Janet White grew up on a cattle ranch in Hot Springs, MT and earned a degree in business management from the University of Montana in 1988. She moved to Bozeman in 1989 and began working at J&H Inc. in 1990. She is the President and CEO at J&H Inc., a business technology company with four locations in Montana. In her nearly 30-year career at J&H, Janet has moved from sales to management and is now focused on strategic planning and growth for the company.

In addition to her work, Janet is a mother of three children, two stepchildren and the proud grandmother of one. She and her husband Brent live in Bozeman. They enjoy camping and hiking in their spare time. She is also an enthusiastic Bobcat fan. Go Cats!

Katy was born and raised in Minnesota. She graduated from Wheaton College with a business economics degree. In 2000 she moved to Montana to be in the mountains and luckily her future husband followed her. Katy obtained a master’s degree in accounting from MSU. She is a wife of one, mom of two, and a CPA at Neil and Company.

Chris Gillette graduated from the University of Virginia in 1988 after which he lived in NYC for several years working in the music industry. He relocated to Seattle to attend law school in 1988. After graduation, he started his own family law practice in Seattle. Chris moved to Montana in 2002 when his spouse was stationed at Malmstrom AFB. They moved to Bozeman in 2005.

Bruce Jacobs moved to Bozeman in 2010 with his wife Kristi and their daughter and son, Taylor and Ryan. They moved to Bozeman to focus on their family after Bruce had spent over a decade practicing at large law firms in Los Angeles. They thoroughly enjoy the more grounded lifestyle of Bozeman, with Kristi teaching at Hawthorne Elementary. He is interested in Thrive because of its focus on the two most important things in his life – children and parenting.

Jeff Lusin, AIA, LEED AP BD+C is a Principal with NE45 Architecture. He received his Masters of Architecture from Montana State University and Bachelors of Science from Washington State University. Lusin moved back to his hometown of Bozeman after working as an architect in Portland (Oregon) and San Francisco. During his tenure on the west coast, Jeff was a part of many nonprofits, volunteering as a CAP mentor and being involved with the City Club Portland Chapter, MSU Alumni Association, WSU Alumni Association, University of Oregon, Public Architecture and ACE Mentor program. Jeff also founded a tech start-up, Urban Health Machine Inc., in 2011 that creates physical therapy documentation software.

Jeff joins Thrive in hopes of becoming a catalyst that lets Thrive grow to its full potential. He fully believes that preventative education/training is imperative for results in any organization, public or private. When Jeff has free time, he enjoys hiking and running, completing his first marathon in October of 2014 in Portland. He currently resides in Bozeman with his wife and daughter.

Kali Vergeront is a graduate of Montana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master’s of Professional Accountancy (MPAc). She is licensed as a CPA in the state of Montana and has been practicing as a public accountant for 2 ½ years. Kali is experienced with payroll, income taxation preparation including non-profits, financial statement preparation, and accounting practices and procedures including GAAP.

Lauren Brendel, M.S., is committed to the health and well-being of the community in which she serves and lives. Lauren currently has the honor of being the system director of marketing and communications for Bozeman Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system that is proud to be Southwest Montana’s healthcare provider of choice. Prior to her move to Montana, Lauren held marketing and communication roles in large healthcare systems in Colorado, California, and Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication, emphasis in marketing, from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and a master’s of science degree in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University.

Lauren is an avid reader, hiker, and traveler, and lives with two rescue dogs: Chloe, a nine-year-old Chihuahua mix, and Griswold, a 12-year-old Husky Collie mix.

Carl was born and raised in the Midwest in New Albany, Indiana, in the Louisville Metro area. He graduated from Hanover College after receiving a degree in history and teacher certification. The next seven years were spent teaching in a small, rural Indiana school, where he was awarded several times for his teaching. Moving west after earning his master’s in education from Indiana University, Carl worked for two years as the disciplinarian for an at-risk school for displaced youth.

There he learned a great deal about different learning styles. Recently, Carl obtained his administrative license from the University of Montana. Carl has spent the last 15 years at Bozeman High School where he has both taught and served as Dean of Students.

Carl’s wife, Carla, and he have been married for 21 years. They have one daughter,  Samantha, and a dog that answers to ‘Austin.’ Carl enjoys traveling, and loves pretty much all sports—even as a long-suffering Cincinnati Bengals fan.   Carl joined Thrive’s board because he has long-appreciated the good work Thrive does in the public schools. As Dean of Students at Bozeman High School, he has observed how Thrive employees and volunteers, time and again, make a difference in a child’s life.

Shann Scott was born and raised in Billings, MT. He moved to Bozeman in 2006 and earned his Finance and Economics degrees from Montana State University in 2009. Shann has been working at First Interstate Bank since 2007 in various capacities. He recently moved back from a 3 year stint in Red Lodge, MT and is currently serving as a commercial lender in the Bozeman market.  Shann and his wife, Jessica, have two children, Charlotte and Camden.

Robin grew up in Grand Junction, CO and attended Stanford University, where she gained a BA in Human Biology and an MA in Education before going on to become a classroom teacher for seven years. She is a full-time mother of two who also dedicates some time towards being a classroom volunteer. In the current chapter of her life, she is dialing up her involvement with organizations like Thrive that align with her background and education; she is passionate about enabling kids and helping them to construct a solid platform from which they can launch a meaningful, purposeful, happy life.

Outside of work, Robin loves the outdoors, yoga, reading, adventurous travel and spending time with her family and friends. She is the Founder of LRN Happiness and the creator of the Pursuit of Happiness curriculum.