HomeAbout UsLand ProtectionStewardshipGet InvolvedContact Us


<< Back

Staff


Grant Kier, Executive Director.Grant took over the helm of FVLT at the close of 2007, after serving for two productive and successful years as Executive Director of the growing Bitter Root Land Trust, located in Hamilton, Montana. During his tenure at the Bitter Root Land Trust, Grant was instrumental in advancing the organization’s conservation work and establishing key partnerships that led to the passage of a $10 million Open Space Bond in Ravalli County. Grant is a graduate of the University of Colorado, and holds an MS degree in geology.  He has parlayed that degree and a lifelong devotion to the outdoors and the natural world into a career in research, scientific consulting, outdoor education, and, of course, plenty of hell-bent-for-leather outdoor recreation. Whether you are out on the river or biking, hiking, or skiing on some of our wonderful open lands around Missoula, don’t be surprised if you run into Grant, his wife Bex, their daughter Fiona and their two Siberian huskies, Kenai and Kanchi.
Meredith photo

Meredith Printz, Office Manager/Outreach Coordinator. Meredith holds the principal staff position in FVLT’s office administration, and is looking forward to enhancing Five Valleys' outreach program. Prior to joining FVLT, Meredith worked for University Dining Services at The University of Montana, where she helped develop the UM Farm to College Program, an initiative to purchase food produced by local farmers and ranchers. In keeping with her passion for local agriculture, she is a founding member of the Missoula Community Food Co-op. Meredith earned her BA in English and Rhetoric from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Pacific University. In her spare time, she enjoys soccer, gardening, running, cooking, reading, hiking and spending time with her husband and cat.

Elizabeth Drummond, Events Coordinator/Administrative Assistant. Elizabeth came to us in the Spring of 2005, especially to lend a hand with the annual banquet and auction. She stayed on for the move to the new offices, and continues on a part-time basis to help out with operation of the office. She started out her career practicing poverty law with Idaho Legal Aid Services and the MBA Volunteer Lawyers Project, and retired when her second child was born. Since then she has kept busy with a wide variety of community and school-related projects and activities. Elizabeth loves to read and to cook, and makes the meanest Tiramisu this side of Italy.


 

Greg Tollefson, Conservation Director. Greg is in his second tour of duty with Five Valleys, having served as Executive Director from 1992-1998. He has a long history of conservation work and natural resource planning. From 1978 to 1982 he served as General Manager of OEA Research, an environmental consulting firm. He served as chair of the Rock Creek Advisory Council for five years. He has served on the State Council of Montana Trout Unlimited as well as the Board of Directors of the West Slope Chapter. He served the maximum two terms as a public member of the Montana Legislature’s Environmental Quality Council. In addition, he is a free lance writer who has written a weekly column in the Missoulian newspaper for the last two decades. He handles our work in Rock Creek and is also responsible for the Alberton Gorge-Tarkio Land Exchange project and the Cedar Creek Special Protection project.


Glenn Marangelo, Development Director. Glenn joined the FVLT staff in May of 2005. No stranger to conservation work, Glenn came to us after seven years as the Development Director for Wilderness Watch. Among other positions, Glenn's resume includes a 5 year stint as Grant Administrator for the Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee in Missoula as well as volunteer work with several local organizations. He received a Master of Science degree in Resource Management and Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, NH and a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Business and Economics from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. In his spare time, Glenn enjoys backpacking, fishing, snowshoeing, and birding with his wife Jenny.


Juniper Davis


Juniper Davis, Conservation Project Manager. Juniper graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College with a minor in Resource Systems of the American West.  She also holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law.  Before starting with Five Valleys Land Trust, Juniper’s legal practice focused on Environmental and Indian Law, with a specialty in environmental management issues impacting Tribes in the Northwest.  Prior to her legal career, Juniper worked with a variety of conservation organizations in Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.  Juniper is a sixth generation Montanan, raised in the Bitterroot Valley and in Missoula.  In her spare time, she enjoys backcountry skiing, bike touring, and literature.


staff picture


Alina_Niklison


Ryan
Pelah Hoyt, Conservation Project Manager. Pelah grew up in Arlee, has a master's degree in Resource Conservation, and most recently served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador. She and her husband Mark enjoy all things outdoors and are active members of Hellgate Hunters and Anglers.

 


 

Alina Niklison, Land Protection Coordinator. Alina joined us in April 2008. Her twin passions are nature and working with people. She grew up in Argentina where she earned her BS in Biology at the National University of Tucuman. She fell in love with Montana and its people after her first visit in 2002.  Invited by a renowned professor at the University of Montana, Tom Martin, she worked as a full time field-crew supervisor in Venezuela and laboratory manager in Missoula for 3 years. Alina recently graduated from the Wildlife Biology Masters program at the University of Montana. Through her studies she greatly enjoyed working collaboratively and across disciplines on conservation issues both locally and in Latin America.  After volunteering at the Bitter Root Land Trust she found a passion for protecting and preserving Montana’s natural legacy.  She couldn’t imagine a better place to live than in Montana where she can enjoy fly-fishing, horseback riding, climbing, biking, skiing and hiking with her dog Zafra.

Ryan Chapin, Land Protection Coordinator. Ryan joined us in March 2008 after demonstrating how invaluable his skills were as a volunteer and working for two months on contract.  Ryan holds an undergraduate degree in Business from Montana State University as well as a Master’s Degree in Geography and Planning from the University of Toledo. He brings a wealth of GIS software and mapping skills to Five Valleys.  His background includes co-ownership in a local construction company, guiding pack trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and is an active volunteer with Hellgate Hunters and Anglers. In his spare time Ryan enjoys adventuring in the outdoors with his wife Kate and their dog Rocky.