Meet the Staff
Meet the Staff
Our small but mighty NMCDC staff is committed to fulfilling our mission of building community strength through partnerships devoted to neighborhood revitalization. Our staff contributes to the creation and maintenance of our programs and events, actively fundraises for our causes, and manages the daily needs of the NMCDC. We are grateful for their dedication to the community members they serve.
Brittany Palmer
Executive Director
she/her
Brittany joined the NMCDC in 2020 as the Land Stewardship Program Manager during which she stewarded CLT homes, built relationships and community among homeowners, facilitated buy-sells, and collaborated with community partners to grow the NMCDC’s portfolio of permanently affordable homes across Missoula. As a renter in the Heart of Missoula neighborhood who has personally experienced housing precarity, Brittany believes that housing is a human right and uses this passion to guide the NMCDC and advocate for an equitable and just community.
Brittany has a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati and an MS in Environmental Studies with a focus in Environmental Justice from the University of Montana. Brittany is dedicated to listening to and learning from neighbors to help work towards a shared vision of Missoula.
Hannah Kosel
Stewardship Coordinator they/she
Hannah is the Stewardship and Communications Coordinator for NMCDC. They are motivated by Missoula’s history of neighbors advocating for housing justice, and enjoys building relationships with homeowners in the Community Land Trust program who continue this vision. An organizer with the Missoula Tenants Union, Hannah is grateful for community support for equitable and affordable housing for all Missoulians.
Hannah also enjoys sparkling snowy ski trips and warms cups of tea over games of cribbage. In warmer seasons, they enjoy late evening bike rides and snacking on kayaks. Hannah is a self-acclaimed fanboy for the Western Montana Fair and dreams of a retirement filled with season tickets to Lady Griz games.
Jana Richter
Community Engagement Specialist they/them
Jana is the Community Engagement specialist for the NMCDC. They moved to Montana in 2019 to get a permanent taste of the Big Sky and have been slow gulping it ever since.
As a community organizer, Jana is passionate about building community around shared values of reciprocity and interconnectedness, working to make housing and land use knowledge more accessible and fun (zoning is sexy!!), and nourishing a deep sense of belonging throughout our beloved built environments.
They can’t wait to learn more about what fuels neighbors to show up for our community and build power around addressing Missoula’s housing crisis in the months to come.
Barron Whitney Peper
ProHousing Missoula Coordinator he/him
Barron is the Pro-Housing Missoula Coordinator for NMCDC. He is an award-winning architect and facilitator who creates spaces that foster belonging and help us to remember our interdependence. He is a student of Holistic Resistance, and has a facilitation style rooted in relationships, storytelling and asking questions. Barron leads community song-circles locally and enjoys a music-less movement form called Contact Improv.
Julian Costantini
Missoula Outdoor Cinema Event and Volunteer Coordinator they/he/she
Summer, 2023
Julian came to Montana in 2020 to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA on the Flathead Reservation with the Arlee Rehabilitation Center (ARC). During this time, they gained invaluable experience with fundraising, community engagement, & program development. They coordinated a pilot project for the Pawsitively Healing Camp – a summer camp for Native youth that teaches social & emotional learning through engagement with animals.
Julian moved to Missoula in 2021 and became involved with direct care & food programs at The Poverello Center. Now that they’re settling into their community, they aspire to play an active role in organizing around housing instability, food sovereignty, & artistic expression. They are an active member of the Missoula Tenants Union and host a poetry collective, The Honeybee Poets Society, that fosters creative collaboration and queer identity.
When they’re able to catch a breath, Julian enjoys writing, live music, cooking, meditation, foraging, & board games.
Jesse Baughman
Missoula Outdoor Cinema Event and Volunteer Coordinator he/him
Summer, 2023
Jesse Baughman was born in Alberton, MT in 1989 and has lived in Missoula since 1996. He’s passionate about disability rights, bicycles and sustainable transportation. He is a bicycle mechanic, artist, educator and outdoor guide, taking folks with disabilities on bike rides and cycle tours through the Northern Rockies. He has eight years of caregiving experience, working primarily working with adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and is a student of philosophy and nonprofit administration at the University of Montana. Jesse Baughman currently lives in the rural outskirts of the beautiful Missoula valley.
Ken Grinde
Missoula Outdoor Cinema Projectionist he/him
Summer, 2023
Ken Grinde is a video editor and animator from the Flathead Valley. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2011 with a BA in Film, he spent five years in Los Angeles working as a director, cameraman, editor, educator, and drummer. He has taught video production, writing, and performance to students of all ages. Now based in Missoula, he runs Missoula Backyard Theater and freelances as a videomaker.
Bob Oaks
NMCDC Founder
he/him
Bob was the founding president of the Northside Neighborhood Association in 1992, a founder of the North Missoula Housing Partnership in 1996, and the designer and coordinator of St. Patrick Hospital’s Healthy Neighborhood Project from 1996 to 1999. He was the founding president of the NMCDC in 1996 and its E.D. since 1999. He has been involved in all the organization’s projects and programs since it began.
Bob is dedicated to bringing resources to the NMCDC’s service area in order to help improve the quality of life of its residents. For this work, the NMCDC was awarded an inaugural “Great Strides Award” from the Northwest Area Foundation in 2005. The organization also currently works with NeighborWorks Montana to establish “Trust Montana,” a statewide Community Land Trust for responsible land stewardship. Bob authored the feasibility study for Trust Montana in 2010 and serves on its board of directors.
Are you interested in joining our staff?
