Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.
The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.
WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️
"This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that's just something that's important to me," Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson's role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana's Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.
"Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different," Gilbertson said.
The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization's broader statewide efforts.
"I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let's see if we can provide that for people so that's something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more," Gilbertson said.
Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.
"I didn't know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that's fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven't played yet I've been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously," Gilbertson said.
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