Cari Klepper

Cari is the owner of The Chinook Group, LLC a corporate events company that she started in 1993.  The Chinook Group’s key clients include Microsoft, Capgemini, Plantronics and many more.  

Cari is the founder and producer of the Whitefish Songwriter Festival and she brings 40+ years of public relations, marketing, and event planning to the Whitefish Songwriter Festival.   

Before starting her own events business, she co-founded Big Sky Music, a musical advertising company that created "jingles" for businesses across the Northwestern US.  Prior to that she worked as a political appointee for the US Small Business Administration, the White House and was the Executive Director of a special interest group that fought for shareholder rights - the United Shareholders Association, working closely with famous Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens.  

Cari is a Montana native and was raised in a Montana ranching family.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Montana. Cari spent most of her early adult life living and working in Washington, DC, New York City and Seattle, however she returned to her home state of Montana in 2006 and now lives in Whitefish with her husband, Kevin and two children, Christian and Kellie.