Board

Gayle Hudgins has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with MAS over at least 30 years. As a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Montana, she has collaborated with MAS on many initiatives that benefitted both the organization and UM students, including working with staff to place students for internships in the agency and providing students to assist with Medicare Part D clients. Gayle is currently Director of the Montana Geriatric Education Center, and with other UM colleagues, helped establish a Minor in Gerontology at UM. She has specialized in geriatric pharmacy for over 35 years in teaching and research. Gayle holds degrees in Pharmacy from the University of Washington, Seattle, and Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. Previous board service includes the areas of pharmacy, gerontology and community organizations, and she looks forward to giving back to MAS as a board member.

Tom is a retired Financial Advisor for Pintler Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. He began his financial services career as a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch in 1995 after 10 years as the Director of Finance for a large regional health care organization and 5 years as a CPA in public accounting. He has served on the boards and volunteered for many community organizations such as American Red Cross, Watson Children’s Shelter, Providence Montana Health Foundation, Missoula United Way, and the Missoula Downtown Lions Club.

Tom and his wife Leslie have been married for 35 years and have 4 wonderful children, 4 grandchildren, and 2 lovable granddogs. Family is very important to Tom and Leslie, and they enjoy being actively involved in their family’s varied interests. Tom enjoys the Montana outdoors and is an active mountain biker, hiker, tennis player, skier, and fly-fisherman.

Kim serves as both the Director of Strategic Focus and Inclusiveness and Diversity for Kutak Rock LLP. Prior to that, Kim served as a Director of ALPS Foundation Services for seven years. In that role, she consulted with attorney groups nationwide on strategic and business planning, with a focus on designing individualized planning processes to match the needs of each client. 
 
For 10 years, Kim served as a trainer, Board member and Chairperson for the National Coalition Building Institute-Missoula, a statewide and regional nonprofit dedicated to reducing institutional prejudice and discrimination. She worked for four years with the Missoula City/County Office of Planning and Grants as a crime victim advocate, grant writer and court system advocate. In those roles, Kim provided diversity, anti-bullying, prejudice reduction training and conflict resolution facilitation for numerous institutions. 
 

James McKay, MD, is the Regional Chief Physician Executive for the Western Montana Region of Providence Health & Services, including St. Patrick Hospital. A radiologist by training and a smokejumper in Missoula in his pre-medical life, he appreciates the valued and important position that Missoula Aging Services holds in the community and the way it has benefited many families, including his own.

Kristin Page-Nei is the Associate State Director of Advocacy and Outreach for AARP Montana, where she leads efforts to advance policies that support older adults, caregivers, and access to care. She brings over 20 years of experience in public policy and advocacy, including her previous role with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Kristin is currently serving her third and final term on the MAS Board and is the board’s Past Chair. She has been a strong advocate for public funding and legislative support for aging services. “As someone with aging parents, I’ve seen firsthand how vital these services are,” she says. “I’m committed to ensuring older adults are respected, supported, and have a voice in policy decisions.”

She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Montana and enjoys Montana’s outdoors, cheering on the Griz, and spending time with her family.

Juanita Vero is a fourth-generation partner of the E Bar L Ranch in Greenough. In addition to running her family business, she has served on numerous community conservation-focused boards and committees, including chair of Montana Conservation Voters, Missoula County Open Lands Committee, Big Blackfoot Chapter Trout Unlimited, Swan Valley Connections and Sunset School Board.

Juanita has a bachelor’s degree in English from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She enjoys horses, snowboarding, and backcountry wandering after game with her husband and his llamas. She used to play lacrosse, rugby and ultimate frisbee but is now relegated to spending more time on her yoga mat.

In November 2020, Juanita won the election for a six-year term as Missoula County Commissioner. 

Kristen is pleased to serve as the Missoula City Council Liaison on the Missoula Aging Services Governing Board of Directors. 

She uses her wealth of experience as a data policy analyst to help guide her decisions. Kristen also played a key role in getting the mobile crisis teams operational in Missoula. This was the result of conversations with key stakeholders, strategic planning, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and the outcome is a mapping project that lives at the intersection of mental health and different points along the criminal justice spectrum.

Kristen is also concerned about affordable housing and is interested in working to find long-term solutions for low-income earners and the missing middle while working within the constraints placed upon local jurisdictions by the most recent legislative session. 

Dr. Melody Cunningham is trained in pediatrics, pediatric hematology/oncology and pediatric hospice and palliative care.  During her nearly 30 years of caring for pediatric patients with serious illness, she realized that family and patient decisions are intensely guided by personal and cultural values. She believes that listening and honoring those values and individual decisions regarding quality of life may facilitate healthy grieving and ultimately healing.

Her medical experiences prompted her to testify on bills related to healthcare and children.  In the 2024 election cycle, she ran for the House of Representatives in Montana.  While knocking on more than 4,000 doors, she learned of the economic and healthcare issues facing older adults.  She is grateful to be invited to bring these experiences to the Missoula Aging Services Board.

In her free time Melody refills her vessel with cooking, hiking, wildfire fuels mitigation and star-gazing.

Dori Gilels is a seasoned entrepreneur with professional experience in private and public sectors. She is the founder and CEO of Damn Good Consulting LLC. Her work includes assisting political candidates and nonprofits on campaign strategy, constituency building, event planning and major donor development. Throughout her 32 years in Missoula, Dori has led numerous statewide and national initiatives and has served on nonprofit and local government boards including the Missoula Consolidated Planning Board, University District Neighborhood Council, Montana Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs, UM School of Journalism, Montana Amateur Hockey Association, Planned Parenthood of Montana, Sussex School and Friends of Missoula Parks. She was also Publisher/Co-Owner of Mamalode, a candidate for Missoula City Council and graduate of Leadership Montana. Dori received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Massachusetts- Amherst and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education from University of Montana. 

Marian Lepore is a physical therapist who specialized in geriatrics during her 30 year career. She has worked as a Rehabilitation Director and established rehab department protocols in multiple medical settings before turning her efforts to EMS Safety Services. As CEO of EMS Safety, Marian focused on creating CPR/AED/First Aid training programs which were more engaging, innovative and effective.  

Marian is on the Strategic Advisory Board of Rithem Life Sciences, a developer of life-saving devices, including the Joltz AED. She is currently involved with the Falls Free Montana Coalition, which focuses on testing and education to prevent falls in seniors, the most at-risk population. Marian lives in Florence with her husband Paul and three energetic dogs and feels privileged for the opportunity to give back to her community.   

John O’Connor is the CEO/Practice Administrator at Five Valleys Urology, PLLC and President of Motion Medical Solutions, a healthcare consulting firm he founded in 1995. He manages operations, HR, finance, strategic planning, and marketing for a nine-provider independent practice.

John is a Trustee and board member of the Health Professions of Montana Plan and is a Core Group Advisor of the Monida Healthcare Network. John is a past president of the Montana Medical Group Management Association and held roles with national MGMA, the American Urological Association, and the large Urology Group Practice Administration, including advocacy work on Capitol Hill and CMS committees.

John holds a degree in Organizational Communications from Purdue University and pursued graduate studies at Michigan State University. John’s experience includes board roles in Missoula with the YMCA, International School, Ultimate Federation, Friends of Missoula Parks, and the Parks and Recreation Board. John co-chairs the Friends of Marshall Mountain Park, and he led a successful $40 million bond campaign as a founding member of Friends of Fort Missoula Regional Park.

Greg Oliver is a long time Missoula resident whose career has focused on public health and environmental concerns. In 2011, he retired as Health Promotion Director after working 30 years at the Missoula City-County Health Department. Over the years he has worked on many community concerns including wood burning and air pollution, infectious disease epidemiology, indicators, and healthy built environments. He has also worked on community health promotion efforts including reducing tobacco use and DUIs, as well as increasing physical activity and youth protective factors and resiliency. He has a BA in Biology and an MS in Environmental Studies. Greg has served on the Missoula City County Planning Board and the Downtown Master Plan Steering Group. He brings to the Board experience in management, strategic planning, program development, communications and developing community partnerships to tackle challenging concerns.

Greg is married to Neva Oliver, a retired family nurse practitioner. They have raised two daughters and have two granddaughters. They enjoy various interests, sports, and other outdoor activities in the northern Rockies.

Bio coming soon. 

Amber Rogers, RN BSN, MSN, has been employed at Mountain Pacific since 2015. Currently, she is building systems to support Infant and Early Child Mental Health Consultation across Montana in conjunction with MT DPHHS. Additional responsibilities include the development of community coalitions to decrease gaps in care transitions, navigating the healthcare transition from volume to value, and implementing strategies to improve the prevention of substance use disorder, readmissions, and chronic disease outcomes. 

Before Mountain-Pacific, Amber was a director at a physician hospital organization where she oversaw grant programs, physician peer review programs, and the development of a clinical quality program. The implemented grants focused on supporting critical access hospitals in improving clinical education, EHR implementation, and integrated behavioral health. Amber also has experience as the chief nursing officer at a critical access hospital and over ten years of management experience within a PPS hospital.