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What is The Board?

The Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association (SWMMBA) operates to accomplish our mission statement. The Board is the body which interprets our mission, applies that interpretation to executing the mission, and strategically plans future actions to accomplish our mission. The Board oversees all hiring, budgeting, and operational aspects of SWMMBA and our chapters. This differs from our Chapter Boards who oversee trail work, fundraising, and projects within their chapter’s service area. Our Board is not paid in any way (other than smiles), they are all volunteers. Essentially, these are your elected representatives, their job is to best accomplish our mission for our members. There are a maximum of 12 elected Board Seats, the SWMMBA Board has traditionally operated with between 8 and 12 members. Board Members are not compensated in any way for their work.

What’s Involved With Serving On The Board?

The level of dedication to our mission is impressive when it comes to the Board. The average Board Member will volunteer their time up to 15 hours per month on tasks for the organization, exploring potential new projects, optimizing the organization’s operations, and in helping our Chapter Boards execute the organization’s mission. On top of volunteering at events and completing organizational tasks, board members are expected to attend a minimum of one board meeting each month.

Additionally, board members receive training in various software platforms, nonprofit governance, financial management, and volunteer management to better serve our mission. Board members each have an official SWMMBA email address and access to our internal Slack group where all internal communication occurs. Some board members are in charge of delegating work to committees, managing volunteers, handling IT tasks and requests, managing our budget, interacting with contractors, or even collaborating with land managers. Our board has set roles for most of it’s members, each have goals and responsibilities to keep the organization moving forward.

If you see them around, thank them for their work!


Want to nominate someone for our Board?


BOARD OFFICERS

The SWMMBA Board elects officers to coordinate board activities and facilitate various organizational functions. Board Officers must be Board Members in good standing and are elected by the board, of the board, in the Board Meeting immediately following Board Elections.

The current board officers are:


President: Josh Horstmann
Vice President: Joe Bernhardt
Secretary: Martijn Linden
Treasurer: Rob Leo

Learn more about them in their bios below


 

 BOARD MEMBERS

Board members are elected by you, our membership. They serve in 6yr terms, and are limited to a maximum of 2 terms on the board. The current members of the SWMMBA Board are:


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Ian Jones

Ian grew up in rural Maine, near Acadia National Park; needless to say he’s been riding a bike in the woods for a long time. He didn’t officially start mountain biking until moving to Montana, where he got his first experience of cross country riding on the Bangtail Divide. Ian has a special place in his heart for high altitude, high difficulty rides which makes the Lionhead region of the Henry’s Mountains an area of special interest for him. Ian is one of the original founders of SWMMBA, and is always looking for ways to improve the nonprofit.


Email: ian@southwestmontanamba.org


Rob Leo

Rob left his Philadelphia roots when he was 18 and headed for the Rocky Mountains in search of education and adventure… but mostly adventure.   A winter sports enthusiast first, his first non-winter mountain activities included a love for trail running and climbing.  A reluctant hold out to the biking scene, Rob eventually had enough nagging climbing and running injuries to push him to try mountain biking in 2017. 

While living in Park City, UT, Rob hopped on a metal steed for the first time.  While it wasn’t love at first ride, he was undeterred by numerous crashes and bruised ribs. By the end of that season, the seed had been planted and mountain biking became his preferred summer activity. Shoulder season and summer trips were focused on hero dirt, brown pow, loam, and sandstone. 

He and his wife have traveled as far south as Guatemala and as far north as British Columbia in search of epic singletrack. Since moving to Bozeman in late 2022 he has enjoyed the fresh and developing mountain bike scene and is looking forward to contributing and making an impact with SWMMBA.


Email: rob.leo@southwestmontanamba.org


Vacant

Email the Nominations Committee if you’re interested in filling this position!


Email: nominations@southwestmontanamba.org


Joe Bernhardt

Born and raised in central Montana, I moved to the Gallatin Valley in 2005 for the love of all that makes this area what it is. It wasn't until later in life that I started treating bikes less as a tool and more of a means of enjoyment. It has since developed into a love affair - something that I am proud to say is a defining factor of who I am as a person. I am fortunate to be employed locally in Software, which provides me the luxury of sharing the joy of bicycles with my two teenage daughters.

I want to share the love. I want to see everybody experience the same joy I have found on the trail. As our community grows, we will face new challenges that threaten this vision. But, I believe that through proper leadership and education, we will continue to overcome any obstacle that comes our way.


Email: joe.b@southwestmontanamba.org


Vacant

Email the Nominations Committee if you’re interested in filling this position!


Email: nominations@southwestmontanamba.org


Josh Horstmann

Josh moved to Bozeman from the East Coast for access to the mountains, and all the great outdoor activities Montana has to offer. He has been riding bikes since the mid-80s. when he got his first Specialized hard tail. He was a member and instructor for IMBA’s National Bike Patrol for over 20 years volunteering with clubs around the country.  Since joining SWMMBA, he has been helping build our Bike Ambassador volunteer program.  

He joined the SWMMBA board to not only help build the bike community here in Bozeman, but to help the organization expand trail access and outreach across the state. When he’s not riding, he and his wife travel in their van checking out trails and breweries with their two dogs.

Email: josh@southwestmontanamba.org


Martijn Linden

Originally hailing from the country of all things bike, the Netherlands, Martijn now calls Bozeman Montana his home. And yes, he owns a Dutch cargo bike (you were wondering, weren’t you?) and like a good Dutchie allegedly rode bikes even before he walked around in wooden shoes. His first mountain bike was a GT Zaskar, back in the last century. But his Mountain biking addiction really got out of control after a back injury sidelined his middle-of-the-pack trail running career whilst living in Vermont. After a weekend riding the magical Kingdom Trails on a bike with plush suspension all hope was lost. When not riding the fabulously wild Montana trails, Martijn also loves to coach the rowdy kids at NICA, since his own kids think he is just old and boring.

Trails unite us and bikes are fun. Organizations like SWMMBA are worth all of our collective efforts. Anything to spread the love and continue to grow all things bikes and dirt into an empowering and transformative force!


Email: martijn.linden@southwestmontanamba.org


Nelson Bedient

Nelson grew up mountain biking in the sierras. He and his parents would volunteer building trails on the weekends. Nelson moved to Montana for school and stayed for the community.

Nelson joined SWMMBA in hopes of increasing community engagement/involvement at trailwork days and bike events.


Email: nelson.bedient@southwestmontanamba.org


Lisa Curry

Lisa Curry grew up in Butte where her love of biking started as soon as the training wheels came off. The steep streets were replaced by trails during college at Montana Tech and even more so during grad school in Missoula. She spent over a decade competing in road, mountain, and cyclocross races throughout Montana and a few other states. Lisa's greatest passion has always been riding in the mountains with friends and watching others find joy on two wheels.


Email: lisa.c@southwestmontanamba.org


Emily Mendoza Golz

Emily grew up recreating in the Eastern Sierras before moving to Missoula for college. After graduating, she hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, where her love for big adventures intensified. Emily became an avid rock climber, and eventually, she and her husband added mountain biking to their circuit. Since then, mountain biking has become a favorite activity.

Emily is eager to leverage her skills as an attorney to advocate for expanded trail access in the community. For her, there’s nothing better than a day on bikes with friends and family. She hopes to create more spaces where others can share adventures on two wheels.

Email: emily.mendozagolz@southwestmontanamba.org


Ignasi Tudela Calafell

Ignasi started mountain biking in the Appalachians, where he got his first full-suspension bike, and he's been hooked ever since, riding every week and exploring trails across the country. His relationship with sports runs deep: he helped open an indoor skatepark in Amsterdam NL, a city that rains nearly 200 days a year, and helped build out its skateboard school to create more inclusive, diverse access to the sport. He's also volunteered as a swim instructor in Austin TX, teaching kids to swim in a region shaped by flash floods and big rivers, skills that matter as much for safety as for fun. Time and again, he's seen firsthand what real access and support can do for a community. That's why he joined SWMMBA to help energize, grow, and celebrate a community built around a sport he loves.

Email: ignasi@southwestmontanamba.org


Julie Hanen

Julie is a Bozeman native that learned to mountain bike on the trails of southwest Montana. She learned to ride bikes in the 90’s and has watched the trails and advocacy in our region evolve over the decades. Julie is the owner and founder of Ride the Earth mountain bike adventures. She is dedicated to creating experiences for mountain bikers to ride in unique destinations. She runs a series of mountain bike skills clinics and retreats, and hosts a variety of multi-day MTB adventures in Montana, Utah, Costa Rica, Peru and Japan. Julie specializes in creating unique and empowering events for all, including special experiences for women⁺ riders. She loves inspiring people to get out of their comfort zone and ride bikes in incredible destinations.  

Julie has come to the SWMMBA team to share her expertise and passion with our local community. She has 20 years experience taking people on adventures in the backcountry (both domestic and international) and has a background in events management, operational logistics, development strategy and marketing. She aims to help foster more events for our biking community, help raise funds for trails, and is driven to facilitate more opportunities for mountain bikers to come together in SW Montana. 

Email: julie.h@southwestmontanamba.org


Big Sky Chapter Representative


Kevin Daily

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Kevin saved up for his first mountain bike in 1988, purchasing a Schwinn Sierra with friction thumb shifters and a rigid fork. The neighbor kids made fun of this weird bike with fat tires and a flat handlebar but for Kevin, an obsession was born.

Along with his amazing wife Jodi, Kevin is the owner of Montana Backcountry Adventures, operating the Shedhorn Grill and Montana Dinner Yurt restaurants, and the original founder of the Bell Lake Yurt backcountry ski hut in the Tobacco Root Mountains.

As an active member of the Big Sky community since 2007, Kevin has served in many voluntary roles, including in the BSOA Board, the BSCO Trails Committee, Big Sky Search and Rescue, and the Big Sky Public Education Support Fund.

As a member of The Trail Dogs (Big Sky Chapter), Kevin is passionate about the creation and support of a world class trail network in Big Sky. And, he is absolutely aware that his days of keeping up with his young sons, Frank and Sam, on the ski slope or the bike trail are running out!

Email: kevin.daily@southwestmontanamba.org


Bozeman Chapter Representative


Drew Maier

Growing up, you're often told to follow your passions. Well, Drew has always had a thing for playing in the dirt, which seems to have led him here. He moved to Bozeman in the mid-2000s to attend MSU and has been biking, working, and volunteering in the community since. For three years, Drew and his wife Bree moved to Northern Idaho and became deeply involved in the local trail organization there. Hand-building miles of new trail, repairing and caring for even more, and seeing a community come together and show passion for an idea, it changed his perspective.

Now back in Bozeman, Drew is stoked for the chance to push trail advocacy further, expand the existing bike network, and organize our community of bikers! He'd love to bring everyone together, because when we ride and work with each other to pursue a shared passion, great things happen.


Email: drew.m@southwestmontanamba.org