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At Roots Family Collaborative, we are dedicated to creating strong and compassionate networks for new families in the Gallatin Valley. We encourage parents to connect, support and gain confidence from one another in our warm and welcoming space. We believe no one was meant to parent alone.
During every step of the way, our unique organization is here to help you navigate your journey from pregnancy to parenthood. We know that when parents have access to support, connection, and education during this most transformative time, they will feel confident to create a strong foundation for life. |
The Roots Story
It all started on a backyard playdate a few years ago when two moms decided that without each other they might not be the moms they knew they could be. Dreams of lasting friendships, beautiful spaces, regular support groups, laughter, professional workshops and more all were swirling in this big vision. When they started digging a little deeper, all signs kept pointing them back to the three main branches that now define Roots Family Collaborative.
Connection. Support. Education.
We know that connection, support, and education are vital for growing strong and compassionate caregivers who will nourish deep roots for their families and communities. With that, Roots Family Collaborative was born. As every day passes, we are learning more and more how to best support new families in Bozeman as we know there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting under the big sky. We look forward to meeting you on your journey. Come, nourish your roots. You deserve it!
The Board of Directors at Roots
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Liza Brumbach is the mom of three lovely kiddos (two middle schoolers, 1 pre-schooler). She has a long history of passion for work with youth and families. With a degree in Elementary and Special Education she was an educator early in her career but has since unexpectedly wandered into business. After running the Flying Pig Adventure Co. with her late husband she migrated into owning and operating vacation rental cabins, a hostel, and the North Yellowstone Lodge outside of Gardiner. She has always found great joy in giving back to her communities with volunteer work as well as living an active outdoor lifestyle with her husband and kids. The outdoor world is a playground mecca! She is honored to work alongside Roots after having benefited personally from Roots Loss Support Group, Moms Like Me, and Fresh Air Mama’s! She believes whole-heartedly in supporting young families as they navigate the journey of parenthood.
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Kayte Kaminski, Ed.D is the proud mama of one sweet little human and found Roots and Blossom Mom after he came into the world on summer solstice in 2022. Kayte works at Montana State University as the Senior Assistant Dean in the College of Education, Health and Human Development and the Director of the Mental Health Support Certificate program. She loves her job as a mom and partner and also loves her job in academia, and works hard to find balance every day. In down time, she loves to travel and has been to over 40 countries as a Peace Corps Volunteer, a Semester at Sea assistant dean, a tourist, and a general lover of culture and new experiences. She and her husband even took their son to Switzerland when he was 5 months old (best passport picture ever)! Kayte is so excited to be on the board at Roots working with awesome people and working to provide accessible awesome programming to families in the Gallatin Valley and beyond.
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Amanda Kilty, MS, LCPC, NCC is the mother of one daughter, 4 babies who forever live in her heart and one son. She practiced as a youth and family therapist specializing in helping families systematically navigate a multitude of struggles at a community mental health center for 5 years in Wyoming before moving while 7 months pregnant to Bozeman. She experienced first-hand the struggles which may be faced during the perinatal period with limited physical natural systematic supports due to moving to a new community. While growing their family here in the Gallatin Valley, her and her husband lost 4 babies. With the experience and connections made through navigating fertility and parenting struggles, Amanda has added perinatal mental health, grief and loss, yoga, mindfulness, and Internal Family Systems to her repertoire of therapeutic modalities. Amanda knows how empowering, validating and strengthening it is to simply connect with fellow parents and has a passion to help spread the wealth of help Roots Family Collaborative provided for her. You can find Amanda at home teaching her children through play, gardening, cooking or out with her husband toting their children and corgi (Ted) around hiking, skiing, or dancing to live music around the Gallatin Valley.
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Lexi Frank Newhall, LMFT, LCPC has been working as a therapist in private practice for the last ten years. She specializes in empowering women to manage change, heal from perinatal (pre and postpartum) mental health disorders and overcome developmental trauma. Her style of counseling is an integration mindfulness, body awareness, guided imagery, empathic listening and psychodynamics. Joining the board of Roots Family Collaborative inspires Lexi and connects her to the broader network of resources available in the Gallatin Valley. She hopes to share the insights she gains in her therapy work about the evolving needs of women with Roots as a means to help us better support families and create a community of strong, compassionate caregivers. Lexi loves living in the mountains with her husband, two energetic little boys and sweet chocolate lab, Charlie.
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Flora McCormick, LCPC is a professional counselor and parenting coach who is passionate about supporting parents, and helping them to feel more empowered and effective in their parenting. She is an experienced parent educator who teaches parenting workshops in the community and has served for the past 2 years as an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant. FLora is the owner of Sustainable Parenting and a monthly columnist for Montana Parent Magazine. Flora served on the board of the Help Center for 6 years, and on the board of Bozeman Business and Professional Women for 3 years. Flora enjoys camping, traveling to be with friends and family, and being a parent to Eva and Caleb, along with her husband, Gabriel.
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Kura Morris
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Sam Peirce is the mom of one energetic toddler. She experienced postpartum depression during her first year of motherhood and found support and encouragement through Roots support groups. Sam is passionate about connecting families to the resources they need in order to build resiliency and thrive. Her passion for mental health led her to her current role as an Implementation Specialist for the Rural Behavioral Health Institute. Sam calls Livingston home with her husband, son, and fur babies and enjoys houseplants, reading, and getting outdoors.
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Sean Hill is a proud father of three beautiful children (2 boys and one girl all in elementary school) and has been a stay at home parent for past seven years. During that time, he started posting his daily life on social media. His posts touch on everything from cooking, cleaning, and folding clothes to mens health and self care and the stigma that dads aren’t full class parents. His main goals are to inspire dads to be the best dad and husband that they can be. He also volunteers as much as he can at his kids school and coaches his sons soccer team. He has worn many hats throughout his life, and has a strong background in construction and a degree in Interior Design. In his spare team he loves to go snowboarding, skate skiing and disc golfing. Most nights you can catch him playing his guitar and he has high hopes of someday having a family band. He joined the Roots board in hopes to connect and help new parents and families in his community.
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Kerry Williams focuses her work around the well-being of children and the strength of their families through the power of operations. Kerry graduated with a master’s degree in Family Sciences from MSU-Bozeman in 2003, and has since spent her career supporting families during the critical first few years of a child’s life by improving the systems that serve them. She has been an Early Childhood Mental Health Grant Manager, a Children’s Librarian, and an Early Learning Specialist. In 2015, Kerry presented a TEDx Talk entitled “Parenting: How I’m Not Getting It Right and Why You Shouldn’t Either” which addressed her own experience raising her two boys and grappling with the change of identity that comes with becoming a mother. She and her husband have lived in Bozeman for over 20 years. Kerry’s favorite activities outside of crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” are reading and dancing.
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Staff at Roots
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Suzanne Bendick, Executive Director
Suzanne loves everything about babies and birth but is especially dedicated to helping families navigate the postpartum period and giving them the support they deserve during this amazing transition. After trying to manage her own overwhelming entry into new parenthood, Suzanne started a business called Fresh Air as a practical way to help new mothers. Suzanne knows that support during the postpartum period is critical for the overall health of a new family, so with her formal training as a Postpartum Doula and Certified Lactation Counselor, she has been able to quietly nurture, encourage and assist as families settle into their new normal after birth. Suzanne is also a Volunteer Coordinator with Postpartum Support International, where she welcomes parents at any stage to reach out for help. Besides her love of all things postpartum, Suzanne holds a B.A. in Anthropology, is a Certified Montessori Teacher and has two children of her own. If she’s not listening to a new mother’s story, you can find her breathing in some fresh air in the mountains around town. Contact Suzanne: suzanne@rootsfamilycollaborative.com |
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Julie Zickovich, MS, Program Assistant Having her son, Ivan, was nothing that Julie expected or anticipated. Her life was completely different and initially she grieved the loss of her life before him without knowing where to turn for support. Julie ultimately found Roots Family Collaborative through our program Mindful Mamas and then again through Moms Like Me. Julie says, "these programs were, and still are, a lifeline to reinventing myself as a mom and a person. The people I have met through Roots have brought me so much peace, confidence, camaraderie, joy, tears. I am so incredibly grateful to this growing community." Julie is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a larger part of Roots and help spread its mission to the needs of the community. She grew up in Bozeman and has been married for almost 20 years and her son is seven. Julie likes the seasons but dislikes the transition, loves her chickens, and finds joy in finding new trails no matter how small or large. Contact Julie: julie@rootsfamilycollaborative.com |
