About the Headwaters Community Housing Trust
Headwaters is a community-based, not-for-profit organization committed to expanding the supply of permanent, below-market homes that local working households can afford to buy.
Next to Story Mill Community Park, Headwaters has created a neighborhood conceived by The Trust for Public Land and advanced by HRDC. With private investment and active support from local lenders, businesses, and the City of Bozeman, the Bridger View neighborhood includes 62 energy-efficient homes in a well-designed, walkable community.
Half of these homes were sold at prices that more working residents can afford. Through the community land trust model, these homes will remain priced below market rates in perpetuity.
The housing market
Addressing an unmet need
Bozeman needs more housing, but supply alone will not solve the issue. Bozeman needs more homes priced at levels that locals can afford.
Community and business leaders recognize the challenge and want to help. Headwaters is addressing Bozeman’s unmet need by:
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Providing businesses opportunities to invest in housing their employees can afford.
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Supplying a pool of prequalified buyers so developers creating community housing know high-quality, below-market homes will promptly sell.
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Creating permanently affordable homes that will serve generations of Gallatin Valley residents.
Our Values
Headwaters Community Housing Trust relies on seven organizational values that we embrace to meet our goals and fulfill our mission. Those values are:
Getting to Yes
We live out a spirit of possibility and individual empowerment.
Empathy
We strive to understand and value the lived experiences of partners, colleagues and clients.
Integrity
We take pride in the work that we’re doing; we hold each other accountable to our mission and values.
Fairness
We prioritize impartiality, respect, and honesty in communication and decision-making.
Grace
We hold goodwill and assuming best intent in our partners and colleagues.
Joy
We cultivate joyful collaboration in execution of our goals and mission.
Courage
We are brave and create space for creativity and leading edges. We embrace challenges, and are eager to ask “what if.”
Headwaters is so needed. We are seeing people get pushed further and further out of Bozeman. Surrounding communities used to be relief valves, but now they, too, are struggling with surging home prices. As a result, many people are moving out of the state. These are the folks we count on every day when we go to the grocery store or to the doctor’s office, send our kids to school — people who are looking after our health and safety. Without this core, Bozeman will lose the character and strength we have all come to love. Having Headwaters facilitate housing that keeps our workforce here is critical.
Mark Meissner
ERA Landmark
Our Team
Headwaters is led by dedicated people who are strengthening our community and empowering individuals and families through homeownership.
Nathan Stein
Executive Director
Originally from the Midwest, Nathan has spent his career working in pursuit of a Montana where everyone is able to thrive and live out their dreams. Bringing to Headwaters a background in public policy communications and coalition-building, and nonprofit development Nathan is dedicated to helping build a Bozeman where everyone is able to lay down roots and thrive.
Courtney Naumann
Homeownership Director
Across the West, Courtney has built and led programming for people connected to land through use, ownership, and spirit for over a decade. Her expertise includes organizational leadership, technical assistance, conflict mediation, and effective stakeholder engagement. She’s rooted in strong commitments to social equity and cultivating spaces for connection. Courtney serves as the President for the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition.
Board
Headwaters Community Housing Trust consists of individuals who envision a Gallatin Valley in which everyone has an opportunity to own a home, lay down roots, and thrive in our community. Each member brings with them a wealth of knowledge and experience from various areas, including finance, government, real estate, development, and more.
Interested in Headwaters Community Housing Trust board service? Learn more and apply here!
Chris Naumann
Chair
For the last 30 years Chris has called Bozeman home. From starting a small Main Street retail business to directing the Downtown Bozeman Partnership to his current role as an urban planner at Sanbell, he has strived to build community. Outside of his professional roles, Chris has served on a variety of volunteer boards including the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Bozeman Fiber, and Bozeman Parking Commission. He and his wife, Laura Ryan, feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to buy a home and raise a family here in Bozeman. Chris believes that Headwaters Community Housing Trust plays a critical role in helping others do the same.
Susan Dana
Vice Chair
As a resident of Bozeman for 30+ years, Susan brings her experience on non-profit boards and as an attorney to HCHT’s team of dedicated staff and board members. Having known thousands of students, staff and faculty over a 25-year career as a professor and administrator in the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship at MSU, Susan knows how hard it is for working people to find high-quality affordable housing for themselves and their families. She spends her free time volunteering on non-profit boards, serving her homeowners’ association, being outdoors and writing about constitutional law cases.
Alec Bear
Treasurer
Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana, Alec studied Mathematics and Economics at Colorado College. He began his career in Philadelphia as a buy-side credit and equity investment analyst before moving into corporate restructuring advisory in NYC, stopping for an MBA at MIT Sloan inbetween. Alec resides in Bozeman and currently serves as Vice President of Finance at Foster Farms, where he works on corporate finance projects, liquidity management and performance initiatives.
Janay Johnson
Secretary
Janay grew up in the Midwest, but has called Bozeman home since 1992. Most of her professional life has been spent in development and leadership roles for local nonprofit organizations. Janay is currently the Executive Director of the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, where she led a successful $5.6M capital campaign to renovate the Library. She is thrilled to contribute to the effort to keep Bozeman affordable and attainable for its workforce. She enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, and camping.
Marisa Owen
Board Member
Marisa is proud to call Bozeman home since 2015. As a volunteer board member for Headwaters Community Housing Trust, she is thrilled to bring both her corporate and entrepreneurial skill sets in making homeownership possible for more residents. Marisa has been a Realtor since 2017 and brings a critical perspective to the board. She is excited to bring forward a collaborative approach and strategize solutions that will affect our whole community.
Andrea Kavert
Board Member
Andrea came to Bozeman to attend MSU, intending to return to the Flathead Valley. When she fell in love with local trails, she decided she wanted to make Bozeman her home. But even with a good job, the housing market was beyond her reach. Ultimately, she bought a home through a community land trust. Today she serves on Headwaters’ Board of Directors.
Hunter Brewster
Board Member
An Arkansas native, Hunter is thrilled to now call Bozeman home. Hunter and his wife Sarah purchased a Headwaters home in the Bridger View neighborhood in the spring of 2023. Hunter started working in Bozeman for Simms Fishing Products. Now he manages e-commerce sales for Daniel’s Gourmet Meats while also pursuing a degree from MSU. He is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and make things happen, having started a landscaping business at age 14. When he’s not working or studying, Hunter enjoys snowboarding and skiing at Bridger Bowl, spending time with family, camping, fishing, and traveling.
Mindy DeCosse
Board Member
A Bozeman native, Mindy grew up in the housing industry and studied architecture at MSU. Following 13 years with local design/build firms, Mindy now manages the Community Land Trust and Down Payment Assistance programs at HRDC. She volunteers extensively and loves sharing her knowledge of the building industry to help others find or build their next home.
Padden Guy Murphy
Board Member
Padden is Co-Founder & President of Montana Festival & Last Best Future, a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non profit organization that brings together people, ideas, and projects to positively shape Montana’s future. In his day job Padden is Managing Partner of the strategic advisory firm, Foundry Ten. Foundry Ten helps good humans working on hard problems build the companies, brands and movements that will shape the next century. In this capacity Padden works with CEO’s, Founders, and CMOs of innovative technology and built environment organizations – from Google, to Bjarke Ingels’s housing startup Nabr, to SHVO’s reimagination of the iconic Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, to startups like Webflow, Neighborschools, and Metropolis – to build strategic communications, public policy, and brand marketing campaigns.
Andras Rosner
Board Member
Born in Hungary and raised in Germany, Andras has called Bozeman home for the past five years. With a diverse career spanning consulting, federal government service, and architectural design, Andras brings a specific perspective to the board. After earning a degree in architecture mid-career, Andras developed a deep fascination with urban planning, shaped by experiences in Europe, major American cities, and Bozeman’s dynamic growth. Andras is committed to helping Bozeman remain a lively and livable community as it continues to evolve and is excited for HCHT to keep creating wonderful projects such as Bridger View.
Miles McGeehan
Board Member
Miles McGeehan is an accomplished science educator and department leader at Bozeman High School, where he teaches Biology and AP Biology with a focus on student-centered learning. President Biden awarded Miles the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest honor for K-12 science and math teachers in the United States.
Miles witnesses first-hand the struggle young professionals face in today’s housing market and is excited to help create opportunities for others to put down roots. Beyond the classroom, Miles is an experienced outdoorsman who has worked as a professional fishing guide in Montana for well over two decades. Above all, Miles loves being a father to his two teenage daughters.
Stephen Drabek
Board Member
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen moved to Bozeman in 2019, drawn by the outdoors and a fondness for getting lost in the woods. He works as a real estate advisor and has helped lead development projects in Bozeman and Ennis, with experience navigating land entitlement, overseeing construction, and securing construction financing. As a homeowner in the Bridger View neighborhood, Stephen has seen the impact of Headwaters’ work firsthand and is passionate about supporting community-centered housing solutions in the Gallatin Valley.
Katie Adams
Board Member
Katie Adams is a Supervising Broker and Owner at McKenna-Adams Realty, one of Bozeman’s commercial real estate brokerages. Katie joined McKenna Realty in the spring of 2013 with a background in real estate and an understanding of different marketplaces across the country. Katie is passionate about contributing to Bozeman’s continued prosperity, and with expertise in development and experience bringing affordable housing projects to Bozeman, she is a key addition to the Headwaters’ team.
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Housing affordability is at a critical juncture. It is a community-wide problem that requires community-wide participation. By supporting the Headwaters Community Housing Trust today, you can be part of the solution.
