LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATION, INC.NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
November 30, 2010
Contact:
Jim Mallory, President
(859) 278-7723 or pmjlmallory@insightbb.com
Stephen Forrest, Director of Operations and Member Services
(406) 204-4728 or sforrest@gmail.com

Stephen Forrest to lead Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation

Great Falls, Mont. – The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation board of directors has hired Montana native Stephen Forrest as its Director of Operations and Member Services. He will assume the position in January 15, 2010.

Forrest brings extensive experience in the non-profit sector and fiscal management to the national membership organization. He is internationally recognized as an innovative and skilled historical educator, historic preservationist and policy advocate.

Since 2008, he has served as a lecturer at St. Clare’s, Hertford, and St. Catherine’s Colleges, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Prior to that, he was a faculty member in history and education at Montana State University – Great Falls.

Forrest holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in history from the University of Oxford and a Doctor of Education in adult education from Oklahoma State University. These are in addition to his Master of Arts in history from the London School of Economics and his undergraduate degrees from the University of Montana.

In addition to managing non-profits, Forrest has worked with Native American, African American and Latino American communities, along with people from more than 20 countries. Forrest has developed a variety of educational programs, including university-degrees and for-credit classes, and numerous educational partnerships between educational institutions and community agencies. He also has served as a speaker and panel moderator for popular and academic audiences on American history, Native American history, Irish history, community development and education. He has coordinated lecture series and speaking engagements for national and international scholars. His personal scholarly interests include the impact of the sense of place in history, Jeffersonian education, and the integration of history, anthropology and geography.

As director of operations and member services, Forrest is responsible for the overall operation of the Foundation’s programs and supervision of the staff. He is responsible for financial reporting; recruiting, retaining and strengthening our relationships with members and chapters; developing relationships and working with volunteers and partner organizations; and coordination with chapters hosting the Foundation’s annual and regional meetings. Forrest will work with the Board of Directors to develop an annual operations plan and with staff members to establish priorities and work plans.

“Lewis and Clark stand as one of America’s great epic stories,” Forrest said. “Helping preserve and protect the story and trail by becoming part of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation is a great honor.”

The Foundation was established in 1969 and has headquarters in Great Falls, Mont. It partners with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in caring for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. In addition, the Foundation supports scholarship, education and research on the expedition. The Foundation has more than 2,000 members and is known worldwide as the "Keepers of the Story and Stewards of the Trail.” It publishes the quarterly, scholarly journal, “We Proceeded On.”

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