded a juris doctor by the University of Montana, where she is also pursuing a masters in philosophy.
Lynsey Bourke
Graduate Student- University of Cape Town
Born and raised in Missoula, Lynsey Bourke has spent the greater part of her 20′s working, studying and writing around the globe. While pursuing a BA in International Studies from the University of the Pacific, Lynsey spent a year abroad in Africa- one semester in Ghana, followed by a stint in Rwanda where she was the first international student outside of Africa to study in a Rwandan university. These experiences sharpened an acute sensitization to the complexities and contradictions that is the catch 22 of African socioeconomic inequalities. After a year spent working in the Mozambican private sector, Lynsey opted to start her graduate career in South Africa in order to continue to develop a theoretical perspective firmly rooted within a developing context. On the verge of completing her MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Cape Town, she has also been awarded an Honours degree in Gender and Transformation. Her most recent research projects have focused on: refugees and xenophobia, the role of female South African police as peacekeepers in United Nations missions and African urban sexual identities. She is currently relocating to Missoula in hopes of transferring skills learned abroad in order to improve the lives of Montanans.
Lauren Smith Caldwell
Lauren Caldwell’s roots were seeded in the South, cultivated in the Midwest, and ripened in the West. She came to Missoula when she was 18 to study Ecology, Botany, and Wilderness Studies at the University of Montana. She migrated from the natural sciences to the social sciences with a Masters in Social Work (Community Organizing/ Social Policy emphases) and a Certificate in Natural Resource Conflict Resolution. Lauren has organized and advocated for myriad issues addressing the connection between environmental welfare and social welfare, including work as a local foods coordinator on the Flathead Indian Reservation, author of “Eat Local, Feel Noble: A regional foods cookbook for western Montana”, grizzly bear researcher for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, teacher on “Social Approaches to the Environment” at UM, Field Organizer for the Barack Obama Campaign, and President of the Board of the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project, a sustainable-living demonstration site on Missoula’s Northside. Lauren currently works as a Field Representative for Senator Baucus on Natural Resource issues. She has been the recipient of the national Udall and Truman Scholarships as a result of her work. She plays harp and plays with her dog Nell in her spare time.
Lucas Childress
Born in 1983 in Missoula, where I have lived most of my life. I was raised without television, and creativity was my entertainment from an early age. What began as toying around with pencils and paints evolved into a more focused interest in graphic arts during high school, when I learned that design can be a powerful and influential communication tool. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Visual Communications from Medicine Hat College (Alberta, Canada) in 2006, I returned to Missoula where I worked my first graphic design position with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. In 2007 I co-founded Contraption, a visual arts company specializing in graphic design, illustration, and screen printing. Aside from running Contraption, I also enjoy reading, photography, woodworking, hiking, and spending time with the wonderful people of Missoula. Among other aspirations, I dream of someday living in a tree-house…
Ray Davis
Student, University of Montana and Co-Chair, Montana Equality Now
Ray Davis is a senior in international relations and comparative politics at the University of Montana. He’s a dedicated student leader and serves over 14,000 students as a student senator with ASUM. Ray also serves as secretary with the Penetralia Chapter of Mortar Board, a national senior honor society. Ray helped found Montana Equality Now, a direct political action organization for LGBT civil rights in Montana and dedicates his time to political action for LGBT equality. Ray is from Siletz, Oregon by way of Great Falls, Montana but loves Missoula, Montana. Ray spends his free time outdoors fishing, snowboarding and taking stunning photos.
Tashi Dondup
Tashi is an independent media producer and communications consultant. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he spent three years in Los Angeles working in film production before returning to his hometown, Boise, Idaho, where he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Idaho Commission on the Arts to write a screenplay about the changing cultural landscape of the Intermountain West. He has produced a number of documentaries with subjects ranging from horse festivals in Tibet to shooting ranges in rural New England. His award winning short films have screened at festivals from Boston to Berlin. He has worked with a number of organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Boise Bicycle Project, Idaho Human Rights Education Center, Center for Civic Education, and the Middle East Partnership Initiative, as well as a number of political campaigns at the state and local level. He enjoys fly fishing, mountain biking, soccer, skiing and visiting Montana’s many excellent microbreweries with his partner, Amber, who is also an NLC fellow. He is currently working on a project to build a school and develop a vocational training center in a remote region of Tibet.
Gabe Furshong
Born and raised in Helena, Gabe graduated as a student of political economy in December 2005 from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has campaigned for human rights and environmental causes in Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and the United Kingdom. As a freelance writer, he has been published in Plenty magazine, Montana Quarterly, and High Country News. After three years working with local communities on public lands conservation along the Rocky Mountain Front, Gabe is now staffing the newest office of the Montana Wilderness Association in Missoula where he coordinates education and outreach efforts surrounding the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.
Cari Kimball
Hailing from Billings, Montana, Cari Kimball recently relocated to Missoula with her husband to earn her M.S. in Environmental Studies with emphases in environmental justice and policy and sustainable agriculture. She attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon to earn her B.S. in Environmental Studies and also studied political science abroad in Russia and Eastern Europe. Since graduating, Cari has spent her time volunteering on organic farms and permaculture sites in Mexico and fundraising for Montana Conservation Voters. For the 2008 election season, Cari worked for Colorado Conservation Voters as a field manager on a canvassing campaign to help elect Mark Udall to the US Senate. Most recently, she employed her organizing skills for Montana Conservation Voters’ work pertaining to land-use planning in Missoula County. Cari’s other areas of interest include vermiculture, strawbale houses, rock climbing, and tea.
Chris Mathers
My name is Chris Mathers. As Director of Development at Missoula International School (MIS), I do communications, marketing and fund raising for the school. Before working at MIS, I was at the University of Montana receiving a BA (English Literature & Liberal Studies) and an MA (English Literature) before working as an adjunct instructor. During my BA I volunteered for MontPIRG as a higher education lobbyist (back in the days of Governor Martz) and then served on the Board for a period. During my MA I shifted my energy to academia by helping organize the UM’s Graduate Student and Faculty Research Conferences and presenting papers at that and other conferences. I grew up in Alaska, northern New York state, and Montana; I’ve spent the last ten years living in Missoula. I am also an artist– illustrator/painter and graphic artist. I love public art and cultural events. Festival of the Dead is one of my favorite Missoula events, and I enjoy helping make it happen. I am involved in Missoula’s two-year-old Missoula Mandala Project as well. I speak Spanish decently and am actively learning Portuguese. I want Missoula to grow in its international connections and dynamism.
Mariam Mick
Miriam Mick is the co-owner of Problem Solved LLC, a marketing strategy company designed to support her graduate school habit- she is currently working towards a master’s degree in the sociology of inequality and social justice. She also serves as the vice president and marketing chair of the Sustainable Business Council, a local non-profit dedicated to the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. In her spare time, she enjoys everything that the unique community of Missoula, MT has to offer: rivers, mountains, local beer, new ideas and plentiful music.
Amber Pence
Amber Pence has been active in politics for six years and moved to Missoula last fall to work as a fundraiser for a Congressional campaign. Her background includes managing a variety of political budgets, non-profit agencies, and volunteer/intern/staff activities.
Amber has been a part of numerous political campaigns and initiatives. At the local level, she helped raise funds for a bond initiative for the Boise Public Library, managed and consulted Boise city council campaigns, and fundraised for the mayor of Boise. At the state level, Amber worked with the Restore Representative Government PAC, the Idaho State Democratic Party, and Proposition 1, an Idaho education initiative. She also worked as a fundraiser for Congressman Walt Minnick, the first Democrat to be elected to Congress from Idaho in 16 years. From 2004-2008, Amber worked as the Chief of Staff for the Idaho House Democratic Caucus. She is especially proud of the high quality work our office produced, as well as the relationships she was able to build within and across party lines.
As a native Idahoan, Amber is extremely interested in helping shape the political atmosphere in the West. In her spare time, she likes to hike, bike, ski, do yoga and explore the trails around Missoula with her partner, Tashi, also an NLC fellow, and their dog Charlie Murphy Brown.
Zack Porter
Senator Scott Brown notwithstanding, I grew up in the liberal hotbed of Boston, Massachusetts, where passions for politics and progressive activism don’t exactly separate you from the rest of the crowd. Fortunately, a year-and-a-half ago, I found Missoula, Montana – a place ripe for social and political entrepreneurship. On a daily basis I am surrounded and inspired by young people shaping the future of our city and state, and what a difference it’s made. As a senior at UM, I serve as president of University of Montana Climate Action Now (UMCAN), a student group dedicated to sustainability issues at the campus, community, state, and national levels. In addition, I intern as Campus Organizer for the Montana Wilderness Association (MWA), gathering student support for Senator Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act and engaging students, faculty, and staff on wilderness issues. Most recently, I helped found the Montana Environmental Student Alliance (MESA), which aims to facilitate communication, networking, and political activism among environmentally focused student groups across the state. I will graduate in May with a major in Geography and a minor in Wilderness Studies, and I am working towards a certificate in Natural Resource Conflict Resolution.
Adam Tucker
Hi my name is Adam Tucker; I currently work at Western Montana Mental Health Center here in Missoula. I am both a Stepping Stones case manager which is just strait case management, and a PATH case manager, in this program I work exclusively with Homeless people that also suffer from a mental illness. PATH Stands for The Program to Assets in the Transition from Homelessness. So that is my job. A little about myself, I am originally from Colorado Springs. My wife and I moved to Missoula about 3 years ago, my wife is Lacey Wilkins, she is also a fellow.
I have done a lot of work with disabilities and disability rights. In high school I was a founding member of a group that worked to teach our community about disability. Since then I have worked with people that have a Developmentally Disability on the Navajo and Zuni Indian reservation in New Mexico, and now work with folks that suffer from Mental Illness. I personally have a Learning Disability.
I have experience in political organizing, starting in high school and then in college where I was a founding member of the Southwest Peace and Justice Coalition in Durango CO, we formed to oppose the Iraq war. My first job out of school was as a campus organizer for the P.I.R.G’s in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The issues that I am most passionate about are equality and environmental issues, I believe that these are both closely intertwined. I hold a strong belief that our current system is incredibility violent to its people. My strongest passion is working to strengthen and create community.
Lacy Wilkin Tucker
Lacey Dawn Wilkins was born 30 September, 1981 in Bakersfield, California. At age 9 Lacey’s family moved to New Mexico where she spent her childhood among the sagebrush and blue skied-wonderment of the southwest. A creative and outgoing personality kept Lacey busy during her school days in theater, choir, volleyball, and track and field, as well as involvement in her church youth group and local community outreach. Lacey graduated high school in 1999, and began her college career when she received a full-ride scholarship to attend San Juan College in Farmington, NM. In 2001 Lacey transferred to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where she continued her studies in psychology and musical theater. Lacey graduated Cum Laud in 2005 with a Bachelor of University Studies in Human Behavior and the Arts. After graduation Lacey returned to her hometown and took a job as a Case Manager advocating for disabled and elderly individuals. During her time as a case manager Lacey traveled all over the 4-corners area of New Mexico working with rural Native American populations. Herself being of strong Cherokee heritage, Lacey’s love for native American culture was fully realized during her time with the Navajo people. It was also during this time that Lacey realized her passion for helping people in need. Whether via volunteer programs like the Special Olympics, or professional work in counseling, Lacey’s personal and professional aspirations are boundless in her desire to be a positive influence in the life of every person she meets. Lacey and her husband Adam, who is also a 2010 NLC Fellow, left New Mexico for Missoula in 2007, and married in October, 2008. In 2009 Lacey completed her Master’s Degree in Psychology. She is now working on her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and hopes to graduate by 2012. In her spare time Lacey enjoys horseback riding whenever possible, meeting friends at the Kettle House for a delicious micro-brew, and hiking with her dogs Janie and Gauge in the beautiful mountains surrounding the Missoula valley.