Board of Directors
Fritz Aspey
Flagstaff, Arizona
Mr. Aspey is a native Arizonan admitted to all state and federal courts in the State of Arizona, the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals to the Ninth Circuit, Navajo Tribal Court and the Hopi Tribal Court. Mr. Aspey is a former president of the Arizona State Bar and is a former judge promtempore for the Arizona Court of Appeals. Mr. Aspey is in general practice and has an emphasis in Commercial Litigation.
Reid Carolin
Los Angeles, California
Mr. Carolin is a screenwriter, producer, and director. He produced and wrote on the 2008 Paramount Pictures film, STOP-LOSS, which dealt with US soldiers returning from Iraq, and is currently in post-production on a documentary about genocide Rwanda and the world war in Eastern Congo, which he made with Academy Award shortlisted director Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes). Mr. Carolin also runs a small production company with actor Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe), and holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude with the “David McCord Prize for Writing and the Arts.” Mr. Carolin was a director of Red Feather’s “Building One House” video and has worked with Red Feather for seven years.
Bruce Combs
Bozeman, Montana
Mr. Combs is a principal with the law firm of Combs Law Firm, PC. His law practice emphasizes wealth transfer planning; estates and trusts; post death administration and probate; real estate; and business law. In addition to holding a law degree from Georgetown University, Mr. Combs is also a CPA, a Masters of Taxation degree from George Washington University, and a B.A. of Finance from Montana State University.
Kyle C. Gaffney
Seattle, Washington
Mr. Gaffney is principal and founder of SkB Architects, and has more than 20 years of experience in the architectural and construction industry. In addition to his architectural training, he has 10 years experience as a residential carpenter. His diverse career and project experience has enabled him to create intimate residential projects, engaging retail spaces and innovative workplace concepts. Mr. Gaffney is a graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design in 1991. He has remained involved with academia as is the President of the Professional Advisory Board for Bellevue College’s Interior Design Department. He is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for Seattle Pacific University’s Design Department. He has been a guest critic for architectural reviews at the Rhode Island School of Design, University of Washington, Cornish School of the Arts, Bellevue College and Texas A&M University.
Robert Gregg
Board Vice-President
Grand Junction, Colorado
Mr. Gregg is principal and founder of Gregg Associates Architecture and Planning, a private design firm. His office designs projects of all sizes including schools, commercial buildings, retail centers and residences throughout Western Colorado and Utah. Mr. Gregg is a member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), has a degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University (1973) and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Idaho (1981). He completed his thesis project on Urban Renewal in Seattle, Washington with the help of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a licensed Architect in the States of Colorado and Utah, joined Red Feather’s Board of Advisors in 2000, and regularly participates on Red Feather projects.
Carl Hedlund
Perrysburg, OH
Mr. Hedlund was President and CEO of ThermaTru Doors from 2000 to 2007. ThermaTru is the leading manufacturer of residential entry doors in the U.S. with $500 million of annual revenue. Under Mr. Hedlund’s leadership, ThermaTru grew significantly and was sold to Fortune Brands in November 2003. Mr. Hedlund remained as CEO through 2007, leading the company into new segments and channels such as home centers (becoming Lowes’ Vendor of the Year in 2005 and 2006). From 1998 to 2000, he was President of the International Building Materials Division of Owens Corning Fiberglass, based in Brussels, Belgium, a $400 million business unit. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Hedlund was President, Asia Pacific Owens Corning Fiberglass, based in Hong Kong. From 1990 to 1996, he was President of the Roofing and Asphalt and Retail Distribution Divisions of Owens Corning based in Toledo, Ohio. From 1985 to 1990, he led Owens Corning Latin America Division from Sao Paulo, Brazil as VP and General Manager.
Janie Kasarjian
Camarillo, California
A noted interior designer, Ms. Kasarjian, joined the Board of Red Feather Development Group with nearly 25 years experience in the design field. A Boston native, Ms. Kasarjian was an award winning clothing designer, manufacturing her own line of clothing for almost 10 years. In 1989 she moved to Southern California to pursue an offer to design luxury homes. Utilizing her experience in design and construction, Ms. Kasarjian easily transitioned into the interior design field focusing her talents on interior specifications for new construction. Over the past 15 years, Ms. Kasarjian has designed over 1500 commercial and residential projects. For the past 8 years she has been the head designer for one of Southern California’s leading builders and designs nearly 200 homes annually.
Cindy Owings
Board President
McAllister, Montana
Mrs. Owings graduated from Colorado State University in 1968 with a BS in Speech Pathology. Upon graduation, Mrs. Owings accepted a position with the Madison, Wisconsin School District where she taught in the Title 1 early language program for eight years. Mrs. Owings returned to Bozeman, Montana in 1976 and founded Cindy Owings Design, a national design and manufacturing business that specialized in women’s outerwear and home accessories. During her many years in business, as well as in retirement, Mrs. Owings has chosen to share her small business knowledge and product design expertise with women entrepreneurs of developing countries. She has donated her time to USAID (State Department aid program), Aid to Artisans, the Canadian government, the University of Maryland international job creation program, IRIS, and most recently, for CHF, International. Her overseas work has taken her to the Northwest Territories, Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and to The Republic of Georgia. Mrs. Owings has volunteered her time on five Red Feather home construction projects, and has worked with Red Feather staff to develop a comprehensive menu and meal preparation strategy to feed the approximate forty volunteers attending each home building project.
Jim Pope
Board Secretary
Gallatin, Tennessee
Mr. Pope was involved in transportation and distribution management for a major appliance company for over ten years, which included office locations in Pasco, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Edison, New Jersey; and Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Pope also spent six years as Vice-President of transportation and distribution with a major apparel company in Nashville, Tennessee, and founded an accounts receivable (AR) outsourcing business in Nashville in 1986. As president, Mr. Pope ultimately merged the business with two other AR businesses in Parsippany, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California. Together, this business grew into 900 employees and 13 offices nationally. Mr. Pope sold the business to a group of Boston investors in 2001 and retired in 2002. Since then, Mr. Pope has assisted several friends and family members in the start-up of various businesses.
Monica Smith
Seattle, Washington
Ms. Smith has more than 20 years of experience in real estate, project management, and green building consulting. Prior to merging her firm with GVA Kidder Mathews, she was the founder of Bluegreen Consulting, where she performed sustainable development consulting for office buildings, commercial interiors, and mixed-use developments. Prior to founding Bluegreen, Ms. Smith was a partner at Catapult Community Developers, where she consulted private and public agencies promoting green building strategies and developed mixed-use properties. In addition, she was the International Real Estate Manager for Microsoft Corporation, overseeing the real estate, design and construction of their international portfolio. Ms. Smith is an active community member and was recently on the Executive Committee of Seattle’s Urban Land Institute; a board member of Seattle’s American Institute of Architects; an advisory member of University of Washington’s certificate program in commercial real estate, and a United States Green Building Council (USGBC) task force member.
Bryan Syrdal
Seattle, Washington
Mr. Syrdal is a Seattle native that has been affiliated with Red Feather Development Group since 1997, serving on its Board of Directors since 1999. He has participated in three Red Feather “builds” to date, experiencing the Pine Ridge and Northern Cheyenne reservations. Mr. Syrdal has traveled extensively outside the U.S., interacting with indigenous peoples all over the world. He is currently employed as a Principal in a commercial real estate firm named Teutsch Partners LLC, which specializes in urban redevelopment. Also passionate about the environment, Mr. Syrdal is an avid fly fisherman, skier and photographer.
Lance Trebesch
Bozeman, Montana
Mr. Trebesch is CEO of TicketPrinting.com. Mr. Trebesch has over 19 years of technology startup experience in several early-stage technology companies – Savi Technology, Viant, Dimension X – all founded and based in Silicon Valley. His experience spans a range of leadership and functional roles: senior leadership, business unit management, sales, marketing, product management, and IT management. Mr. Trebesch graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in economics and history. Mr. Trebesch is a native of rural Idaho, who also spent many summers on his family’s homestead ranch and farm in northern Montana. Mr. Trebesch joined Red Feather’s Board of Directors in 2005.
Board of Advisors
Robert Bergquist
Seattle, Washington
Mr. Bergquist is the founder of Tenakee Associates, a Seattle-based management consulting firm. Mr. Bergquist has advised executives on a variety of matters in corporations ranging in size from Microsoft Corporation to early-stage entrepreneurial ventures. Prior to forming Tenakee Associates, Mr. Bergquist was the CEO of a software development company serving the legal and financial services industries. He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and The Colorado College and attended the London School of Economics. Mr. Bergquist devotes time to numerous community organizations including the MIT Enterprise Forum, the Northwest Entrepreneurs Network and the Seattle Aquarium Society. He has served on the Board of Advisors since 1998.
Lucretia Bird in Ground
Crow Agency, Montana
Ms. Bird in Ground is an enrolled member of the Crow Tribe, and is currently a student at Little Big Horn College on the Crow Reservation in eastern Montana. She plans to complete her AA Degree in Crow Studies in the fall of 2010, in pursuit of her desire to become a tribal historian. Crow history, language, and culture is extremely important to Ms. Bird in Ground and her family, and the preservation of this invaluable information for future generations is a central focus of her academic career.
Ms. Bird in Ground has been involved with Red Feather Development Group since 2001, when she and three of her 8th Grade classmates formed a science team called “The Rez Protectors” to study the benefits of constructing straw-bale homes on the Crow Reservation. Along with 1200 other middle school teams, The “Rez Protectors” and their science instructor entered the Bayer National Science Foundation Competition (NSF) with the objective of identifying a problem within their community and the use of science to find a solution to this community-based issue. The “Rez Protectors” presented the housing crisis facing the Crow Nation as the critical issue confronting their community, and proposed that the construction of straw-bale homes was a potential solution to this dire concern. The “Rez Protector” proposal received the Grand Prize of $25,000. They partnered with Red Feather and Oprah Winfrey in the construction of a straw-bale community center/study hall in June of 2002.
Over the last seven years, Ms. Bird in Ground has been invited to attend a multitude of conferences and gatherings throughout the United States to share the story of the “Rez Protectors” in the hopes of inspiring other youth groups to pursue their dreams. In 2007, she received the “Young Scholar Award” by the Christopher Columbus Academy for all her accomplishments since taking part in the NSF program. She was also honored by her tribe with the title of Miss Crow Nation, and passed on her title during the 91st Annual Crow Fair Celebration in August 2009. Ms. Bird in Ground is honored to serve on Red Feather’s Board of Advisors and welcomes the opportunity to implement a sustainable home construction program within the Crow Nation at some point in the future.
Charles Blackwell
Washington, DC
Mr. Blackwell is Director of Native Affairs & Development at Pushmataha House in Washington, DC. Mr. Blackwell is a registered member of the Chickasaw Nation and currently serves as the Chickasaw Nation Ambassador to the United States of America. Since 2000, Charles has worked directly with Red Feather to develop strategies and cultivate the sensitive relationships required to do nonprofit work within tribal lands. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Education from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma, in 1964, and his Law Degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1972. He joined the Board of Advisors in 2000.
Corinne Skye Kills Pretty Enemy – Yellow Dawn Woman
Herndon, Virginia
Mrs. Kills Pretty Enemy is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Lakota Nation, and is the youngest daughter of Douglas Skye, Sr., and Margaret Menz Skye. She is the youngest of seven siblings, and was born and raised on the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Reservations respectively in the Dakotas. Mrs. Kills Pretty Enemy graduated from Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD with a B.S. in Social Science, and in 1991, she received a M.A., in Human Resource Development (HRD) from Marymount University, located in Arlington, Virginia.
Mark Roundstone
White River, Montana
Mr. Roundstone joined the Red Feather Board of Advisors in 2005 as a pro-active advocate of sustainable home construction within the Northern Cheyenne community of White River (Busby). Mr. Roundstone is the Outdoor and Recreation Administrator of the Natural Resources Department for the Northern Cheyenne Nation, and oversees the Northern Cheyenne bison range among many other duties. Mr. Roundstone is also co-anchoring the People’s Park for Lame Deer. As a member of the Bow String Society, Mr. Roundstone remains committed to his people, land, and to addressing issues of poverty and homelessness on the reservation. Mr. Roundstone has served on the Board of Advisors since 2006.
Kent Nerburn
Bemidji, Minesota
Mr. Nerburn is an author, sculptor, and educator who is deeply involved in Native American issues and education. He developed and directed an award-winning oral history project on the Red Lake Ojibwa reservation in northern Minnesota. In addition to being a program evaluator for the Minnesota Humanities Commission and serving on their selection board, he has served as a consultant in curriculum development for the American Indian Institute in Norman, Oklahoma, and has been a presenter before various groups, including the National Indian Education Association and the President’s blue-ribbon panel on Indian Education.
Charles H. Welles
Boulder, Colorado
Mr. Welles is a sculpture artist from Boulder, Colorado. He originally hails from Pennsylvania and neighboring states. He received a BA in Asian Studies from Trinity College in Connecticut and a JD from the University of Denver. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, he was a craniosacral therapist and a mediator. He also serves on the boards of the PajWell Foundation and the Running River School, in Boulder. Charles is married and the father of two wonderful daughters. He has been on the Board of Advisors since 2002.
Robert Young
Bozeman, Montana
Mr. Young founded Red Feather Development Group in 1994 and currently serves as Executive Director. He has overseen the successful completion of a wide varity of home and community-based construction projects on American Indian reservations throughout the western United States. These projects include environmentally-sustainable straw bale construction techniques, conventional stick frame construction, both major and minor home rehabilitation and repair, as well as the construction of dozens of wheelchair ramps for tribal elders and the disabled. Mr. Young has successfully established a solid-base of individual members, as well as corporate, foundation, federal and university partners in support of Red Feather’s American Indian Sustainable Housing and Community Development Initiative. Recent awards and recognition include the Oprah Winfrey “Use Your Life Award”, Safeco Insurance “Rudy Award”, Volvo Cars of North America’s “Volvo for Life Award”, Natural Home Magazine’s “Earth Mover Award”, Dwell Magazine’s “Nice Modernist Award”, 2004 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award, 2006 WHY-Chapin Award and the 2003 Antioch University Horace Mann Victories for Humanity recognition.
