ABOUT homeWORD

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homeWORD STAFF

Executive Director, Betsy Hands, M.S.
The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing all facets of the organization including development (organizational and project-based), fundraising, marketing, policy and collaboration, and personnel issues. The ED reports directly to the Board of Directors and works closely with the Board to strategize for the organization.

Betsy received her B.A. at the University of Michigan in Social Science with a focus on sustainable development and a M.S. from the University of Montana’s Environmental Studies Program. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa from 1996-98 as a community development agent. Over the last 15 years, she has worked in education, community development, and affordable housing with a focus on youth and underserved populations. Betsy was selected as a Doris Duke Environmental Fellow and focused her research the “Opportunities and Barriers to Developing Affordable, Green Housing”. Betsy has lectured in numerous classes about sustainable development and in 2005 served as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana. Betsy currently serves as a Montana Representative in the Montana State Legislature.

Finance Director, Erik West
This position oversees all agency financial resources and budgets, regularly reports on current operations of both non-profit and limited–partnership activities of the organization, and oversees the Finance and Human Resource Coordinator. The Finance Director reports to the Executive Director.

Erik is a certified public accountant in Montana. He received his B.S. at the University of WI-La Crosse with a major in Accounting and a minor in German. After graduating in December 1999, Erik studied abroad in Oldenburg, Germany for 1 year. While in Germany, he was able to take many German classes, travel Europe extensively, and teach English to German Nationals. Erik graduated with his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in December 2007, again from the University of WI-La Crosse. After graduation, Erik moved from La Crosse, WI to Missoula with the rest of his family.

Housing Development Director, Heather McMilin
This position is responsible for carrying out tasks associated with homeWORD developments; seeing a project from start to finish, working with the public, the planning office, contractors, consultants and architects. This position is in charge of preparing due diligence documents and ensuring homeWORD is on track with the project timeline and budget. The Housing Development Director reports and plays a support role to the Executive Director on all key development issues and oversees the Housing Project Manager.

After graduating with a Master of Architecture degree and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Montana State University, Heather moved to Missoula in 1998 where she worked with several different architectural firms and deepened her understanding of the need for more sustainable building practices in construction and development. Since joining the homeWORD team early 2003, Heather has received extensive training and experience in affordable housing and gained additional expertise in sustainable design. She started with the close out of the Gold Dust and has since headed the development team for the historic Acme renovation project in Billings and the two latest new construction projects for homeWORD, Orchard Gardens in Missoula, and Southern Lights in Billings,. With a strong personal commitment to sustainable practices, Heather sits on the Board of Directors for two different non profit organizations, Home Resource, a local building re-use center, as well as a northwest regional housing network, the Rural Collaborative.

Operations Manager, Melissa Dadmun
The Operations Manager works closely with and provides support to the Executive Director, Staff, and Board of Directors, continuing to help homeWORD become more efficient and organized both in its internal and external communications. The Operations Manager sits on the Fundraising Team and Administration Team, oversees outreach materials, manages homeWORD’s technology plan, and helps coordinate special projects including annual Sustainability Tours, green project evaluations, and annual fundraising efforts. This position reports to the Executive Director.

Melissa received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in printmaking from Southwest Missouri State University in 2003. She has been working with various non profits for over 10 years. Melissa has completed a year of service with the National Civilian Community Corps working in the areas of education, public safety, housing, and other unmet human service needs. She has prior experience as a Women’s Advocate while working in a domestic violence shelter. Melissa has spent two years with the Western Montana Literacy Support Corps as a Family Resource Center Coordinator and Americorps Team Leader. Since joining homeWORD in June 2006, she has received training in Affordable Housing, Greening Affordable Housing, Project Management, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Asset Manager, Jennifer Betz
The Asset Manager manages homeWORD assets, which include low-income rental properties, single-family home sales, and land trust properties. The Asset Manager oversees property management, develops strategic plans and goals for each homeWORD development, manages cash flow of each development, ensures compliance and works with tenants. The Asset Manager provides a direct link to homeWORD tenants for community building activities that help develop support systems within each development to help conquer risk factors and foster positive outcomes in the lives of homeWORD families. The Asset Manager reports to the Executive Director.

Jennifer holds Bachelor Degrees in Communication Studies, Psychology, and Elementary Education from The University of Montana. In addition to teaching, she has worked in social services advocating for youth in foster care and adults with disabilities. Jennifer serves as homeWORD’s representative as an affiliate member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers, is a member of homeWORD’s Property Management Committee, and represents homeWORD as an employer partner with Missoula in Motion who work to address transportation issues in Missoula. Since joining homeWORD in 2006, Jennifer has completed compliance training for Low Income Housing Tax Credits through both the Montana Board of Housing and is a Certified Credit Compliance Professional with a C4P designation. In addition, Jennifer has received training from NeighborWorks in the area nonprofit housing management.

Housing Project Manager, Julie Stiteler
This position is responsible for carrying out all tasks associated with managing homeWORD‘s housing projects; administering contracts, procurement and proposal processes; coordinating and working with the public, the planning office, finance institutions, contractors, consultants and architects. This position assists the Housing Development Director in preparing due diligence documents and ensuring homeWORD is on track with housing project timelines and budgets.

Julie graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1984, and headed to Seattle, where she joined a large architectural firm, eventually becoming an Associate at the firm, managing the design and construction phase services for several large multi-family projects, among other types of work. She then headed to the other “side of the counter”, joining the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development where she eventually became a Construction Plan Review Manager, assisting the City’s wide variety of applicants in navigating the building permit application process and getting their construction permits. She returned to Montana (so much more like her native Wyoming than the damp Seattle area) and joined homeWORD as a Housing Project Manager in 2008, where her initial focus is homeWORD’s exciting new venture – Equinox, an impressive model for affordable housing and smart growth development at Broadway and Russell in Missoula, which started construction in June 2008.

Finance & Human Resource Coordinator, Judy McKinney
This position oversees and records the organization’s financial business transactions, assists cash flow planning, retains all accounting records and coordinates human resource administration and related recordkeeping. The Finance & Human Resource Coordinator reports to the Finance Director and is a member of the Administrative Team.

Judy comes to homeWORD with over 25 years accounting and management experience, working in public, private and non-profit sectors in the Missoula area.

Housing Services Specialist, Katherine Sherba
The Housing Services Specialist manages homeWORD's Missoula housing financing programs, homebuyer education programs, and provides housing and foreclosure prevention counseling. This position reports to the Executive Director.

Katherine has lived in Missoula since 1999 and received an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. She has a strong interest in sustainability, green building, and food security issues affecting the Missoula Community. Katherine is excited to work for homeWORD as it allows her to work with people and for an organization that she truly believes in. When not working, she enjoys gardening, hiking with her dogs, or doing anything outdoors.

Billings Housing Services Specialist, Darrell LaMere
The Housing Services Specialist organizes, facilitates, and evaluates the homebuyer education program in homeWORD’s Billings office. This position reports to the Executive Director.

Financial Fitness Practicum Student
This position organizes, facilitates and evaluates the Financial Fitness program.

Sustainability Tours Planner
This position coordinates homeWORD’s annual Sustainability Tours event.