Big Sky Community Organization

Her Story: After graduating with a degree in Philosophy and subsequently interning at the Nature Conservancy in Island Park, ID Tallie was ready for some wide open spaces and hungry for new experiences. Big Sky was nearby and it was just “big” enough. After starting out as a concierge at Moonlight Basin and the Yellowstone Club, she soon realized how important tourism was to the area. Her move into sales at Big Sky Sotheby’s International Realty was a natural fit and she was able to learn the business during Big Sky’s recession. She is also the past chairwoman of the Arts Council of Big Sky.

Favorite Trail: Tallie’s favorite trail is Porcupine because it seems new every time she wanders into its vast network of trails. Her husband helped to create a lollipop trail called the Grizzly loop which gives her a sense of pride, too.

Interests: When not hiking Tallie enjoys downhill and cross-country skiing, bike riding and hosting dinner parties, along with pursuing creative endeavors like painting, singing, reading poetry and strangely, concocting ideas for community engagement.

Why BSCO is important to her: Her work with the BSCO is important because she is convinced that spaces where the public convenes are vital to our survival as a species.

His Story: I have been coming to Big Sky with my wife Vanessa and our children for over 15 years, primarily to ski in the winter.  Every time we left, we counted the days until we’d return to Big Sky.  Drawn by the growth of the high school and the strong sense of family and community, we committed to a home on the mountain in 2015.  We moved to Big Sky permanently with our three children in 2019.

Professional Experience: I am a lawyer and finance professional with over 25 years of experience in various legal, finance, investment and management roles, primarily in New York and London.  My main focus has been private equity investment in infrastructure projects and assets across the US.  I have served on the boards of several portfolio companies and public utilities.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: While I love to hike with my family and Labrador Winston across all of the excellent trails we are lucky enough to have access to, I’d have to say my favorite is Beehive Basin.  Winston agrees, four paws up!

Favorite Activity: I like to downhill and cross-country ski, hike in the summer/shoulder seasons, and coach basketball and baseball with the awesome student-athletes at Lone Peak High School.  Go Bighorns!  I also serve on the boards of several local community organizations and try to contribute my time as much as I can to community causes.

Why BSCO is important: I feel that BSCO is Big Sky’s most critical driver of community, places and programming that makes our town unique and an amazing place to live and visit.  Particularly in the absence of a town government body, BSCO provides essential leadership and coordination of local growth and recreational initiatives.  We need to ensure that BSCO continues to be the strong community leader in Big Sky.

His Story: Ryan accepted a job as an Assistant Superintendent at the Yellowstone Club in 2005 as way to further his career in the golf course industry. He met his wife shortly after starting and never left Big Sky.

Professional Experience: After graduating with a BS in Turfgrass Management from the University of Minnesota at Crookston, he accepted a position as Assistant Superintendent at two different high-end golf courses before becoming the Director of Mountain Operations/Golf Superintendent at Spanish Peaks Mountain Club.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Ryan’s favorite trail is Ousel Falls. He likes to his family and their dogs to cool off by the falls.

Why BSCO is important: BSCO’s work is important to Ryan because he wants his daughter and her friends to continue to have the best trails, ice rink, and community center in the region. He recognizes we live in great outdoor playground with lots of options to stay active and wants to contribute to the community to keep it thriving.

Her Story: After growing up in a small town in Wyoming, Erika knew she wanted to be close to the mountains with lots of recreation opportunities. She found her love for Montana when she moved to Bozeman to attend Montana State University. After student teaching at Ophir Middle School, she knew she wanted to stay in Big Sky.

Professional Experience: Over the last 12 years Erika has been working for Big Sky School District #72 as a Kindergarten teacher, volleyball coach, and most recently as the School Counselor and Health Enhancement teacher.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Erika’s favorite trails are Porcupine and Ralphs Pass, however you can find her trying to get out on every trails throughout the summer. She say’s Ralphs Pass provides different terrain and the feeling of being somewhere far away from town center.

Why BSCO is important: The Big Sky community is what it is today because of BSCO. Camp Big Sky, Softball league, parks, trails, and now BASE, are all pieces that bring us together. She is happy to be a part of an organization that cares about the people within the community.

Her Story:  Nancy’s father was a power telecommunications contractor and was hired by Chet Huntley to install all the power and phone lines to Big Sky.  She has been coming here since inception.  She purchased a condo in 1996, and her and her husband built their first home in 2004.  They moved to Big Sky full time in 2015.

Favorite Trail:  Her favorite trail is Uplands/Hummocks trail.   When she was still working, she could hike the trails at sunrise with her dog and still be in the office by 7:30 am. Now that she is retired, she has the opportunity to take advantage of all the trails within the community.

Interests: In the winter Nancy enjoys downhill skiing and cross country skiing on all the local trails.  In the summer you can find her hiking or playing golf.

Why BSCO is important to her:  She loves the outdoors and feels the parks and trails are such an important part of what makes Big Sky so special.   She recognizes how integral the community center is  to the continued growth of our community.

His Story: I first began spending time in Big Sky when I joined CrossHarbor Capital Partners in 2008. My family and I spent many years splitting our time between Big Sky and Boston, MA. In 2020, we made the decision to become full-time Big Sky residents.  I love this community and the people that make the place so special.

Professional Experience: I am a Managing Director at CrossHarbor Capital Partners. In my time at CrossHarbor, I have had primary responsibility for executing and managing the firm’s investments in Big Sky including the acquisition of the Yellowstone Club in 2009, the acquisition of Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin in 2013 along with the development of Montage Big Sky and One & Only Moonlight Basin, the purchase of the remaining development land of Big Sky Town Center in 2022 as well as the development of over 1,000 units of workforce and community-oriented housing.

Prior to joining CrossHarbor, I had several jobs in real estate finance and investments.  I received a B.S. in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Hummocks and Uplands are my favorite trails.  In the summer and fall, I enjoy running or biking right from my house to the trail.  In the winter, a quick early morning skin up uplands is a great way to start the day.

Favorite Activity: Any type of outdoor recreation with my wife and three kids.

Why is the work of BSCO important: BSCO provides amazing benefits to this community – from the trails and outdoor recreation to the facilities and programming of BASE.  I look forward to helping the organization expand these offerings for the benefit of the entire community.

His Story: Our family had often gone on Summer ranch vacations in Montana, and we also love to ski. We finally visited Big Sky for a ski trip almost 20 years ago, and we fell in love with both the ski mountain and the non-Aspen small town environment. We took the leap and bought a home in Big Sky, and we’ve never looked back. We now live about half time in Big Sky and half time in California.

Professional Experience: I am a Partner and General Counsel of March Capital, a venture capital firm based in Santa Monica, California. Prior to joining March Capital, I had a 35-year career at Gibson Dunn, where I was Co-Chairman of the firm’s Emerging Companies Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Corporations Department, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment transactions and public and private securities offerings.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Beehive Basin is my favorite hike in Big Sky because it’s so close by and easily accessible and yet you can get up into beautiful wilderness so quickly. Although I’m a novice cross country skier, I also really love the expanding cross country ski trails in and around Big Sky.

Favorite Activity: Despite my love for skiing, my favorite activity in Big Sky is fly fishing – most often on the Gallatin, but also on the Madison and the Yellowstone and on various rivers in the Park.

Why BSCO is important: Big Sky in many ways is hamstrung by the fact that we have no city government and no parks and recreation department. BSCO fills that void and, with the opening of BASE, Big Sky now has a much-needed, spectacular community gathering place in the heart of Big Sky. BSCO already provides such critical recreational facilities for our community, and yet there’s still so much more we can do in the years ahead to expand our facilities, parks and trails.

His Story: Debby and I had spent many years skiing at various mountains in the west; we were looking for a place to settle and Big Sky fit the bill. We love skiing and fly fishing and moved here almost 20 years ago.

Professional Experience: I am retired, having spent my career in the investment business. The major portion of my career was with Fidelity Investments in Boston. My last position was President of Fidelity Capital Markets.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Ousel Falls is my favorite. We are fortunate to have so many trails to explore. Kircher Park is a great spot for our grandchildren.
Skiing, hiking, and mostly fly fishing are what drew us out here years ago and continue to be my favorite activities. We appreciate the ability to take advantage of those in our backyard.

Why BSCO is important: The trails and BASE provide so much recreation and pleasure to the entire community meeting the needs of growing families and older ones such as ours. With all the activities that are free and at reasonable fees, BSCO provides access to all which will help keep the work force local.

Her Story: After returning from a trip around the world in 2002, we moved to Montana in pursuit of adventure, grad school and open, wild spaces. My now husband and I both started businesses, never made it to grad school and continue to pursue adventure with our family two decades into our move to Big Sky.

Professional Experience: My professional life has woven in and out of various interests of mine, like a game trail or braids in a river. I’ve started and sold a manufacturing business making outdoor hats for women, written essays, opened Grainhouse Art in Bozeman, been involved with handfuls of community projects and most recently, built a sunny studio where I work as an artist.

Favorite Place in Big Sky: Beehive Basin is my favorite hike in Big Sky because it’s so close by and easily accessible and yet you can get up into beautiful wilderness so quickly. Although I’m a novice cross country skier, I also really love the expanding cross country ski trails in and around Big Sky.

Favorite Activity: I love the Community Park, where I’ve had the opportunity to coach and watch our town’s children grow into strong, thoughtful, beautiful young athletes, teammates and humans before my very eyes. I love Ralph’s Pass because it connects to my literal backyard, is a great place to walk/run my dog and is a corridor for bears and elk and all those deer that eat my flowers. I love Mountain to Meadow because it changed the mountain biking game in Big Sky and is so flowy and fun.
I love to spend time with my family outside, paint, garden, ski, float, bike and meander in this gorgeous, harsh, wild place we all get to call home.

Why BSCO is important: As our town develops all around us, we must remember that what is equitable and open is important to protect and preserve. BSCO has created so many opportunities for our community to enjoy spaces that promote good health, joy and connection with both other humans and the natural world. BSCO’s mission is extremely important as we move to a future Big Sky, that is hopefully thoughtful, forward thinking and balanced.