Foundation Board of Directors
Livingston HealthCare Foundation’s Board of Directors represent leaders and long-time residents from all corners of Park County. Their efforts and commitment to raise philanthropic gifts to provide quality medical service are why our facility continues to attract skilled medical professionals and add and maintain state-of-the-art technology and health programming. With a vested interest in the health and wellness of our community, all of the people listed below do their part to contribute to the growth of Livingston HealthCare.
Livingston HealthCare Foundation Officers
Joey Lane, Chair
Joey Lane teaches history and economics at Park High School in Livingston
with a BA from Colorado State University. She is a member of the National
Council of Social Studies and the Montana Council for Economic Education.
As a longtime community member, Mrs. Lane has been involved with many
local charities and fundraising groups. Joey and her husband Tom own and
manage the Lane Ranch and Legacy Land & Cattle, cattle ranching operations
located in Park, Meagher and Gallatin counties.
Beth Ridgeway, Vice Chair
The mountains of Montana called Beth Ridgeway from the plains of North
Dakota when she was 19 years old. Beth has made Livingston her home for
the last 22 years and has grown deep roots in the community she is proud
to call home.
After obtaining her BS in Microbiology and Medical Technology from the University of Montana, Beth has worn many hats over the years: from working for many years in the science industry—including for 15 years as a senior leader at Mesa Labs, a world-class global medical device manufacturing facility—to being a full-time mom to her son Lukas, and designing and operating a commercial, passive solar greenhouse. As a real estate agent, Beth enjoys navigating the ever-changing real estate market with her clients to help them achieve their real estate goals.
Beth has volunteered her time for a variety of local nonprofits, including the Stafford Animal Shelter. She also served on the Manaia board in Livingston, formerly known as Shift Empowerment.
Mark Pesa, Treasurer
Mark Pesa has been owner/operator of Guardian Title for the past 8 years.
Prior to that Mark was a Realtor, Property Manager and owner of The UPS
Store for 14 years. He attended Ball State University and received a degree
in Sales and Marketing which he used in his corporate career in the beverage
industry prior to moving to Livingston 23 years ago. During his years
in Livingston, Mr. Pesa has been active with other non-profit groups including
the Livingston Education Foundation, Livingston Community Trust, Livingston
Rotary, Livingston Area Chamber of Commerce, Travel Montana and the Little
Guys Football program, to name a few. Mark looks forward to working with
Livingston HealthCare on maintaining and enhancing its new medical center
by his involvement with the Livingston HealthCare Foundation.
Jim Lincoln, Secretary
Jim and his wife, Joyce, have been Park County residents since 2005. Jim
holds an undergraduate degree in geology and chemistry from Eastern Michigan
University and a graduate degree from The Ohio State University, College
of Materials Engineering.
Jim recently retired from a career in mining that included exploration programs, mine permitting and development projects and mining operations in 37 countries covering a broad range of metallic and non-metallic materials. He has served on boards of directors for several junior mining companies in Canada and the U.S.A.
His career has emphasized corporate social responsibility practices and active involvement with indigenous peoples including native corporations and governments in Alaska, Labrador, Greenland, Saskatchewan, and the western U.S.A. He was based in Canada for 10 years and spent extended time periods working in Chile, China, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Foundation Board Members
Stephanie Cunningham
Stephanie has been a resident of Livingston since 2000 and a patient of
Livingston Healthcare for over 20 years. She worked in higher education
working for universities for over 18 years during which time she work
on program administration for many academic programs, a National Science
Foundation (NSF) multi-institution program, National Institutes of Health
(NIH) multi-institution program and finally for the last eight years directing
the Molecular Biosciences Ph.D. Program (a multidisciplinary program with
three research centers and seven STEM academic departments). In 2014,
Stephanie made a career change to be able to work and build a business
in her chosen hometown of Livingston. She is a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones.
Stephanie is very active in the Livingston community volunteering her time with many of the organizations that are important to this community. Her more formal roles have been: Livingston Rotary (Past President 2018-2019, RYLA Chair, active Rotary Youth Exchange Family); Stafford Animal Shelter (volunteer and current board member) and Spay Neuter Program of Livingston (Volunteer and past president).
Stephanie's decision to serve on the Livingston Healthcare Foundation Board is a personal one. Both of her daughters were born at LHC and her whole family has benefited from the exceptional care over the years.
Stephanie lives in Livingston with her husband Darren and their daughters Molly and Ripley with an occasional Rotary Youth Exchange international student joining the household. She comes from a farming family in Idaho and in her spare time enjoys traveling and outdoor activities in the beautiful Montana mountains and rivers.
Cliff David
Cliff David is the newest addition of the Board of Directors at Livingston
HealthCare Foundation.
Cliff brings a wealth of experience to the table as the President and CEO of Conservation Economics, a consulting firm specializing in assisting individual, corporate and government landowners in maximizing the long-term value of their properties by implementing environmentally and socially responsible investment solutions. With a proven track record of serving on nonprofit boards and actively participating in professional and civic organizations, Cliff's board governance and strategic planning expertise will be a valuable asset to the Livingston HealthCare Foundation.
Ellie Summers
Ellie was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA, living there most of
her life. Ellie and her husband owned the first Brew Pub in Virginia from
1987 until 1999 while also working on the family thoroughbred horse breeding
and sales farm. She and her husband then worked for a music merchandise
and ticket sales management company until 2015 when they retired and moved
to Livingston, where they now get to enjoy their hobbies of hiking, fishing,
floating, riding horses and skiing.
Ellie has volunteered for several nonprofits and served on the Pine Creek School board from 2017 to 2020. Ellie currently teaches Yoga at LIV Yoga and Wellness. She looks forward to serving on LHCF and raising money for the hospital.
Joyce Gates
Joyce Gates, with a 30-year career in Washington, DC, Joyce has amassed
extensive experience in event management, fundraising, government relations,
and on Capitol Hill, having worked for many years as a lobbyist for the
food industry, and as Chief of Staff for then-House Education Committee
Chairman John Boehner (R-OH). Joyce also heads up Warehouse Productions,
an event production business known for producing unique large-scale corporate-sponsored
events across the country. She is active in the non-profit sector, having
served on the board of organizations focusing on cancer prevention, employment
assistance for low-income women, and funding for DC Catholic schools.
She also serves as the Board President of The Georgetown School of Arts
& Sciences, a small private college-preparatory school in South Carolina.
She has been active in Congressional, Gubernatorial, and Presidential
campaigns and managed a national PAC to raise money to elect women to
the U.S. House of Representatives. Joyce hails from the Midwest and graduated
from the University of Illinois. She and her husband Bruce have been active
residents of Park County since 2016, and she is eager to contribute her
extensive experience to the Livingston Healthcare Foundation.
Jennifer Stevane, MD
Jennifer Stevane, MD, is a board-certified surgeon who joined the Livingston
HealthCare team last year. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Stevane
practices a holistic approach to patient care by addressing the ways disease,
injury and surgery can affect one’s sleep, nutrition, diet, stress,
relationships, and microbiome. Dr. Stevane earned her bachelor’s
degree in history before completing her post-baccalaureate premedical
program at Columbia University in New York. She graduated from Penn State
College of Medicine with her medical degree and finished her residency
in Seattle at Virginia Mason Medical Center.
Bruce Whitfield, Livingston HealthCare Chief Executive Officer
Bruce Whitfield joined Livingston HealthCare as Chief Executive Officer
in February 2023. Bruce has over 30 years of healthcare experience and
has worked for several health systems within Montana.
For the past 10 years, Bruce worked for Logan Health as Chief Executive Officer at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby, MT and also as President of the Outreach Network based out of Kalispell, MT. His other experience includes positions at Providence Health and Services and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System. Bruce has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Montana, is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a Certified Public Accountant.
In his spare time, Bruce enjoys all of the many outdoor activities that Montana offers, especially hunting, fishing and boating.
Livingston HealthCare Foundation Staff
Jessie Wilcox is a longtime Livingston HealthCare employee who has served in a variety of roles over the years—from dietitian and Café Fresh manager to community health coordinator. She is actively engaged in local civics, land use and development and has served on a multitude of local planning and nonprofit boards. Her interest in community engagement led her to become facilitator for the LiveWell49 Coalition. For the past six years as community health coordinator, she has worked with community partners developing great relationships, which have strengthened her interest in stewarding community engagement for LHC.
Jessie views supporting the health and wellbeing of area residents as one of the most meaningful ways that she can give back to her community. She finds great reward in guiding the Foundation as it supports LHC's continued focus on excellence in patient-centered care.
Jessie can be reached at Jessica.Wilcox@LivingstonHealthCare.org.
Anita Maxwell, Development Coordinator
Anita Maxwell brings over 25 years of experience in non-profit and program
management to the Foundation. Most recently, she was the Ketchikan Museums
Director, overseeing the Tongass Historical Museum and Totem Heritage
Center in Ketchikan, Alaska.
This is Anita’s third move to Montana, the first being in 1995 to finish her Bachelor’s in Anthropology at the University of Montana. The second move was to Arlee in 2002, culminating in a long tenure at the Montana Natural History Center in Missoula. She’s confident that the “third time is a charm” and looks forward to becoming part of the Livingston community and supporting the great work of the Foundation.
If you are interested in volunteering at Livingston HealthCare, please reach out to Anita. She can be reached at Anita.Maxwell@LivingstonHealthCare.org.