As PIE celebrates 25 years of growth, one theme appears again and again in employee stories: the best innovations are often the ones that create opportunities for people.
For Emily LeVeaux, that opportunity began when she returned from maternity leave looking for a new challenge. Rather than stepping back into familiar work, she stepped into a need that was becoming increasingly important for the company: executive outreach. “I was coming back from maternity leave with my son Jack,” Emily recalls. “I was ready to just do something kind of different at PIE. I was excited to dig my teeth into something new.” Working alongside fellow team members, Emily helped create structure around what would become PIE’s dedicated executive outreach function.
One of the most important outcomes of that work was the development of the Project Coordination Intern (PCI) role. As PIE continued to grow, the PCI program created a new pathway that benefited both the company and the Bozeman community. “We were able to get, or kind of develop, I should say, the role of a project coordination intern,” Emily says. “It’s exciting to be able to offer positions to interns, college students or folks coming back to the workforce, whatever stage they might be in.”
The impact extended far beyond executive outreach. The PCI program gave local college students and emerging professionals exposure to a unique business environment they might otherwise never experience. “PIE is an interesting place to be,” Emily explains. “You can learn a lot from the executives you talk with, from the communities you listen to. It gives people great experience into a unique part of the business world.”
What makes Emily’s contribution especially meaningful is that the PCI program evolved into a talent pipeline. Over time, interns gained real-world experience, built professional skills, and in several cases transitioned into full-time roles at PIE. The new role and training system for executive outreach created capacity for the company while simultaneously opening doors for people beginning their careers. Emily sees that as one of the most rewarding parts of the journey. “It has been fun to see how two people spending all of their time on executive outreach have assumed other roles in the company, while helping create new career opportunities for others.” she says.