MCAT Board
Jace Laakso has been interested in Public Broadcasting since his first job as a DJ on KUFM in 1981. He has served as reporter, producer, writer and editor in Public Radio for over 10 years. He owned and operated Crystal Theatre, volunteered for many organizations including First Night, is currently employed at Information Technology at the University of Montana, and is proud to serve as board president of MCAT.
Kathleen Petterson is one of four children, the daughter of Bozemanians. She is a mom with a strong interest in the Arts and an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from the UM. Kathleen is currently working on a Masters degree in Science/Psychology at University of Phoenix On-line.
Lucy Capehart has lived in Missoula for over 10 years and is currently Registrar at Montana Museum of the Arts and Culture at the University of Montana.
Sean O'Brien is currently co-directing the Film Studies program at the University of Montana. She teaches film theory as well a documentary production courses.
Laura Lundquist is a Montana native and has lived in Missoula since 2001. She is a graduate student in the UM School of Journalism and has been an MCAT producer since 2003.
Simone Ellis has lived in Missoula for 13 years, holds a graduate degree in film making from the San Francisco Art Institute, has been the art critic for the Missoulian for the past four years, is the author of several books on art and poetry, and is the co-producer of a film, which premiered on MCAT, on the Dalai Lama, "Hands for Compassion." Here is a link to a short from that film on LINK TV http://www.linktv.org/programs/hands .
Randy Gottfried is an IT manager at the University of Montana. Randy is a native of Ohio, and has community and educational television experience from his time at Ohio University in Athens, OH. In his spare time, Randy enjoys exploring the wonders of Montana!
Robert Struckman is editor of The New West magazine. He has a decade's experience as a reporter and writer covering business, culture and crime and other fascinating and sometimes gruesome subjects in the West. Raised in Missoula and Billings, he went to Sarah Lawrence College near New York City and to UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Robert has a lifelong passion for journalism, news and stories, true or fictional. He backpacks and camps with his family, cultivates a small garden and hunts in the fall. He has a son, Josiah, and a daughter, Olivia. He also has taught journalism at the University of Montana.
Geoff Badenoch was born in Glendive, Montana, raised in Bozeman, and attended the University of Montana where he received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Geoff began working at the Missoula Redevelopment Agency in 1982 and served as its executive director from October of 1985 until January of 2004. In 1994, the citizens of Missoula elected Geoff to the seven-member Local Government Study Commission where he helped author the City of Missoula Charter. He is currently a private project management consultant.
In addition to his service with MCAT, Geoff serves on the Community Youth Justice Council and is a member of the Supervisory Committee of the Missoula Federal Credit Union. Geoff also volunteers as a writing coach at Hellgate High School. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Missoula City Club Board of Trustees and is the President of the Missoula Writing Collaborative Board of Trustees