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.

Gordon has spent his career working in schools with young adolescents and the adults who serve them. After teaching in Washington state and overseas for 19 years, he has been a middle school administrator since 2002. Returning to Montana where he was born and raised, Gordon has had the privilege to serve as principal at Sacajawea Middle School since 2008. He welcomed the opportunity to return home, raise his two sons, and enjoy life in Montana with his wife who is also an educator in the Bozeman schools. When possible, he takes advantage of the opportunity to bike, hike, ski, and fish in the Gallatin Valley.

I am a Civil Engineer by education and profession. I spent the majority of my career with a large, international consulting engineering, construction and operations/management company. I migrated from early technical and project management roles, to the overall leadership and management of $500+million annual revenue major business segments within this company. My career was unique, compared to many engineers, because I focused a lot of my attention on strategic planning for my business and the entire company, was active in marketing and sales, and company wide leadership development. I served on the company’s Board and was part of the executive leadership team. My last assignment was the CEO of a family owned business in the rental, construction and transportation business.

As I reflect on my career my fondest memories are associated with the many people I had the opportunity to mentor and coach to help them maximize their personal and professional satisfaction and success. I continue coaching many of these people into my retirement.

Peg Rifleman moved to Bozeman from Minneapolis in 2017 with her husband, Jake, when she and a friend started a Salesforce consulting firm located downtown Bozeman. They chose Bozeman because of the beauty, the healthy lifestyle, and the strong community. Having raised two independent and successful children, Peg is now turning her energy to giving back to the children and families of the community they now call home.

Bailey’s life and livelihood are built on a foundation of family, education, and athletics. While at the University of Montana, Bailey sought out as many different courses as she could to get a taste of everything—she was insatiable. When Bailey landed on Neuropsychological research as well as Anatomy & Physiology,  she was hooked. She zeroed in on her passion: how the body and the brain function and how we can take that knowledge to improve our lives. From that, Bailey found a renewed sense of purpose within athletics and yoga. Slowly, all of those passions created the amalgamation that became her clear direction in life. At the base of all of that is a continued desire to learn, to help share her knowledge, and to encourage others to stay curious.

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.

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.

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.

Scott graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, emphasizing Management Information Systems. He also earned a minor in Philosophy. Scott has spent the last 20 years fulfilling a wide range of technology positions across the western United States. He is currently employed at Zoot Enterprises, Inc. in Bozeman, as an Information Technology Manager.

While his roots are from Southern California, his heart lies in a stream with a fly rod in his hand. Scott moved with his wife to Montana in 2004, and has never looked back. He now has the opportunity to share his love of the outdoors with his two school-age children. When he isn’t working or fishing, you can often find him in his home shop building furniture.