Board of Directors
Susan Quarles
Susan has been a member of the Co-op since 2005, when she moved to Bozeman with her family from New York City. Susan is an attorney who is a graduate of Purchase College and New York Law School. After graduating from college, Susan worked at NBC News in New York, where she met her husband Geoff Stephens. Susan spent several years as a litigator for a Wall Street law firm before deciding to become a full-time, stay at home mother to her children Ben and Katie. After moving to Bozeman, she spent several years as an adjunct instructor at MSU and was a member and President of the Bozeman Public Library Foundation Board. She currently is a board member of the Bozeman Actors Theatre and volunteers to provide legal assistance to low income clients. Susan is an avid home cook who is always interested in learning new ways to shop for, store and prepare food in a responsible and conscientious manner.
T.L. Buck Buchanan
Buck was born and raised on a small cattle ranch north of Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Meridian High School in 1973, moving to Montana in 1976. He attended Montana State University from 1980-1985 graduating with a Bachelors’ degree in Earth Science and a secondary school teaching certificate. He also earned a Master’s degree in Secondary School Administration in 1994. Buck taught in Belgrade, Montana for 22 years, retiring in 2007. He currently resides in Manhattan with his wife Carol. They have been gardeners since moving to Manhattan in 1980 and avid composters for 20 years. He started raising bees four years ago, hoping to aid in pollination and bee diversity.
Carmen Byker Shanks
lives, works, and plays in the Gallatin Valley and uses Co-op food to fuel her activities. She has been a member of the Co-op since 2011, when she moved to Bozeman for work as an assistant professorof Food and Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems in the Department ofHealth and Human Development at Montana State University. She is keenly interested in both educating students about and researching topics related to how the nutritional quality of food systems can promote human health. Carmen loves her food and nutrition work so much that it spills into her personal favorite hobbies – cooking and eating quality foods and then engaging in beautiful Montana outdoor activities to burn it off.
Andleeb Dawood
Andleeb has been a member of the Bozeman Food Co-op since 2006. She brings fifteen years of an entrepreneurial business and finance background to the Co-op board with her experience of starting-up and growing a specialty retail company in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and her experience as an investment banker where she specialized in securing financing for large construction projects for rural hospitals in communities nationwide. Her newest venture is Saffron Table, a full service restaurant serving contemporary South Asian Cuisine in Bozeman, Montana. Saffron Table combines her traditional Pakistani/Indian family recipes for their sauces, chutneys and spice blends while using contemporary techniques in presentation and plating of their food. Andleeb loves using her work to create community and she believes that an integral part of a healthy community is to support local agriculture, produce and food sources. She is excited to be a part of the Co-op board where she can focus on this priority and contribute to her wider community of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley.
Kris Thomas
Kris Thomas has been a Co-op member since 1989 and on the board since 2007, currently serving on the Co-op’s Personnel Committee and Planning/Retreat Committee. She is a founder and retired board chair of the Gallatin Valley Chapter of Farm to School and has worked on the “Edible Schoolyard” movement in the local schools. Kris works for the conservation group, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, in a management capacity and as the organization's board liaison. She has also worked on environmental health issues around the state, both grassroots and professionally. She and her husband, Bob Ekey, have two children, Alex and Madison.
Jennifer Madgic
Jennifer moved to Montana in 1995 and has since worked for city, county, state and federal government. She recognizes the importance of supporting our local economy and has been a strong advocate for community-owned businesses, protecting local farms and sensible land use planning. Jen loves the outdoors, gardening, time with friends, good food, riding bikes, traveling, yoga and animals. Working with fellow board members and Co-op staff has been a privilege and great joy.
Cameron Hildreth
Cameron Hildreth has been a Working Member of our Coop since she moved here in 1995. Elected to the Board in 2001, she has served on every Board Committee except the Finance Committee. She has enjoyed being a part of the three major expansion projects during her tenure and in the last 2 years, she served on the Design Team for the Coop: the Whole Block. An avid knitter, Cameron owns Stix, a retail yarn store located downtown. She and her husband, Peter, share their home with Severus, a Wheaten Terrier who has stolen their hearts, and 3 young(er) adults when they are home.
Katie Coyle
Katie Coyle was born and raised in Bozeman and has been a dedicated Co-op member for as long as she can remember. A dedicated Co-op shopper and active community member, Katie runs her own marketing firm working with Bozeman based non-profits that focus on conservation, preservation of open spaces, revitalization of rural Montana and strengthening the non-profit community in the Gallatin Valley. She is passionate about mitigating the human impact on the planet through thoughtful consumption and by supporting local farmers and food producers whenever possible. She is a member of the Bridger Bowl Association, an avid mountain biker and born again skier. In her free time, she can be found outside adventuring with her husband Mike and their four legged friend Finnley.
Lori Petermann
Lori Petermann has been with the coop since 2007 when she started as a lead deli cook. She is currently the Prepared Foods Manager for the Co-op's production kitchen. Lori has more than 20 years of experience in the culinary arts field. She's done almost everything imaginable in the restaurant world from pastry chef to caterer. When she’s not cooking, you can find Lori enjoying the outdoors with her husband and dogs, listening to live music, playing in the garden and practicing permaculture.
Jim Madden
helps coordinate the monthly Co-op Board Meeting and assists with planning and facilitating of the Board’s annual three-day retreat. Jim has been a Co-op member for many years and began acting as the facilitator in 2002. He enjoys working with the Board and values the Co-op’s efforts towards fostering strong community ties. Jim is an artist whose principal medium is painting, and his work can be seen in numerous locales around the Gallatin Valley. He lives five blocks from the Co-op, which he considers one of the greatest benefits of living in Bozeman.
