MEET THE TEAM

STAFF

Lizzie Peyton |
Director

  • Lizzie has led SNO since 2021. Under her leadership, SNO published Big Sky’s first Community Climate Action Plan and began implementing impactful emissions-reduction efforts in transportation, waste, and energy. With a background in International Studies from Boston College and global experience ranging from Paris kitchens to Tanzanian farms, Lizzie brings a unique blend of cultural insight and ecological passion to her work, driving community-based sustainability solutions and building regional climate resilience. 

Ali Chipouras |
Marketing & Communications

  • Ali Chipouras is a sustainability professional with nearly a decade of experience in both private and public sector roles in Montana. She is passionate about building community and believes in the power of collective action to drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future. Outside of work, you can find Ali riding her bike, skiing, practicing yoga, and enjoying all that life under the Big Sky has to offer.

Zosia Skiba |
Sustainability Coordinator

  • Zosia will be a graduating this spring from Montana State University
    where she is pursuing a degree in Environmental Science. Zosia originally came to work with Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization
    through a program provided by the Max Baucus Institute and continues to thrive beyond her original commitment as our Sustainability Coordinator. After she graduates, Zosia hopes to use her knowledge and experience from this opportunity to pursue Environmental Law or Environmental Advocacy.
    Growing up in the mountains of Colorado and then moving to Bozeman has shown her how important our environment is for the well being of communities. She has found a passion to help protect these communities and their environments. She is excited to be a part of SNO to help contribute towards the Big Sky and Bozeman communities.

Taylor Russell |
Max Baucus Institute Climate Scholar

  • Taylor Russell is a junior at Montana State University pursuing a degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship. Taylor joined Big Sky SNO through the Max Baucus Institute Climate Scholars Program and is excited to contribute to sustainability initiatives in the Big Sky community.

    Growing up skiing and hiking in Colorado and spending time biking and exploring the outdoors in Bozeman fostered her deep appreciation for the natural environment. This passion first developed through trail work in high school and has grown into a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. She is excited to continue learning, growing, and helping protect the landscapes and communities that make Montana and Big Sky such special places.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elizabeth Kraus | Chair

  • Elizabeth Kraus earned her B.A. in Marketing from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, and has been founding, working for, and investing in startups for over 20 years. Elizabeth started her career at the rapidly growing startup Exclusive Resorts and co-founded her own startup, myUsearch.com, at the age of 25. After building that business, Elizabeth was an active angel investor. She made 22 personal angel investments, and founded and grew the Impact Angel Group before negotiating a successful merger with Investors’ Circle, the largest and most active impact angel investing organization in the U.S.

    In 2014, Elizabeth co-founded MergeLane, which invests in early-stage startups and venture capital funds led by at least one female leader. MergeLane has invested in 54 companies and recruited a network of over 300 mentors and 600 investors to support this portfolio, which is now valued at 2.5x its investment. The MergeLane investments made in the early days, which have had the most time to mature, are valued at 8.2x its investment. Idaciti, one of its portfolio companies, was acquired by FactSet (NYSE: FDS | NASDAQ: FDS), yielding a 4.3x DPI (distributions to paid capital) for MergeLane’s first fund. 

    Elizabeth became a full-time Montana resident after MergeLane made its last investment in 2023. After a serious health scare and a perfect storm of related and unrelated events (including her move to Montana), Elizabeth co-founded Imperfectly Honest to share the lessons she learned and is still learning from this transformative life experience. Through her podcast, blog, and upcoming book, she shares her successful and not-so-successful attempts to be the person she wants to be. 

Christina Calabrese | Treasurer

  • Over the past 10 years, Christina has worked at the interface of growing the Big Sky community while preserving and enhancing its exceptional natural environment. In her role as Vice President of Design at Lone Mountain Land Company, she has strived to build a roster of award-winning design teams that are at the forefront of sustainable design, and most recently, achieving onsite net zero energy in our Montana climate. Christina actively participates in Big Sky’s non-profit and community-oriented initiatives, having contributed her design and planning expertise as a board member of the Arts Council of Big Sky and several task forces and subcommittees of the Big Sky Community Organization; Big Sky Community Housing Trust; and most recently as a participant in the production of the Big Sky SNO Climate Action Plan. Christina holds a Masters of Urban Planning from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, with a second major in French, from the University of Virginia.

Amy Fonte | Secretary

  • Amy is a passionate sustainability professional who has a natural affinity for systems-thinking and enjoys complex environmental, social and economic problem solving. After graduating from Furman University with a B.S. in Sustainability Science, she moved to Billings to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA on a Community-Wide Methamphetamine and Opioid Response Initiative. Following her year of service, she moved to Washington D.C. where she attended American University’s Kogod School of Business and served with United Way Worldwide as an Economic Mobility Project AmeriCorps Vista Leader. Amy earned her M.S. in Sustainability Management and returned to the beautiful state of Montana. She resumed work in the field of Substance Abuse Prevention, as Yellowstone County’s Prevention Specialist, before moving to Big Sky in 2021. Amy is the Sustainability Specialist for Big Sky Resort, where she oversees the ForeverProject, the Resort’s commitment to Net Zero and roadmap for sustainability. Amy also serves on the Montana Prevention Certification Board.

Max Scheder-Bieschin | Vice Chair

  • Max is passionate about coaxing as many of us as possible to be better stewards of our environment. He is optimistic we can do this without major sacrifice, by using our existing economic system and our ability to introduce new technologies and business models.  In addition to joining SNO, Max volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a national lobby focused on bipartisan solutions to climate change. Max first visited Big Sky in 1982 and started coming to Montana regularly ten years later, after meeting his wife, Ann, whose family homesteaded in Roy. He has lived and worked in many countries as a banker, executive and entrepreneur, and considers himself fortunate to also have enjoyed the outdoors and natural environment everywhere he has been. Ensuring that his and his friends’ grandchildren can ski, sail, hike, fish and hunt - as he has been able to do - is his latest venture.

Liz Hogan | Board Member

  • Liz really believes that Montana is one of the Last Best Places, and its lands and water should be stewarded. She visited Big Sky in 1995 and fell in love with it for its skiing but also for its’ expansive mountains for snowshoeing and hiking. Liz appreciates the challenges of a place needing to grow but doing so while protecting its natural resources. Liz grew up on the East Coast where she hiked, biked, and skied, and worked on Wall Street where she had the opportunity to travel globally. She and her family finally moved to Big Sky in 2020. Liz is passionate about supporting female entrepreneurs and has angel invested for the past 10 years and has been an advisor to the Rocky Mountain Women’s Business Center and mentors at the Wacholz Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Flathead Valley Community College.

Dylan Hoffman | Board Member

  • With more than 25 years of experience in sustainability, Dylan has dedicated his career to helping organizations balance environmental stewardship with practical business solutions. Since 2011, he has worked in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as the Director of Sustainability for Yellowstone National Park Lodges (Xanterra) - developing a deep appreciation for the landscapes, wildlife, and communities that make the area unique.

    Outside of work, Dylan is a proud father of two young daughters and enjoys spending time outdoors hunting, fishing, and skiing. He is also an enthusiastic backyard chicken hobbyist, wild game culinarian, and aspiring sourdough baker - all of which further build on values of self-sufficiency, conservation, and connecting people to the natural world.

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