Board Chair: Mary Ann Bearden
Mary Ann Bearden graduated high school in Dallas, Texas, in 1969, finished her B.A. in English Literature at Colorado State University in 1972, spent three years as a lineman for Chesapeake & Potomac Bell in the Appalachian Mountains, before starting law school at the University of Oregon in 1975. She graduated law school in 1978, passed the Bar Exam and went into private practice in Eugene, Oregon. After 20 years practicing law, she was appointed to the bench as a Circuit Court Judge in 1998, where she served until her retirement. The last ten years on the bench she served as the presiding judge for the second largest judicial district in Oregon. After retirement she moved to Park County full time in early 2017. She had been fishing here since 1969 and spent vacations here every year since 1990, building a home here in 2005.

Vice Chair: Melissa Potter Atkinson
Melissa Potter Atkinson is a retired librarian. She holds a BA in American Studies from the University of Kansas and a MLS from the University of Oklahoma. Her professional experience includes cataloging for private, museum and university library collections. Melissa served on the board of directors for Undercroft Montessori School, the Magic Empire Council of Girls Scouts and the Gilcrease Museum of Western Art—all in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been a literacy tutor for adults and children. Melissa and her husband, Mike Atkinson, divide their time between their home of 17 years in the Shields River Valley and Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have 2 grown children living in Brooklyn, New York.

Deb Anczak, Livingston HealthCare Chief Executive Officer
Deb Anczak began her role as Livingston HealthCare's CEO in October 2018 after having served as Interim CEO since March 2018. She has been a pharmacist for 25 years and in administrative roles for the past 13 years, most recently serving as Livingston HealthCare's Performance Improvement Director. In this role, Deb was responsible for managing and coordinating efforts to improve organization-wide performance and quality. She served as Pharmacy Manager at Livingston HealthCare for seven years. Prior to her time in Livingston, she was Director of Pharmacy at Billings Clinic. She has also served in pharmacy and administrative roles at healthcare institutions in Wisconsin and Idaho.

Michelle Becker, Livingston HealthCare Board Vice-Chair
Michelle Becker, broker/owner of Maverick Realty in Livingston, has been a board member since 2001. She is a lifelong resident of Park County, and has been an active Realtor since 1987. Becker also serves on the Livingston HealthCare Board of Directors as the Chair and played a key role in the New Hospital Campaign as a fundraiser and as a facilitator in the sale of the old facility. Ms. Becker was President of the Livingston Chamber of Commerce and was appointed to the Upper Yellowstone River Task Force by the Governors Raciot and Martz. She was President of the Montana Association of Realtors in 2000, and has served on multiple boards, task forces, working groups, and committees.

Deborah (“Debbie”) Erdman, MD
Deborah Erdman, MD, is a respected physician, philanthropist, and friend in the Livingston community. During her seventeen years at Livingston Memorial Hospital and what would later be known as Livingston HealthCare, Dr. Erdman welcomed many lives into this world as an OB/GYN Physician. She has a keen interest in medical ethics and chaired the ethics committee while at Livingston HealthCare’s Park Clinic. Most recently she has been involved with philanthropic issues that confront our community, serving as a Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign Cabinet in the Livingston HealthCare Foundation’s New Hospital Campaign, and was personally responsible for attaining large contributions from local individuals.

Scott Coleman, MD
Scott Coleman, MD, is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician who practices family medicine and obstetrics at Livingston HealthCare. He was selected to fill the role of Medical Director for Livingston HealthCare in October, 2013, at which time he joined the Livingston HealthCare Board of Directors. Dr. Coleman received a degree in Microbiology from the University of Tennessee, followed by his MD from the University of South Dakota. After the completion of his MD, Dr. Coleman served as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy for six years receiving the Navy Achievement Medal for Outstanding Performance as a Resident. In 2005, he moved to Park County to be closer to family. Dr. Coleman is presently a Major in the Medical Corp of the Montana Air National Guard.

Bob Gersack, Public Director
Bob Gersack graduated from Great Falls Central High School in 1962 and received degrees in history and english from the University of Great Falls in 1966. Shortly after graduation, he began his career in banking in Great Falls and transferred to Miles City in 1970 to work for First Bank System, now US Bank. In 1985, Bob transferred to Livingston as president of First Bank System and has maintained a home here ever since. In 1987, Bob led a group of investors to purchase the Livingston branch of First Bank System and operate it as First National Park Bank. The branch sold to First Interstate Bank in 1997 and Bob stayed on as president for several years before transferring to the First Interstate Holding Company in Billings for the remaining five years of his career. Throughout his career, Bob has served as president of the Montana Bankers Association and chairman of the Montana Banking Commission. Now retired, Bob and his wife Jane split their time between Arizona and their home in Livingston. They have four children and 11 grandchildren. Bob serves on the board because he believes Livingston HealthCare's high-quality medical care is essential to ensuring that Livingston remains a viable community, where people want to live and raise their families.

Pat Gilligan
Pat Gilligan is a retired real-estate developer having developed and owned over five million square feet of commercial property, mostly concentrated in California.

Throughout his career, Pat also devoted his time to social leadership roles including having served as Past President of The Burlingame Country Club, Hillsborough CA, The Pacific-Union Club and Villa Taverna Club, both of San Francisco. In addition, Pat has been active with a number of conservation organizations and has in the past, held the following offices,

• California State Chair for Ducks Unlimited
• Board Chair, California Waterfowl Association
• Board Chair, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
• Chair, The Torstenson Wildlife Center in New Mexico
• Trustee, Filoli Historical Trust Woodside CA
• Member, Boone and Cricket Club

Pat and his wife Shelley have lived part-time in Paradise Valley for 35 years. They have two children, Sara Hildenbrandt who resides in Amsterdam, Holland with her husband and two daughters, and Patrick, Jr who lives with his wife in Portland, OR. In addition to being an avid hunter and fisherman, Pat is a Master Gardener and Certified Bread Maker.

Joe Phelps
Joe Phelps is considered to be one of the pioneering innovators of truly integrated marketing communications. Since 1981, The Phelps Group—now in Playa Vista, California—has delivered paid, owned and earned campaigns for category-leading brands such as Panasonic, Public Storage, Tahiti Tourism, Petco, DirecTV and City of Hope. The agency worked only for clients whose products helped make the world a better place. Joe’s book, Pyramids Are Tombs, outlines a new organizational model for aligning associates and clients for success. He is chairman and founder of the Getting Better Foundation, whose mission is to build trust through the empirical truth about the positive evolution of human behavior. An alum of the University of Arkansas, Joe was a musician and recording engineer before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked for multi-national ad agencies prior to founding The Phelps Group. In 2005 he built his “Rancho Relaxo” in Paradise Valley. When he’s not doing his part to help out the community, he fishes, plays drums, plants trees and entertains a cavalcade of guests.

Joey Lane
Joey Lane teaches history and economics at Park High School in Livingston with a BA from Colorado State University. She is a member of the National Council of Social Studies and the Montana Council for Economic Education. As a longtime community member, Mrs. Lane has been involved with many local charities and fundraising groups. Joey and her husband Tom own and manage the Lane Ranch and Legacy Land & Cattle, cattle ranching operations located in Park, Meagher and Gallatin counties.

Denis Prager, PhD, Livingston HealthCare Board Chair
Denis Prager is president of Strategic Consulting Services. From 1983 to 1994, he was director of the health program at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. From 1978 to 1983, Dr. Prager was associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He began his career in 1960 as a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health and has also served as a U.S. Public Health Service Fellow at Stanford University, where he received his PhD in physiology.

Babs Brandfass, Livingston HealthCare Foundation President

Ms. Brandfass brings more than 20 years of experience in business development and project management, focused primarily in the financial markets. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Business Development for The Receivables Exchange, a start-up funded by Bain Capital. She also served as Principal at Bank of America in Strategic Development for Global Structured Products. Babs received her MBA from Cornell University. She is co-founder and CEO of Incunable Productions, a screen development company.

Lauren Chaisson, Development Officer

Lauren is a native of New Hampshire and has resided in the Livingston area since 2013. Prior to joining the Livingston HealthCare Foundation, Lauren spent almost six years at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch (MSGR) in Paradise Valley, most recently as the Director of Sales and Marketing. During her time at MSGR, Lauren served on the AMB West Community Fund Committee and was involved with the community giving program. She holds a degree in International Relations from the University of South Carolina.

Lucie Forstenzer, Foundation Administrator

Lucie is a native Montanan, born and raised here in Livingston. She holds a degree in Psychology and Linguistics from Drew University. After graduating in 2017, Lucie backpacked Southeast Asia for six months then moved to California where she worked at a nonprofit as an Administrative Assistant. Lucie has returned to her hometown and is excited to give back to her community by joining the Foundation. In her free time, Lucie enjoys cooking, reading, and hiking with her dog.