BOARD OF DIRECTORS

International Crossroads Group

As an elementary school student, Ron was once given an assignment to plan a trip from his hometown of Sacramento, CA to New York City, NY with the goal of attending the World Series and watching a game between the Yankees and the Dodgers in Yankee Stadium.  He was free to select any route between the two cities but there were two conditions included with the assignment.  The cost of the entire trip had to be estimated beforehand through phone calls and letters to travel agencies and city offices to obtain ticket prices, travel schedules, cost of hotels and restaurants.  Food, lodging, and incidental costs had to be determined for time during travel.  Additional points would be given for the number of states visited and bonus points would be given for the lowest overall cost per mile traveled.  The assignment resulted in correspondence with citizens from across the USA and was documented in a thick journal/scrapbook.

The letters of inquiry and the other materials placed in the scrapbook have been lost but the memory of the creative  teacher and the total experience, along with a later assignment by the same teacher for a round the world trip to New Zealand, made a deep impression on him and contributed to a lifelong interest in global crossings and international affairs.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ron and his wife, Tatiana, established two not-for-profit organizations with partners in Russia and Kazakhstan, to assist students from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Latvia, attend colleges and universities in Montana.  Nearly 100 students have studied or graduated with a Montana degree.  Education scholars and scientists from the former Soviet Union were also assisted with their visits to Montana during the past two decades.

He first became a supporter of WorldMontana^SM after a trip to the USSR in 1988 with his father and brother to retrace the route from Ellis Island back to the Ukrainian village which his paternal great grandfather and grandmother had left in 1903.  He had made contact with many Soviet teachers of English during his “roots” trip who wanted Montana pen pals for their students.  WorldMontana^SM was very helpful with this early pen pal exchange and in bringing international visitors to Montana schools so that students and visitors could share questions and concerns about their home country.

He enjoys his work with WorldMontana^SM colleagues as a board member and active participant in programs sponsored by the National Center for International Visitors, the Open World Program of the Library of Congress, and other organizations that bring international visitors to Big Sky Country.

Over the years he has seen WorldMontana^SM grow into a major force that fosters citizen to citizen diplomacy in Montana and helps to develop one on one relationships that often grow into lasting personal friendships around the state, region, and world.

Laura Fedro Interiors

When you grow up in the cornbelt, traveling to a foreign land used to mean spending twelve hours driving in a car between Des Moines and Oklahoma City.  It wasn’t until she was twenty two and Laura spent twelve hours flying across an ocean and a continent that traveling to a foreign land took on a whole new meaning.

Since that inaugural trip to jolly old Europe, and realizing with a shock that the world really doesn’t revolve around America’s breadbasket, international travel and the glories of thinking outside the box became a way of life for Laura.

Now the mother of a young son and the owner of an interior design firm, the importance of citizen diplomacy and the inescapable interconnectedness of our small  planet comes home every day through the lessons learned by her son at grade school and the products specified for her clients at Laura Fedro Interiors.  Laura believes citizen diplomacy is the only way to save our small planet from ourselves as the literal space between us shrinks from what was a day’s travel to a quick Skype call to catch up with friends (or business leaders) in faraway lands.

As an active board member of WorldMontana^SM, she will have the opportunity to continue exposing herself and her son to the wonderful multiplicity and richness of the world: it’s cultures, it’s histories and it’s people, all the while enjoying and sharing the treasures of our very beautiful and very landlocked state of Montana.

Montana State University

Doug Young is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at Montana State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and was a visiting professor and Fulbright Scholar at the University of Botswana in 1992-93, with side trips to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Mauritius. He was a visiting professor at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco during 1997, and a visiting professor at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, in 1999-2000. Doug’s second Fulbright Fellowship took him to the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China, with side trips to Vietnam and Mongolia during 2003-04. Most recently, Doug was a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, during 2009.

Doug says that his experiences abroad have been “great family adventures – educational, challenging and fun” for him, his wife, Laura, and daughters Allison and Nikki. Doug looks forward to contributing to the WorldMontana^SM mission of “citizen diplomacy.”

Gough, Shanahan, Johnson & Waterman, PLLP

Mr. MacBride is a partner with Gough, Shanahan, Johnson & Waterman concentrating his practice in business organization, natural resources, real property, intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks and patents), and business immigration.

Prior to his association with Gough, Shanahan, Bill represented Gold Fields Mining Company, Denver, Colorado, as a corporate counsel. He brought to that company his 11 years of experience as a petroleum geologist, primarily with Pennzoil Company. Bill’s corporate and practical background is invaluable to the firm in providing effective representation to its clients.

Bill has authored or co-authored articles for various seminars and publications (in business, Chinese law, intellectual property, environmental and patent laws). He has taught environmental, natural resources and business law, for the Community College of Aurora (Colorado) (1991-94), the University of Denver Graduate Studies Program (1993), the University of Montana-Helena, formerly the Helena College of Technology (1998-2006) and Montana Tech (2006-2008). Between 1996-1998 he organized and presented programs on mineral economic evaluation and mineral interest tenure before the Chinese Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources in Helena and Beijing.

Bill is a member of the Colorado and the Montana Bar Associations; Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation; the International Mining Professionals Society; and Rotary International. He was a co-founder of the City of Helena International Affairs Council.

Human Resources MSU

Currently employed at Montana State University as the Professional Development Manager for Human Resources at MSU. Betsy has a long track record of working in the non-profit sector.   Betsy’s non-profit experiences include the Colorado Outward Bound School, Kids Voting Massachusetts, THRIVE, and the Community Mediation Center.  Betsy’s professional skill sets include experiential training, human resources management, leadership development, conflict resolution, effective communications, and program development.

Betsy comes to WorldMontana^SM with an avid interest in connecting with other cultures and countries.  Two of Betsy’s children have participated in the International Youth Leadership Exchange as youth ambassadors and her oldest daughter spent 5 weeks in Africa performing conservation work in 2011.  The Webb family loves to host WorldMontana^SM and other foreign visitors!  Betsy’s 85 year old mother teaches English to immigrants outside of Philadelphia – a role model for all of us to follow!  Betsy and Brad Webb, along with their 3 children, hand-picked Bozeman and moved to Montana ten years ago.  They take full advantage of the recreational and educational opportunities that Bozeman and Montana have to offer.

Montana State University

Dr. Norm Peterson is the Vice Provost for International Education at Montana State University in Bozeman. Prior to assuming his position at Montana State, he served as the founding Executive Director for the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange in Washington, DC and directed its predecessor organization, the Liaison Group for International Educational Exchange.

He has also held international education positions at Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Colorado.

In addition to his involvement with WorldMontana^SM, he is actively involved in the international education community.  He currently serves on the Board of the Association of International Education Administrators and is a Past Chair of NAFSA’s International Education Leadership Knowledge Community.