Board of Directors

Myrna Adams Dumontier is a dedicated cultural coordinator, educator and liaison for her Salish tribe.  She served as a CSKT Councilmember representing her native Arlee district from August 2018 until January 2020.  Myrna graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelors degree in Social Work with emphasis in addiction and psychology studies and received an honorary degree from Salish Kootenai College in Native American Studies.
Myrna has worked in Drug and Alcohol Prevention and addictions treatment much of her forty plus year career on the reservation and attributes her cultural knowledge to growing up in a traditional family. That traditional knowledge has been applied to curriculum development in various work environments such as Head Start, resulting in the first ever language immersion classroom, and continues to benefit ongoing efforts in her community to preserve and perpetuate the Salish Language, culture and lifeways.
Born out of the knowledge of ancestral homelands, Myrna’s favorite recreation is packing into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. She is a certified Wilderness Packer and hopes one day to devote her time to explore more of the wilderness with tribal people.

A resident of St. Ignatius, Emily Thueson's commitment to animals and nonprofits is boundless.  Emily is a mental health advocate who works with addiction recovery groups. She works with animals as much  as people. She cared for educational ambassador birds at the Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center along with  taking care of birds in their rehabilitation center. Her passion for nonprofit work was inspired through years of  association with the Glacier Conservancy and the Glacier Natural History Association, and she recently moved  from West Glacier to St. Ignatius to be on the Flathead Reservation in the middle of ARC's geographical center  of operations. Over the years, she has harnessed her connections in the Glacier Park community to support  valuable nonprofit projects and rescue the most down-and-out animals who needed a second chance, and she  now brings her expertise and energy to ARC.
Emily is excited to serve ARC's Secretary.

 Most people know Jill as the award-winning and Emmy-nominated reporter seen nightly anchoring the 5:30 and 10:00 news on KPAX. Not many know that she spent ten years married to Steve Allard, sharing a name well-known on the Flathead Reservation due to its long-time association with St. Ignatius. Fewer still know Jill’s love for her dogs and her passion for highlighting animal causes through her professional work. Jill earned her degree in communications (with a political science minor) from Washington State University and moved to Montana in the early 2000s, eventually becoming the most popular and recognizable journalist in Western Montana.

  An Elder of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes, Betty Fyant has called Arlee her home for her entire life. She has spent 40 years working for the CSKT Tribes in various capacities, much of that time at Tribal Health. Betty’s sensitivity to the plight of reservation animals and her understanding of the living reality of reservation communities are valuable and important additions to ARC’s Board of Directors. 

   Growing up a member of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of the Flathead Nation in Ronan, Shane Morigeau has a very personal understanding of the needs, strengths, visions, challenges, and history of the People ARC serves. He has sought to serve the interests of his People through a budding political career, serving as member of the Montana House of Representatives (2017- 20) and the Montana Senate (2020-present). Sen. Morigeau graduated from the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana and the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.  He has also served CSKT as an attorney.

Filip Panusz has spent roughly 15 years working on animal related issues in the nonprofit field.  He holds a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and an M.A. in Environmental Ethics.  He has served as Executive Director for three separate nonprofits including the Mission Valley Animal Shelter on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Filip feels drawn to nonprofit work that helps both animals and people - particularly those who have faced injustice or pain.

He lives with his beloved wife, daughter and a canine rescue in western Montana, where he arrived 28 years ago, seeking a freer, slower, and more genuine life that was down-to-earth and just a tad less civilized.

In the rare moments he finds for himself, Filip enjoys admiring the beauty of birds, wildlife, and remote wild landscapes.

Gary Robson has served on numerous nonprofit boards and most recently worked as Executive Director of Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary. He has worked extensively in accessibility for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people; he wrote three books on the subject and received three related U.S. patents. He has written 29 books, hundreds of articles, and many grant applications. He is perhaps best known for his “Who Pooped in the Park” nature/science book series for children, which has sold over 650,000 copies.
He taught computer-related courses at Rocky Mountain College in cooperation with tribal colleges across the State of Montana, and at two California colleges.

He lives in Montana with his wife, two rescue dogs, and two cats. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.