Meet the Board of the Bitterroot Climate Action Group
Chair
Peter Reynolds has managed a variety of nonprofit organizations over the past 45 years with a degree in arts administration.
He is also known to many in the valley as a dedicated bodyworker/massage therapist.
As a musician, Peter has led the Dances of Universal Peace for 25 years in the U.S. and abroad.
He and his wife Judith live in Corvallis in a straw bale house they built in 1997.
Treasurer
Social, economic, and climate justice issues weren't at the top of Cindy's radar. Then her hang glider broke at over 12,000 feet and her parachute failed. Miraculously not a single bone was broken, but that wake-up call did cause her to take a hard look at what she believed and why.
"Paying it forward" actually became a much more fun way of life and opened up doors that took her to Kenya to help with clean water projects and mentoring women to give them computer skills and help get them out of poverty. She also worked in several areas in India to assist with various humanitarian projects, as well as in the Philippine Islands and Kyrgyzstan.
Recently retired from a career in software engineering and directing Information Technology operations, she currently is working with several progressive organizations, mostly helping on the technical side. She is crazy about dogs, and held a seat on the U.S. Women's World Hang Gliding Team.
Secretary
Laura has lived in the Darby School District since 1976 when she bought the land and made her home, about 5 miles from where her great grandparents homesteaded.
Her working years from that time on were mainly spent with the US Forest Service, including 12 years as fire dispatcher and lookout in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.
Laura has been a practicing artist throughout her life.
Member at Large
Jill Davies got her bachelors degree in mathematics, but after a taste of graduate school changed course and went into more holistic studies.
She studied Biodynamics in England in the early '70's; worked in the gardens on a commune in the French Alps; and on a Biodynamic truck farm in Switzerland before returning to the US.
She went back to England in 1999 to attend a course at Schumacher College on biotechnology in agriculture and has been active in that issue ever since.
Member-at-Large
Frank Pelfrey is a mostly retired clinical psychologist from Idaho moving to the Bitterroot in 2009. Throughout his life the natural world has been a source, and a passion, for him and the challenge of the climate crisis is completely integral with nature and a paramount concern for him.
He has served on a number of nonprofit boards, and been a working volunteer with several environmental nonprofit organizations for many years.
When he and Samia are not out hiking, snowshoeing, exploring or just savoring being alive, they have a well cared for garden that requires time and effort, and care for a few acres of land on the west side of the valley close to Blodgett Canyon.
Member-at-Large
Cheyenna recently graduated from Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humbolt) in Environmental Science and Management, with an emphasis in Energy Systems and Climate Change.
After moving here in 2021, Cheyenna became a seasonal flower farmer and floral designer with local Bitterroot growers.
Her passions are sustainable living, appropriate technology, playing in the dirt, and backpacking/traveling.
Cheyenna joined the BCAG Board because "I want to be an active member to the Bitterroot community by help making it a more resilient and inclusive place for all to enjoy."
Member-at-Large
Cynthia Mealy moved to the Bitterroot in 2015. She is the founder of FutureProof, a business consultancy for companies seeking B Corp Certification or improving their environmental impact.
Climate change knows no economic, social or political bounds and affects all of us. The work of the Bitterroot Climate Action Group resonated strongly with Cynthia’s commitment to serve her community. She also has a strong interest in “citizen science” and has participated in setting up one of the monitoring stations for the Wolverine Watchers project in the Bitterroot.
Cynthia has been a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. When she’s not working, she’ll be found hiking, trail/backcountry skiing, snowshoeing or cycling whenever she can. She lives in Stevensville on the road to St. Mary Peak with her husband, Brook and Molly the dog.
These Committees are composed of our members in good standing:
The Membership committee: keeps track of our membership list; reviews new member applications & determines how and where to find new members; deals with communication between the board and members and among the members themselves.
The Education committee organizes events & speakers, and is involved with scheduling public activities, influencing public policy and non-partisan lobbying.
The Outreach committee deals with press releases, press interviews, social media, web site, mass email communication, rapid response to current events & action alerts.
The Finance committee is responsible for such things as completing our 501c3 application, bookkeeping, fundraising, preparation of tax returns, budget preparation, review of fiscal aspects of action campaign proposals, and board reports and other items generally directed by the Treasurer.
The Science committee assembles information so that we may all learn about climate change and each decide where best to make our efforts to turn this crisis around.