Leadership Team

At the core of the RiverStone Health staff is our leadership team, a group of individuals whose vision, innovation and passion have made RiverStone Health a quality provider of primary care and public health services in southeastern Montana.

Jonathan Forte, MHA, FACHE
President & CEO

Jon joined RiverStone Health after serving as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Choptank Community Health System on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Jon previously spent a decade in various leadership positions within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Jon is a graduate of the University of Scranton, earning his bachelor of science degree in biology and a master’s in health administration. He is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. He is certified in Healthcare Leadership for Disasters and Mass Casualty Events as a graduate of FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness.

Originally from the Poconos in Northeast Pennsylvania, Jon is an avid backpacker, paddleboarder, cyclist and beekeeper.

John Felton, MPH, MBA, FACHE
Yellowstone County Health Officer

John joined RiverStone Health in May 2004. Prior to joining the organization he spent eight years as CEO of Northern Rockies Radiation Oncology Center, a non-profit freestanding radiation therapy center; six years as Vice President of Professional Services at a rehabilitation and sub-acute care facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was a member of both the Board of Health and Yellowstone Health Partnership Board. John has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Montana, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Puget Sound. John has been a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives since 2000.

Shelli Ritz, CPA
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Shelli has been with RiverStone Health since May 2008. Prior to joining the organization, she worked in a controller position at Roscoe Steel & Culvert Co. and was a key member of the company’s Continuous Process Improvement Initiative Team. Shelli also previously held the position of Vice President, Treasurer & Chief Financial Officer of Northern Rockies Radiation Oncology Center, a non-profit freestanding radiation therapy center. She also worked with KPMG LLP as an Audit Manager. Additionally, Shelli was a member of the Board of Health and the RiverStone Health Clinic Board. She received her undergraduate degree in accounting from Montana State University in Bozeman.

Bob Janicek
Chief Information Officer

Bob joined RiverStone Health as Chief Information Officer in 2022.  He came to Billings from Helena where he served as chief financial officer for Mountain Pacific Quality Health.

He has more than 25 years of experience in integrating technology with healthcare to help improve outcomes. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration/information systems from Montana State University Billings.

Bob grew up on a family ranch near Lewistown and had previously lived in Billings. In his role, he looks to enhance the experience of those we serve with technical innovation that will take RiverStone Health into the future.

Megan Littlefield, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Littlefield joined RiverStone Health as the Medical Director in September 2011. Prior to joining RiverStone Health, she practiced primary care and served as Medical Director at Revere Family Health Center at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts. She received her B.A. from Connecticut College, graduated from University of Maryland Medical School, completed a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatric residency at the University of Chicago, and then served as chief resident at McNeal Hospital prior to starting in clinical practice in 2005. Her clinical interests include improving healthcare access to underserved populations, obesity and diabetes prevention, and healthcare system transformation to create a team-based, efficient, population focused, and patient centered approach to healthcare. She is currently a clinical instructor of Family Medicine at the University of Washington.

Garth Brand, MD
Director, Montana Family Medicine Residency

Dr. Brand joined RiverStone Health as a resident with the Montana Family Medicine Residency program in 2013. After graduating from MFMR in 2015 he joined the faculty at RiverStone Health Clinic. Dr. Brand became the director of MFMR in 2020. Dr. Brand received his B.A. in Biochemistry Biophysics and Microbiology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He received his M.D. from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica. His is board certified through the American Board of Family Medicine. His clinical interests are in addiction medicine, simulation training, and GME. Dr. Brand enjoys spending time with this wife and two children, BBQ cooking, hiking and camping, skiing, biking, paddle boarding and travel, or mainly anything that allows him to be outdoors. Dr. Brand says the most satisfying part of teaching at MFMR is working with underserved patients in a Community Health Center with a focus on teaching many levels of students and residents.

Jeff Hert, SPHR
Vice President, Human Resources

Jeff joined RiverStone Health in May 2012. Prior to joining the organization he spent two years working as Vice President of Human Resources at iTech Corporation, which was acquired by Fiserv Corporation. He worked as a Human Resource Manager for Fiserv for three years, overseeing the Human Resources needs of Billings and West Des Moines, Iowa. He also enjoyed a long career of 24 years with FedEx Corporation, working in various facilities in management roles. Jeff received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Human Resource Management from Eastern Montana College (currently Montana State University Billings). He has served on the Yellowstone Valley Chapter Affiliate of the Society of Human Resource Management and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management (SPHR).

Eric Owen
Vice President, Public Health & Clinical Services

Eric joined RiverStone Health as vice president of Public Health Services in 2022 and added Clinical Services to his role later that year. Eric came to RiverStone Health from HealthPoint, a Community Health Center that serves the communities in King County Washington outside of Seattle. He has more than 20 years of experience working in metropolitan, suburban and rural public health, and community health systems, including many years in leadership. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is presently in a master of business administration program focusing on health administration. His spouse grew up in Montana and they have relatives in the Billings area.

Barbara Schneeman
Vice President, Communication and Public Affairs, Public Information Officer
Executive Director, RiverStone Health Foundation

Barbara joined RiverStone Health in July 2003 as the Manager for Communication and Advocacy and assumed her current role in 2013. She also became the Executive Director the RiverStone Health Foundation in 2022. Prior to joining the organization she served on the Yellowstone County Board of Health and worked with the American Heart Association at both local (Billings) and national (Dallas) levels on communication and public policy issues. She has a degree in History and Political Science from the University of Montana and participated in the 2006 -2007 cohort of the Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute.

Judy Stewart, RN, MS
Vice President of Culture & Innovation

Judy joined RiverStone Health in October, 1987. She has served in a wide variety of positions and program areas including Homecare and Hospice, Healthcare for the Homeless, and Pharmacy. Currently oversees Organizational Innovation (RiverStone Health’s Lean Six Sigma initiative), Analytics, and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) programs. She is an advocate for organizational culture and programmatic innovation. Judy earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from Montana State University, a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership from University of Mary and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.