Mission

Montana Women For provides education and advocacy to encourage the participation and empowerment of women within our democracy. MWF adheres to a progressive and socially conscious agenda, advocates for critical issues and works to hold our government accountable for its actions. Contact us for more information or to be added to the mailing list.

Board of Directors:

Margie Kidder, Co Chair. Margie Kidder is an actress and writer who has been politically active since 1980. She campaigned for the California Nuclear Freeze initiative in that state and then expanded her work and campaigned for over 20 Senate and House candidates around the country in 1980 and 1984. She worked with the Jesse Jackson campaign in 1988, Amnesty International, Madre, The Fellowship of Reconciliation (a Quaker peace group), and many other peace organizations. She attended the Democratic National Convention as a reporter in 1984 and then again in 1988 as a delegate for the Jackson campaign, and traveled to Russia in 1984 as a representative of the American Peace Movement on a political exchange sponsored by Jerry Brown. She is now an advocate for a sane national mental health policy and for the mentally ill and for orthomolecular medicine, a natural way to cure mental illness. She has been with Montana Women For since its inception.

Traci Isaly, Co Chair, is a native of Wyoming; however, she has called Montana her home for the past 26 years. Traci was one of the founding members of the MWF and is committed to bringing proactive educational opportunities that empower women in the west. She has a fondness for hard working people, clean air and water, environmental responsibility, good food, and any new and challenging experience. “We should never stop seeking to improve ourselves through experience and education. This is how we become conscious about the world we live in and our impact on it, both positively and negatively.”

Anita Varley, Treasurer, has a long history of activism for social justice and environmental stewardship. She joined the first anti-war demonstration at the University of Utah in 1964. She continued her passions while working 22 years for the National Park Service in Yellowstone. She served in several capacities: interpretation, visitor services, concessions, and as the parks Federal Women’s Program Manager. Her favorite post was as the supervisor for the park’s backcountry/wilderness management program. Now retired, she lives in Bozeman with her husband also retired from the National Park Service. She joined MWF in May when she worked on the Mothers’ Day March. Anita looks forward to working with our exceptional and dedicated members for the betterment of our society and our planet.

Cassie Burns, Co Secretary, has called Montana home since the late 70’s. She currently serves as the director of Learning Partners Adult Education and Family Literacy Program in Livingston and teaches yoga several times a week. She is thrilled to work with such a remarkable group of women and looks forward to promoting peace and equality for all.

Joanne Gardner arrived in Livingston in 2005, hoping to recover from 30 years in the film and music business. She is the retired Senior VP of Video Production for Sony Music, where she oversaw the creation of music videos for all of Sony’s artists for 10 years. Prior to that, she was a video director and producer, coordinated press for the Grammy Awards, and was the family spokesperson/director of press for the Polly Klaas kidnapping case.
She enjoys music, baking and hanging with like minded peace lovers.

Mary Miles, Co Secretary, is a professor in the Department of Health and Human Development at Montana State University. She lives in Bozeman and joined Montana Women For because she believes that women have not taken full advantage of their potential political power to work for the issues that are important to them. She is no longer willing to simply vote and hope for the best. She would like to see Montana Women For grow, and believes that empowering the membership to organize actions is the way to make that happen.

Renée Evanoff, former Webmaster. Growing up in the intermountain west and working for the National Park Service for 20 years, Renee and her husband (the environmental program’s manager for Yellowstone National Park) have always worked for sustainable living and environmental protection. She was the Federal Women’s Program Coordinator in Yellowstone and served as an advocate for battered women in Jackson Hole. She moved to Montana in 1988. Renée attended the very first MWF meeting and became a member that night. Inspired by the women who where present and touched by their commitment to issues she cared deeply about–MWF provided a way for her to make a difference. She is a full-time artist and graphic designer and she designed the MWF logo. Before we all became Webmasters, thanks to the blog format, Renee was our Webmaster.

Jeane-Marie Souvigney is a Livingston-based environmental consultant. Over the last twenty-five years has worked with various Montana nonprofit environmental and civic groups as an organizer, lobbyist and advocate to promote natural resource conservation and voter

Bonnie Hyatt-Murphy lives in Livingston and has been an active MWF member since its beginning. She activated the MWF Peace committee and has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining its monthly peace vigils. She brings a wealth of activism and civic involvement experience to the board.

Dee Dee Van Zyl is a small business owner and actor/director. She taught acting at MSU when she first moved to Montana 12 years ago. She has been involved in social and women’s issues since the late 60’s. Dee Dee has enjoyed being part of a like-minded group of women that support and sustain the issues they are passionate about. Peace, education, human rights and tolerance are Dee Dee’s primary concerns. Dee Dee is honored to be involved with such a great gang of gals.

Our original web site design, and the setup and design customization of this blog and its theme, were done by Lynn Weaver of Sparkling Dawg Design. She congratulates Montana Women For on becoming masters of their Web site through blogging. Lynn’s the one holding the “Books Not Bombs” sign in the picture at the top of this page. And she means it.