GVLT Welcomes Five New Board Members
We are led by a volunteer Board of Directors from our amazing community. Their varied expertise and professional backgrounds are valuable in shaping the direction and initiatives of GVLT.
We are thrilled to welcome Jake Abel, Page Armstrong, Heather Hart, Mark Payne, and Penelope Pierce as our newest board members. Learn more about this talented and dedicated group of individuals below. We are thrilled they are part of our team!
Jake Abel
As Head of Marketing Strategy, Operations, and Planning for Delta Air Lines, Jake leads an organization focused on building world-class marketing channel, delivery, and analytics capabilities for the global marketing organization through the Marketing Operations & Technology, Media Planning, Marketing Analytics, and Marketing Strategy teams. A loyal customer before joining Delta in 2014, he has had several roles within the marketing organization, including domestic and international marketing, and has been focused on transforming and building strategic capabilities in service of a global network. A native of the Midwest and a U.S. Air Force veteran, Jake’s marketing experience includes both agency and client work and extends across several industries, ranging from consumer electronics to education and consumer packaged goods.
Page Armstrong
After many happy years teaching at the University of Toledo’s Jesup Scott Honors College, Page heeded the words of her two children to move to Bozeman and “go have a different kind of fun.” While she couldn’t quite give up her teaching career—she works as an adjunct professor at MSU—she has spent the past six years finding both fun and beauty within the Bozeman community. Along with her PhD in English Literature, part of what Page brought to the Honors College was a dedication to community service. Working in the greater Toledo community with students, leading service-learning trips to Nicaragua and Guatemala, and working with a foundation committed to stewardship, Page has long seen the value of creating a sense of community through hands-on engagement and shared learning. She brings to the Board her commitment to stewardship, her dedication to working in unity with the environment, and an appreciation of the role GVLT plays in enhancing and conserving open space for the future.
Why I Serve
“Like so many others, I initially discovered GVLT through the trails system. But as I learned more about the organization, I discovered the real depth of what GVLT stands for. To me, GVLT’s mission to conserve and connect is a metaphor for Bozeman’s community. Our trails both unite us and remind us that we share a common appreciation of place, space, and stewardship. While we are certainly a “connector,” GVLT is much more than a system of trails. It’s a vehicle that allows us to protect the lands we love, not just for ourselves, but for those who come after us.”
Heather Hart
Heather has worked as a Physician Assistant (PA) for over 40 years. She has spent the last 25+ years working in Three Forks and then at Bozeman Health until retiring. She and her husband raised their family here to be outside riding, hiking, and working in the community.
Learning and teaching have been a lifelong passion for Heather. She has served on several boards promoting education, including the Bozeman School Board for six years, and as a co-founder of the Bozeman Schools Foundation. Heather was involved with the Montana Outdoor Science School as an instructor and as a board member. Additionally, Heather served as a preceptor for many PA students while at Bozeman Health. She chaired the Montana State PA board which included work on legislation for PA practice.
Her family has had a ranch in Wyoming since 1928 where she has actively dealt with range management, cattle, and water rights. This experience is an integral part of her land ethic. She has degrees from Macalester College, the University of Wisconsin, and Finch University of Health Sciences.
Why I Serve
“I have been lucky enough to have spent most of my life in the West. Living in Montana and Wyoming has imbued me with the energy we have in the land around us. I hope that by working with GVLT more trails will be augmented. Ideally, more land can be kept open and working with the stewardship goals we want for the long term.”
Mark Payne
As a happily retired husband and father (although he really enjoyed his 40-year career), Mark cherish living and recreating in Montana. Born overseas to adventuresome Montana parents afforded him a world of experiences as a child. After graduating from the University of Montana with a degree in forest management, Mark’s career choices were interesting and varied, including working as a whitewater canoe trip leader in Maine, professional forester for private industry in Montana, and graduate study and work in silviculture. In his second career, he contributed to organizations as an Organization Development Manager and internal Senior Consultant for Fortune 100 and 500 forest products companies. This included leadership development, organizational redesign, project management, Director of Human Resources, and foreign consulting assignments in Eastern (post-Communist) and Western Europe and South America. Mark then spent some years in Saudi Arabia to help redesign an organization while providing leadership and project management skills for the world’s largest oil company. Currently in his third retirement, Mark and his wife enjoy camping, canoeing, alpine and cross-country skiing, and volunteering for and supporting various organizations in Bozeman and nearby.
Why I Serve
“Learn. Grow. Contribute. The GVLT Board and GVLT offer a unique opportunity to contribute my life-learned experiences to an organization that’s dedicated to the ‘preservation of the things that make southwest Montana very special.’”
Penelope Pierce
Happily retired, Penelope holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the College of William and Mary and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Between 2010 and 2020, Penelope led the Gallatin Valley Land Trust as Executive Director. She currently serves on the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) Board of Directors and is a mentor with the nonprofit Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley. She has served on many nonprofit Boards including the Montana Association of Land Trusts (MALT), the Conservation Defense Advisory Council of the Land Trust Alliance (LTA), Wild Things Unlimited, and American Wildlands. Penelope also delights in exploring the world with her husband, Ben, and three stepchildren.
Why I Serve
“Trails and open lands are truly the fabric of our community, bringing us together literally and figuratively, and nourishing our bodies and spirits. As a board member, I am honored to help GVLT expand and care for this wonderful tapestry.”