John DeArment, President

John and his wife are parents of an MIS alumna and a current middle school student. John was formerly the Science Director for the Clark Fork Coalition in Missoula and was the Administrator of the Permitting and Compliance Division of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, where he managed the regulatory portion of the agency. John also worked in private consulting for many years, where he specialized in watershed assessment, water quality monitoring, and stream and wetland restoration. John holds a B.S. in economics and English from James Madison University, an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, and is a Registered Professional Hydrologist with the American Institute of Hydrology. John is an ex-oficio member of all MIS Board committees.

Sarah Flaig, Vice President

Sarah attended Trinity University in San Antonio, TX and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She enjoyed a long year career as a clinical laboratory specialist performing complex analysis of human chromosomes for the purpose of disease diagnosis and monitoring. Sarah is a native Missoulian and parent of an MIS fourth grader. Her interest in Spanish language and cultures began early as a student and continued throughout her college years in Texas - residence in New Mexico - and travels abroad. After pursuing her career in cytogenetics, Sarah returned to her hometown of Missoula in 2014. When not doing all-things 'mom', you can find her out exploring our beautiful city and state with family and friends. Sarah joined the Board with the goal of making more connections and deepening her involvement in the MIS community. She hopes to help support and plan for the lasting success of this unique school in Missoula. Our city is truly a brighter place for it!

Julie Fogarty, Secretary

Julie and her husband have two children who are MIS alumni and one child who is currently a middle school student at MIS. Julie is an RN working with the law firm Garlington, Lohn & Robinson. A passionate community member, Julie also serves on the Board of Directors of the Five Valleys Land Trust. In her free time, she enjoys skiing with her family and the numerous activities that living in western Montana provides. Julie serves on the MIS Committee on Trustees and chaired the COVID-19 Advisory Committee at MIS.

Bridger Pierce, Treasurer

Bridger and his wife have two children who are MIS students. Originally a Bozeman native, Bridger has lived in Missoula for the last 10 years and is currently the VP of General Operations at Warm Springs Productions. He is also very involved with the conservation organization Ducks Unlimited where he is the local chapter chair, sits on the State Committee, and is on the National Marketing Committee. Additionally, he has been a member of the MIS Finance Committee since 2017. He loves the great outdoors of Montana and the ability to fish, hunt, ski, trail run, and raise two boys in such a special area.

Emily Richardson, Past President

Emily and her husband are parents of three MIS alumni, where her dream for them was to become lifelong learners and risk-takers. She works as a consultant for Warm Springs Productions with her husband who is a TV producer and co-owner of Warm Springs Productions. They enjoy family travel adventures and fly fishing. Emily has a background in sales, management, and project management.  She is an entrepreneur and founder of several small businesses.  Emily serves her community as a volunteer for the Missoula Art Museum, the Poverello Center, and Montana People’s Action. 

Ray Aten, Trustee

Ray is a lifelong learner, having devoted his life to education and research at the middle, high school and collegiate levels in science and math. Ray received a Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati. He then became a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University’s School of Medicine and went on to work as a research scientist for thirty years studying reproductive biology. After leaving Yale, Ray taught middle school and high school math and science. In Missoula Ray and his wife spend time working with a number of community organizations. His volunteer experience includes working with Mended Hearts, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and Chimney Corners YMCA. Ray enjoys flying, carpentry, kayaking, and traveling. As the the proud grandfather of three MIS students, Ray would like to ensure that the educational program MIS provides is available for his grandchildren’s grandchildren.

Keegan Eisenstadt, Trustee

Keegan is a passionate climate activist who has worked on a number of greenhouse gas mitigation projects in the tropical rain forests. He was most recently the founder and CEO of Clear Sky Climate Solutions where he is actively involved in the design and implementation of numerous forest-carbon climate change mitigation projects, including avoided deforestation and degradation (REDD), reforestation, and improved forest management. Keegan and his wife are proud parents of an MIS alum and a current middle school student.

Betsy Maier, Trustee

Betsy is a consultant for fundraising and marketing, working with both for profit and nonprofit clients in western Montana. Betsy served as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Bowdoin College, Brunswick ME, and as Class Dean in 1996. She was the Charter School Coordinator for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, where she developed a plan for an elementary charter school, including a grant for state funding, and charter school education research. Betsy also worked as the Development Director for the Montana Natural History Museum where she was responsible for individual, corporate and foundation fundraising. She is a founder and steering committee member of the Missoula Nonprofit Network. Betsy is very dedicated to independent education in Missoula. She and her husband have a son daughter and several grandchildren who love to visit Montana from their home in Bulgaria. Betsy serves on the MIS Committee on Trustees.

J. Bowman Neely, Trustee

Bowman and his wife are parents of a current MIS student. He is a graduate of New York University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of Montana School of Law. As a lawyer Bowman has experience working on intellectual property, publicity rights, public-private development partnerships, and renewable energy among other matters. Bowman has served as a trustee on the boards of several arts and environmental organizations including Washington Laywers for the Arts, Henry Gallery Association, the Arboretum Foundation, Stewardship Partners, and St. Timothy’s Memorial Chapel. Bowman enjoys playing tennis, swimming and skiing with his family.

Kitty Ordway, Trustee

Kitty is a grandmother of three MIS students. She has been involved in independent
school governance for over 30 years and has traveled and lived globally. Kitty was
initially intrigued by the IB program and the Spanish immersion offered at MIS.
Global awareness is important to her, and when Kitty saw this principle in action
at MIS, she was eager to get more involved herself.

Kitty currently teaches an MIS after school art class called “Animals Around the
World.” She is known as “Grandma Kitty” around campus and loves to get
spontaneous “hallway hugs” when she is in the building. Her class is based on the
premise that there is no right or wrong way to sculpt animals, there is only a
difference in style. She encourages students to develop their own style as they
learn about familiar and exotic animals.

Suzanne Shaw, Trustee

Suzanne is the mother of two MIS alumni. She grew up all over the world as a child in an enlisted family in the US Air Force, which inspired in her a love of foreign languages and insight as to how they open whole new worlds to those who know them. Her family has benefited greatly by hosting 2 Amity Interns from Colombia and Spain, and she served for 2 years on the Parent Association Council with a special interest in Parent Connection as well as 1 year on the Marketing and Communications Committee of the MIS Board of Trustees. She is passionate about education, international health and the right for everyone to be fed. Her hobbies include mountain biking and hiking with her husband, family movie night, dancing and reading everything she can get her hands on. Suzanne is currently the chair of the MIS Committee on Trustees.

Maria Shahid, Trustee

Maria and her husband are the parents of two current MIS students.

Stephen Siegel, Trustee

Originally from suburban Maryland, Steve attended college and started a career in journalism in St. Louis MO, before moving to Portland OR where he met his wife. They moved to Albuquerque NM where Steve started working for the science and technology company he still works for today here in Montana. Prior to that he was a technical editor and journalist - writing and editing sports and feature articles for magazines and newspapers and editing a car collector magazine. Stephen holds a B.A. in English Literature.

He joined the board after having recently seen other school environments (both local and abroad), which inspired him to increase his involvement at MIS. He wants to ensure that the education offered at MIS, continues to be the best it can be. Stephen has three children enrolled at MIS, and therefore spends much of his time at school but enjoys running, hiking, camping, paddling, skiing, and getting schooled in Spanish by his children in his free time.