Montana Girls STEM Helena Collaboration Conference

8/10/2019 Montana Girls STEM Helena Collaboration Conference

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MONTANA GIRLS STEM

Montana Girls

STEM Collaborative

FALL COLLABORATION CONFERENCE

NOV. 7, 2014|HELENA COLLEGE|HELENA, MONTANA


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Welcome from the Dean

of Helena College

May I personally ex-tend a warm welcometo you from HelenaCollege Universityof Montana, one ofMontanas premiercenters of higher

education since 1939.Helena College isexcited to host thisyears Montana GirlsSEM Collaboration Conference. As tech-nology continues to dominate much of ourdaily lives it is increasingly more importantto encourage young women to pursue careersin SEM related fields.

Science, echnology, Engineering, and Mathare the disciplines that form some of themost exciting, challenging, and rewardingprofessions discovered by women of today.In fact, major industries seek out and highlyrecruit women who have mastered theseskills because they recognize the enhancedvalues of diversity and critical thinking that

women bring in to the various professions ofSEM.

We hope you will enjoy your time at Hel-ena College and the SEM CollaborationConference. It is my sincere hope that at thisconference you find many ways to help in-spire girls to pursue careers in science, tech-nology, engineering and mathematics.

Daniel Bingham, Dean of Helena College

Welcome from the Montana Girls STEM

Conference co-chairs

On behalf of theMontana Girls SEMCollaborative and ourboard members andadvocates throughMontana, welcome toour fall collaboration

conference! As youwill learn today, thegoal of MontanaGirls SEM andour parent organization, the National GirlsCollaborative Project is to unite individualsand organizations who support and educate girlsabout the numerous career opportunities availablein the fields of science, technology, engineeringand math.

One theme of our day is the power of role modelsand mentors, which research shows is one ofthe most important factors for young women inchoosing a career. We encourage you to thinkback about the women and men who serve asrole models or mentored you. How could younow support another young person to engage inlearning and exploring SEM fields? We hopeyou enjoy the day and find many new ideas and

collaborators.Conference Co-Chairs,

Suzi aylor, MSU Extended University,(Montana Girls SEM Collaborative lead)

Jan Lombardi, JML Strategy, Helena(Montana Girls SEM Champions Board)


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Montana Girls STEM Board Members

Leadership TeamLisa Blank Professor UM College of Education and Human Sciences Missoula

Wendy Fechter Director STARBASE Great Falls

Laura Gittings-Carlson Continuing Education Program Director MSU-Billings Billings

Liz Gundersen GirlTech director, retired MD Exploration Works HelenaAllyn Harris Engineer CTA Architects Billings

Jenny Lind Graduate Student University of Montana Missoula

Tiphani Lynn Graduate Student Montana State University Bozeman

Melanie Magee Educator / GEAR UP Coordinator Browning Public Schools Browning

JuDee ODonnell Business Process Mgr., / Camp Director Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming Billings

Michael Stone Retired educator Montana public schools / former STARBASE director Great Falls

Suzi Taylor Asst. Director, Outreach and Communications Montana State Universitys Extended University Bozeman

Holly Truitt Director University of Montana spectrUM Missoula

Sara Young Community Engagement Core Director Montana INBRE

IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence

Billings

Champions BoardNikki Andersen Director Exploration Works Helena

Annie Beaver Associate Financial Consultant D.A. Davidson Livingston

Heather Bilden Freelance educator / Ranch Co-owner Coulee Creek Ranch Lavina

Lisa Bullock First Lady State of Montana Helena

Jonda Crosby Farmer and Training Services Director International Organic Inspectors Association Broadus

Waded Cruzado President Montana State University System Bozeman

Jan Lombardi Owner/Consultant JML Strategy Helena

Sandi Luckey Communications Director Montana AFL-CIO Helena

Monica Mainland Renery Manager ExxonMobil Billings Billings

Cindy ODell Professor Salish Kootenai College PabloMartha Peters Director of Administration College of Nursing, MSU-Bozeman Bozeman

Major General

Matthew Quinn

Adjutant General, State of Montana State of Montana Dept. of Military Affairs Fort

Harrison

Melanie Reynolds Public Health Ofcer Lewis and Clark County Helena

Kim Schweikert Sr. Director Adult & Community Services Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain, Inc. Billings

Nancy Schweitzer Former First Lady State of Montana Helena

Wendy Wigert Director of Operations Montana Conservation Corps Bozeman

National Champions BoardJessi Smith Professor Montana State University Bozeman

Board members who are participating in our conference are denoted

throughout this program by the National Girls Collaborative Project logo


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Schedule

Morning Session - Helena College Main Campus8:45am Registration opens

9am9:30am Coffee /Breakfast and Networking Atrium

9:30 Welcome and AnnouncementsJan Lombardi and Suzi aylor, Conference Co-ChairsThe Voice of Girls, video

DonaldsonLecture Hall

9:35-9:50 Remarks from First Lady Lisa Bullock

Montana Girls SEM Collaborative Champions Board MemberDonaldsonLecture Hall

9:5010:10 About the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative

Speed Networking

DonaldsonLecture Hall

10:10-10:20 Break

10:2011:50 Breakout Sessions

Panel 1: Why STEM careers? Explore opportunities in apprenticeships,

two-year and four-year college degrees and beyondAlthough some might think that SEM is just for engineers or geeks, most employers want workerswho are able to reason and solve problems using some math, science, or technology knowledge.Hear about SEM-based career opportunities from a panel of Montana business and organizationalrepresentatives. You will also learn more about a variety of educational and workforce preparationsthat can lead to building a diverse SEM workforce across the Big Sky state. And, you might besurprised to hear about the variety of career paths that these panelists took!

Panelists: Dr. Monica Berner, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana; Dan Carter, ExxonMobil;iffany Ferguson, Northrop Grumman; Sandi Luckey, AFL-CIO; Stephanie Morrison, Stateof Montana; Renee Quintana, Xerox Healthcare Services. Moderator: Pam Cote, BlackstoneLaunchpad Montana

Donaldson

Lecture Hall

Panel 2: Collaborating to Fill the STEM PipelineWhy do businesses engage with the community? If youre a business looking to get started incommunity outreach or perhaps a non-profit or educational institution that wants to connectmore with business, come learn about some best practices in collaboration, including waysto engage staff, reach out, find partners and share resources. Youll also hear about successfulMontana Girls SEM mini-grant collaborations: organizations that teamed up to advanceSEM for girls around Montana.

Panelists: Laura Clark, Opportunity Bank of Montana; Shari Eslinger, KLJ Engineering;Josh Hughes, Add-a-udez Entertainment / eam KAIZEN; Jeff Kuratnick, Paris GibsonSquare Museum of Art; Christie Lende, Boeing Helena. Claudia Rapkoch, NorthwesternEnergy. Moderator: Jan Lombardi, JML Strategy / Montana Girls SEM Champions Board

Room 002-003(downstairs)

Panel 3: Learning Outside the Classroom: Hands-on STEMWhether youre immersed in SEM education or just getting started, youll walk away withseveral new ideas for bringing more SEM to youth in your programs. Presenters from severaldifferent fields will walk you through hands-on SEM activities and strategies that you cando yourself. Well also discuss best practices for engaging girls in SEM and SEAM whenintegrating Art. Well have time at the end for participants to share their own go-to resources.

Panelists: Laurie Evarts, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; Liz Gundersen,ExplorationWorks; Pat Schneider, A World in Motion; im Speyer, Archie Bray Foundation.

Moderator: Suzi aylor, MSU/Montana Girls SEM Collaborative

Room 120


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11:50Noon Break

Noon1:15pm Networking Lunch and Keynote Luncheon Speaker

Pushed Away or Pulled In? Social Factors that Affect Womens and Girls

Participation in STEM

Dr. Jessi L. Smith, Montana State University

Room 002-003(downstairs)

1:15pm-1:45pm Break for travel to Helena College - Airport Campus (2300 Airport Road)ransportation is on your own; bring your parking pass from the morning!

Afternoon Session Helena College Airport Campus(2300 Airport Rd, Helena 59601)

1:15pm1:45pm Check-in for participants who are only attending the afternoon session

(Morning participants do not need to check in again)

1:45pm2:05pm Welcome

Daniel Bingham, Dean of Helena College Lieutenant Governor Angela McLean

2:05pm-3:35pm Role Models Matter TrainingJamie Cornish, Extended University, Montana State University,and Jessie Herbert, spectrUM Discovery Area, University of Montana

3:35pm-3:45pm Break / Prize drawing winners posted...come pick up your prize

3:45pm-4:15pm Tours of Helena College two-year STEM programs

Led by Helena College faculty, staff and students

4:15pm-5pm The Last Word: Panel and audience discussionJoin us for an interactive synopsis of the day. What takeaways do you have? What will you do next?Our panelists will weigh in from various perspectives, and conference participants are encouraged toshare their thoughts, as well.

Panelists: Nikki Andersen, Exploration Works; Melanie Magee, GEAR UP / Browning Schools;Valerie Martinez, Helena College; Maria Bocquin, Vetter Aviation; Suzi aylor, MSU / MontanaGirls SEM. Moderator: Jan Clinard, Helena College

5pm ADJOURN

Youre invited!Join us for an after-conference reception at Boeing Helena.

Boeing is pleased to extend an invitation to an open house reception at our Helena facility from 5:30 to 6:30p.m. Light hors doeuvres and refreshments will be served. Some participants will have an opportunity to par-ticipate in tours of our fabrication facility. Boeing Helena is located at 3200 Skyway Drive. Upon arrival, please

check in through our main entrance located on the east side of the building. Plenty of parking is available. Di-rections from the Helena College Airport Campus to Boeing Helena are as follows: Head northwest on Airport Road toward Washington Street Turn right on Washington Street Take the rst right onto Skyway Drive. e plant is approximately 1.7 miles on the right.


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First Lady Lisa BullockLisa (Downs) Bullock was born in Helena, Montana. She is theoldest of six children in an Irish Catholic family. Her father was apsychology professor, and her mother a nurse.

Lisa graduated from the Helena public school system. She receivedher Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Computer Sciencefrom Carroll College in Helena, and attended graduate school at theUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Lisa works as a management consultant for Public Knowledge,LLC, a management consulting company, and has a Project Man-agement Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Manage-

ment Institute. She also volunteers at herchildrens elementary school, serves on theBoard of the Lewis and Clark Community

Foundation, and coaches her sons basketballteam. Lisa is a member of the championsboard of the Montana Girls SEM Collab-orative Project.

Lisa and her husband Steve have three chil-dren, Caroline, Alexandria, and Cameron.She enjoys skiing, playing basketball, hiking,and eating anything thats chocolate.

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Jessi L. Smith, MSU Professor of PsychologyJessi L. Smith received her Ph.D. in psychology from the Universityof Utah in 2002. She is now a Professor of Psychology at Mon-

tana State University and is Special Assistant to the Provost as thePrincipal Investigator and Director of the NSF-funded ADVANCEProject RACS. ADVANCE Project RACS aims to broadenthe participation of women faculty and enhance equity at MSU,especially among the science, math and engineering departments.Her research specializes in social psychological aspects of gender and

culture that utilizes models and theories toadvance the success of people at risk in edu-

cation, business, and health. Dr. Smith re-cently was named to the national championsboard for the National Girls CollaborativeProject, parent organization of the MontanaGirls SEM Collaborative.

Lieutenant Governor Angela McLeanAngela McLean, a win Bridges High School graduate, becameMontanas 31st Lieutenant Governor in February, 2014 when she

was appointed by Governor Steve Bullock.

McLean, an educator and classroom teacher, taught American His-tory and Government at Anaconda High School and served as anadjunct professor at Montana ech in Butte prior to being tappedLieutenant Governor. She also served as the Chair of the MontanaBoard of Regents prior to being appointed Lieutenant Governor,and had previously served on the Montana Board of Public Educa-tion.

A tireless advocate for Montana, Angela has partnered with Gover-nor Bullock to advance the administrations agenda of better jobs,better education and a more effective government.

In her first six months in office, as part of Governor Bullocks Main

Street Montana Project, Angela visited all seven of Montanas Indianreservations and met with tribal council leaders, community mem-bers, and educators to engage in a productive and valuable dialogueabout how to foster economic opportunities in Indian Country.

Angela also developed Montana SMAR Schools, an initiative ofthe Lieutenant Governors office, with the goal of reducing energyusage in schools and saving schools money.

Angela also chairs the Montana Gover-nors Drought and Water Supply AdvisoryCommittee, a clearinghouse for the sharingof water supply and moisture conditionsamong state and local agency officials withresponsibility to manage natural resourcesand support constituents most likely affectedby drought, and the Labor-Management Ad-visory Council, which provides a structurefor an organized discussion of workerscompensation public policy.

Angela worked through high school as a waitress at the Blue AnchorCaf in win Bridges. She earned a bachelors degree in 1994 from

Western Montana College in Dillon, now the University of Mon-tana Western becoming the first member of her family to graduate

from college. She went on to earn her Master of Arts in Curriculumand Instruction from the University of Montana in 2000 and in2005 she became a Nationally Board Certified eacher.

Angela and her husband Mike are the parents of Colin, a freshman,and Ellen, whos in fifth grade. She enjoys spending time with herfamily, as well as skiing, bicycling, hiking and camping.


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Laura F. Clark,Opportunity Bank of MontanaLaura F. Clark is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officerfor Opportunity Bank of Montana. Ms. Clark has over 35 years of

banking experience, including a variety of executive positions withrespected community banks throughout Montana. She holds adouble major in Business and Spanish from Montana State Uni-versity Billings. Her background in bank operations, accountingand financial reporting coupled with experience in bank marketingand systems analysis bring a strategic approach to bank manage-ment. She initiated a company that provided operational supportand guidance to community banks. Ms. Clark has served on bankboards and has consulted with banks in transition. Ms. Clark serveson the board of ExplorationWorks Science Center. www.opportuni-tybank.com

Shari Eslinger, KLJ EngineeringShari Eslinger is an energetic and out-going communicator, solu-tion-finder and mother. She graduated from Montana State Univer-sity with a degree in Civil Engineering and found herself trappedby the abundance of hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, fresh air andoverall lifestyle that is Bozeman, M. She works for KLJ Engineer-ing as a Municipal Engineer and is part of their prestigious 3-year

Young Professional Development Program, designed to hone com-munication and leadership skills. She is thrilled to support SEMin any way and believes that the key to SEM student participationis not just sending out an invitation, but also opening the door andextending a welcoming hand.

Josh Hughes,

Add-A-Tudez Entertainment / Team KAIZENJosh is part of Add-A-udez Entertainment Company and eamKAIZEN in Great Falls. eam KAIZEN, which is Montanas firstPlayStation Certified Game Studio, views themselves as a teachingstudio that develop their own games alongside doing outreach pro-grams to teach people about the SEM and opportunities behindGame Design and Video Game Entrepreneurship. Tey give talkson Game Design/Entrepreneurship to schools and work with enti-ties like Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art to do LittleBigPlanetClub, a program where students learn how to design their owngames within Sonys LittleBigPlanet game creation tool set.

Jeff Kuratnick,Paris Gibson Square Museum of ArtCurrent Curator of Education at Paris Gibson Square Museum of

Art in Great Falls, Montana, Jeff Kuratnick is a ceramic artist andeducator. Kuratnicks academic training is in K-12 Art Education

with certification from the state of Pennsylvania. Since earning hisdegree, Kuratnick has taught in K-12 schools, Art Centers, Mu-seums and Universities in Pennsylvania, Idaho and Montana. Hismuseum experience has led him to develop educational programsand collaborations that focuses on visual art education to furtherdevelop content knowledge in science, technology, engineering andmathematics.

Christie Lende, BoeingChristie Lende is an HR Manager for the Boeing Company, work-ing in the Boeing Commercial Airplanes division at their fabricationfacility in Helena, Montana. Christie has worked in the Human

Resources discipline for over 17 years. She has a bachelors degree inHuman Resource Management from Western Governors Univer-sity, and an MBA from the University of Mary, as well as a SeniorProfessional Human Resource certification (SPHR). Christies careerin HR has been focused in heavy industrial settings including min-ing, power generation, Class 1 railroad transportation, and heavymanufacturing. In addition to her career focus, Christie is also aboard member and secretary for the York Fire Service Area, support-ing volunteer firefighting efforts in her community. She is proud tobe a native Montanan, residing in York with her husband Nick.

Claudia Rapkoch, Northwestern EnergyClaudia Rapkoch, APR, is the Director of Corporate Communica-tions for NorthWestern Energy, an electric and natural gas transmis-sion and distribution utility serving more than 678,200 customersin Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Her team is responsiblefor all internal and external communication activities includingpublic and media relations, internal communications, online andsocial communications, printing and publications, advertising andsponsorships, community relations, corporate philanthropy andstakeholder engagement programs. Claudia grew up in Coloradoand has a Journalism degree from Colorado State University. Shespent several years as a radio and television journalist in Coloradoand Montana before joining Montana Power as a writer in 1995.She has an MBA from the University of Montana and accreditationfrom the Public Relations Society of America (APR). When not do-ing fun things outside or renovating an old house or two, shes hard

at work in her office in uptown Butte or traveling for work and/orenjoyment. She and her husband are the proud parents of a youngson and share their home with an equally rambunctious bassethound. witter: @ClaudiaRapkoch

Moderator: Jan Lombardi,JML StrategyJan Lombardi is owner of JML Strategy an education policy consult-ing firm. She has 35 years of experience working in government,nonprofit, and the business sectors, including serving as the Educa-tion Policy Advisor and Director of the Governors Office of Com-munity Service for Governor Schweitzer. Lombardis work in Mon-tanas nonprofit and public sectors has resulted in lasting change inservice delivery and policy for children and families from cradle tocareer. Considered a crowning achievement for future generations,

Jan helped with the passage of full-time kindergarten in Montana.She is passionate about empowering young women to successfullypursue their goals and dreams. Jans commitment to volunteer-ing and giving back is evident in her service on numerous boards:Montana Girls SEM Collaborative, Montana AfterschoolAlliance,Helena College Foundation, Montana Conservation Corps and the

Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.

Breakout Session 2 Collaboration to Build the STEM Pipeline


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Laurie Evarts,Montana Fish, Wildlife and ParksLaurie Evarts is the M WILD Education Program Manager forFish, Wildlife and Parks. Laurie has a Masters degree in Curricu-

lum and Instruction Science Education. She has over 10 yearsexperience in conservation education, including curriculum andinstruction, program development, and evaluation. Five yearsexperience educating students who are considered at-risk, minor-ity or cognitively. Evarts will share information on Montana Fish,

Wildlife and Parks resources for educators and how to incorporateSEM into teaching about Montana Fish & Wildlife.

Liz Gundersen, ExplorationWorksLiz Gundersen MD is a retired pediatrician involved in the devel-opment of ExplorationWorks Science Center in Helena. Along witha teacher friend, she has run the Girl-ech program for 14 years, a

weekly mentored program for 5th-grade girls that teaches teamwork

while working on tech projects like circuits-and-switches, computeranimation, and robotics. Ideas proto-typed in this program havehelped expand a wide range of hands-on activities for all ages atthe science center, in particular a robotics experience for first gradethrough senior high that has lead students to challenging SEMcareer choices. Contact Liz at [email protected] See website at: www.explorationworks.org

Pat Schneider,A World in MotionPatricia A. Schneider is Montanas Liaison to Society Of Automo-tive Engineers (SAE) Internationals A World In Motion (AWIM) inpartnership with 21st CCLC, Montana Private and Public Schools,and Montanas Ambassadors. Pat is also the founder of MiPAS Edu-

cational Consulting Firm. Her firm coupled with SAEs award win-

ning SEM programs are directly involved in the Rocky MountainAWIM Initiative (RMAI) started by Arne Siegel, Montana Ambas-sador and SAE Foundation Member. Pat is a consummate educa-

tor with over 40 years in K-16 education and is currently a collegeprofessor. She works with the Western States school districts todevelop K-12 SEM education outreach initiatives with importantand lasting results, by bringing together AWIM student programs,community volunteers, and teachers.

Tim Speyer,Archie Bray Foundation BoardLife unfolds as a fascinating journey. At one time or another, Ive

worked as a landscape architect, park planner, interpretive natural-ist, K-12 environmental educator, corporate operations manager,elementary school teacher, middle school art teacher, and artist. Mycombined interests in the fields of art, education, and science haveconsumed most of my life. I currently serve on the board of the

Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts and work on variousindependent projects.

Moderator: Suzi Taylor,MSU Extended UniversitySuzi aylor is Assistant Director for Outreach and Communica-tions for Extended University at Montana State University inBozeman. She is also co-leader of the Montana Girls SEM Col-laborative Project. At MSU, Suzi is involved in numerous SEMoutreach programs, ranging from nanotechnology to thermal biol-ogy, and has developed and taught several courses, including Newechnologies: Whats the Big Deal? to a group of lifelong learn-ers, and Communicating Astrobiology to the Public for MSU

undergraduates. She recently partnered with the Gallatin UnitedWay KidsLink afterschool program to host Reverse Engineering,learning that, given enough Dollar Store screwdrivers, any thirdgrader can take apart a microwave.

Breakout Session 3 Learning Outside the ClassroomHands-on STEM (and STEAM!)


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Role Models Matter

Role Models Matter is an initiative that prepares SEM profession-als for outreach.

Role models play a vital role in getting youth excited about careers

in SEM, Less than 60 percent of high school girls know some-one in a SEM career, and 93 percent of program participants inechbridge (the non-profit that developed RMM) say that field tripsand role models made them more interested in science, technology,or engineering careers. Exposing girls to female role models helpsto counteract negative stereotypes about women and SEM. andRole Models Matter will help you develop skills to engage girls andunderrepresented youth in SEM (science, technology, engineer-ing, math). RMM training is valuable for SEM professionals whoseek to hone their skills in reaching out to youth as mentors androle models, and is also valuable to SEM educators and program-mers who seek to incorporate role models into their classrooms andprograms.

RMM was developed by echbridge, a501(c)(3) nonprofit inspiring girls andunderrepresented youth to discover apassion for technology, science, andengineering through hands-on learning and career exploration.

techbridgegirls.org/rolemodelsmatter/

Presenters

Jamie Cornish, MSU Extended UniversityJamie Cornish is the science outreach and education specialist atMontana State Universitys Extended University where she hashelped write, manage and implement grants from NASA, NSF,

and NIH. She has served as the both the director of education andmarketing at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. Before mov-ing to Montana, Jamie worked in New York City at Sesame Street,the Walt Disney Company and Nickelodeon. Jamie has a B.A. from

Princeton University in East Asian Studies, as well as an M.Phil. anda Ph.D. in education from Cambridge University in England.

Jessie Herbert, spectrUM Discovery AreaJessie Herbert serves as the SEM Education Program Manager atthe University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area. She earnedher bachelors degree in elementary education from the Universityof Montana in 2008, and has worked in informal education for sixyears as an educator, trainer, and coordinator. She became a certifiedSciGirls trainer in 2011 and trains educators to implement gender-sensitive curriculum in their classroom. As a passionate learner,

Jessie enjoys teaching and learning about all types of science, fromnano science and neuroscience to physics and ecology. She spendsher free time with her husband and two year old daughter, canoeing,skiing, and dancing!

Get involved! Check out:

Million Women Mentors (millionwomen-mentors.org) an engagement campaign andnational call to action that mobilizes corpo-rations, government entities, non-profit andhigher education groups, around the imperative of mentoring girlsand young women in SEM fields. Montana has pledged 5,000mentors!

Fab Fems (fabfems.org) is a database of womenfrom a broad range of professions in SEM. Teyare passionate, collaborative, and work to makethe world a better place. Many girls have similarinterests but arent connected to adults who exemplify the SEM

career pathway. Tis is where you come in. Create a FabFems profileto expand girls career options, dispel stereotypes and spark theirinterests - just by being you.

Tis portion of our conference is sponsored by theWomens Foundation ofMontana. Te Womens Foundation supports economic self-sufficiency ofwomen and a brighter future of girls. Te Foundation:

Builds a permanent endowment that will provide funding to enhance thelives of women and girls in Montana in perpetuity.

Makes grants to Montana organizations that help women and girls attaineconomic self-sufficiency. Creates statewide awareness of the barriers to economic self-suciency and supports systemic change to

eliminate those barriers.Te Womens Foundation offers grants that benefit women and girls as well as our communities overall. As theonly statewide fund dedicated to funding for women and girls, donations are leveraged through our endow-ment. Our grant-making is focused on lasting change for women and girls.

Visit http://www.wfmontana.org/about.html


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The Last Word

Nikki Andersen, ExplorationWorksNikki Andersen is in her 4th year as director at ExplorationWorksScience Center, moving to Helena so she could be surrounded by

mountains and immersed in science for kids and adults. Her careerwork has always been in informal education for kidseverywherefrom the largest childrens museum in the world to colonial Ameri-can and medieval arms and armor museums and now to Helenasscience center. Nikkis passion is helping children, especially girls,build bright futures for themselves. She believes developing a lovefor science and technology at an early age and keeping them en-gaged launches girls into rewarding career paths and opens the doorsto rewarding experiences throughout their lives. Nikkis served onthe board of Girls Inc in several cities and was active in the WomensInitiative, a subset of the United Way in Massachusetts, also focusedon helping girls excel. She is a member of the Montana Girls SEMCollaborative champions board.

Valerie Martinez, Helena CollegeValerie Martinez is the rades echnology Division Chair at HelenaCollege UM. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in SecondaryEducation: Business and Office Administration, a Masters of Educa-tion in Curriculum and Instruction and over 30 years experienceas an instructor and administrator in post-secondary education.Te rades Division offers educational opportunities for developingaptitudes, perfecting skills, and acquiring the knowledge necessaryfor individuals to be effective and competitive throughout lifetimeemployment in a changing work environment. She reports working

with the faculty and students in the rades Division at Helena Col-lege is deeply rewarding.

Maria Bocquin,Vetter AviationMaria Bocquin was a Boeing Scholarship Recipient, who graduatedfrom the Helena College Aviation Maintenance program and passedher A&P licensure test in May of 2014. She currently works for Vet-ter Aviation, in Helena.

Melanie Magee,GEAR UP / Browning Public SchoolsMelanie Magee is the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness andReadiness for Undergraduate Programs) Coordinator for BrowningMiddle/High Schools, a college preparation program that servesalmost 1,000 students. She is a graduate of Browning High School

as well as a graduate of Carroll College. Before working withstudents in Browning, Melanie worked in the Human Resourcesfield for 5 years, serving as the Assistant Personnel Director on theLolo National Forest (Missoula) then transferring to the Lewis andClark National Forest (Great Falls) as Personnel Director. Melaniereturned home when she met her now husband and served as the

Blackfeet ribe Personnel Director for 5 years. She gladly traded thiscareer in when she got the opportunity to work with middle andhigh school students, to help encourage more students like herselfto pursue college. Melanie and her husband Mark live on a ranch

south of Browning, raising 3 children that are currently in the 7th(McKenna), 10th (Landon) and 2nd year in college (Jessica) at theUniversity of Montana.

Suzi Taylor, MSU Extended UniversitySuzi aylor is Assistant Director for Outreach and Communica-tions for Montana State Universitys Extended University. She is alsoco-leader of the Montana Girls SEM Collaborative Project. Sheearned her bachelors degree in journalism from the University ofIllinois and a masters in business education from MSU. In her posi-tion at MSU, Suzi helps develop SEM outreach programs for theMontana Institute on Ecosystems, NASA Astrobiology Institute andTermal Biology Institute, and has presented at SEM events such

as NanoDays, Expanding Your Horizons and Astronomy Day. Sheis a board member of the Montana Womens Business Center anda recent graduate of Leadership Bozeman. Suzi and her husband,Scott, an anatomy and physiology instructor at MSU, are parents toa son, Cameron, 9, and a daughter, Molly, 14.

Moderator: Jan Clinard, Helena CollegeAs the Career Pathways Coordinator for Helena College, Jan Clin-ard assists high school and college instructors develop seamless tran-sitions for students, enabling them to earn dual credit, gain workexperiences, and make smart choices about course work and careers.Previously, Jan served as the Director of College Readiness Programsfor the Helena College, managing grant-funded initiatives thatprovided professional development designed to help K-12 teachersprepare students for meeting college admissions requirements andCommon Core State Standards. As the Director of Academic Initia-tives for the Commissioner of Higher Education, Jan directed theMontana University System Writing Assessment for twelve years andoversaw the development of Board of Regents policies for collegeadmissions, placement, and remediation. In 1989 she began servingas the Language Arts Specialist, then as the Curriculum and Assess-ment Specialist for the Montana Office of Public Instruction, whereshe developed model curriculum and assessment programs, orga-nized and presented at workshops and conferences, provided train-ing in performance-based accreditation, and published a series ofdocuments that guided teachers throughout the state in data-baseddecision-making, curriculum development, classroom assessment,

and implementing interdisciplinary instruction. Before joining OPI,Jan taught middle school through college levels in Butte, Denver,Kalispell, and Helena. She holds a B.A. in English from MontanaState University and a M.Ed. with an emphasis in Curriculum andInstruction and an Ed.D. with an emphasis in Higher Education

Administration, from Te University of Montana.


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About Montana Girls STEM mini-grants

Te Montana Girls SEM Collaborative Project hasfunded 13 Montana projects that are designed to engagemore girls in science, technology, engineering and math.Te first round of mini-grants were funded by $10,000

from the National Girls Collaborative Project / NationalScience Foundation and a generous $10,000 grant fromthe Womens Foundation of Montana. Tree projects

were selected via competitive application in Fall 2013and eight in Spring 2014. Tey include:

ravel support for four Montana teens to attend theRutgers University 4-H Climate and Environment Sum-mitand bring back ideas for hosting a similar event inMontana.

Te Butte Public Library developed Codespace4Girls:Computer Coding Boot Camps.Tese free training

opportunities include programming languages CSS3,HML5, and PHP. raining for girls, taught by girls.

Young Women in STEM, a day of hands-on SEM hostedby ExplorationWorks and Carroll College in Helena.

Montana Gems, an after school club in Buttethat alsohas a science fair component.

Scholarships for girls to attend the Montana Trout Unlim-ited Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp.

SciGirls Astronomy After School Club in Missoula: an

after-school program focused on physics and astronomy.

A STEM YouTube Channelhosted by women in SEMcreated by the U. of Montana Paleontology Center andlocal high school girls.

Hyalite STEM Club, a greenhouse/gardening/engineering

program based at Hyalite Elementary School in Bozeman.LittleBigPlanet Club, a collaboration between eam KAI-ZEN Games and the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Artin Great Fallsto involve girls in video game development.

Reed Point STEM Club, which engages high school girlsin robotic surgery simulations.

Gallatin Girls Coding Club, which will teach program-ming in the high-tech maker space at the ChildrensMuseum of Bozeman.

Whats in the future for Girls STEM mini-grants?Tanks

to a grant from Northrop Grumman, weve begun toraise money for our second round of mini-grants. If youare part of a business or organization that could supportthis effort, please see Suzi Taylorat the conference, orcontact [email protected]. Support for SEM mini-grants is a tremendous way to grow SEM program-ming for girls in Montana!

Mini-grant

success!

(Left to right)

Rachel Fessenden

and Jenny Gregerof Bozeman

and Alexandria

Schafer of Denton

are pictured with

retired U.S. Navy

Rear Admiral

David Titley, who was invited to Montana by Paul Lachapelle

(at right). Paul, a community development specialist for

MSU Extension, wrote a mini-grant that sent Rachel, Jenny,

Alexandria and Shelbie Fitzgerald of Cut Bank to a teen

conference at Rutgers University. Their journey served as

a catalyst for Dr. Titleys invitation to Montana, where heworked directly with dozens of teens at the 4-H Congress and

gave a public talk to more than 200 people. The success of

the project was detailed in a blog entry on the National Girls

Collaborative Project Website. http://www.ngcproject.org/

blog/mini-grant-catalyst-rear-admirals-visit-montana

In Great Falls, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art

and Add-A-Tudez Entertainment / Team KAIZEN offered

a weeklong video game development came for girls. They

partnered with the Girls Scouts of Montana-Wyoming to

recruit participants.


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Many thanks to our sponsors for their generous support!

A2Z Stafng Solutions is anindependent, Helena women-owned employment agency for allprofessions for the past 11 years.

Hundreds of clients and thousandsof job placements later, we are as excited about what we do asever before! A2Z continuous to provide contracted temporaryworker services and recruitment services statewide to local,state, federal government, corporations including Fortune 500companies, and private sector employers. From office supportto professional, technical and scientific an employee certi-fied payrollweve got YOU Covered! Customer-focused,capable, results-driven, responsive, accountable, committedthats us A2Z Staffing Solutions we are YOUR SRA-EGIC PARNER IN BUSINESS AND CAREER AD-VANCEMEN embracing your business culture and invest-ing in your career development working towards achievingYOUR GOALS. A2Z is the only WBENC certified womanowned business in our industry in Montana and ASRAWomens Business Alliance forum leader in our state. http://www.a2zmontana.com.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of

Montana:As Montanas larg-est not-for-profit health insurerwith nearly 250,000 custom-ers, Blue Cross and Blue Shieldof Montana (BCBSM) hasprovided top-notch health insurance plans and administra-

tive services to Montanans for nearly 75 years. BCBSMT hasdistinguished itself in the marketplace through careful planstewardship, member-focused wellness solutions, superiorcustomer service and a nuanced understanding of Montanaculture. BCBSM is strictly focused on serving Montana andis committed to ensuring its membersno matter where theyare on the health spectrumachieve maximum health. BCB-SM is headquartered in Helena, with six regional officesacross the statean unsurpassed statewide presence of morethan 600 Montana-based employees.

Boeing Helena specializesin complex machining

of hard metals, touch-ing nearly every one ofBoeing CommercialAirplanes products. Acquired in 2010, Boeing Helena has al-ready distinguished itself with superior capabilities in machin-ing parts for nearly all Boeing airplane models. Te companynow employs 144 people in 112,000 square feet of spacelocated in Helena, Mont. A planned expansion will add nearly50 percent to the manufacturing space when completed inthe fourth quarter 2014. Boeing Helena is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Te Boeing Company and is one of 12 BoeingFabrication sites located worldwide. Boeing Helena producesparts and assemblies for Boeing Commercial Airplanes 737,747, 767 and 787 airplane models. Major products include

side-of-body chords for the 787, which connect the wings tothe fuselage; terminal ttings for 737wing assemblies; 747-8failsafe bars for the ap track assemblies; 747 small side platecarriage, part of the front main landing gear assemblies; and767 and 767-2C main landing gear assemblies. Boeing Hel-ena fabricates products to the U.S. Federal Aviation Adminis-tration Boeing Production Certicate 700.

ExxonMobilis a strong sup-porter of SEM education notonly in Montana, but across theUnited States. Employees areinvolved in Science Ambassador programs, tutoring and class-

room outreach because the company believes math and sci-ence are critical tools for students who will soon be entering ahighly competitive global environment. ExxonMobil has beenengaged in improving the quality of education for decadesand we think we have a responsibility to help find solutions,some of which are funding the Mickelson eachers Academy,the Sally Ride Academy and the National Math and ScienceInitiative. Billings Refinery Manager Monica Mainland serveson the Montana Girls SEM Collaborative champions board.

JML Strategy providesconsulting services on edu-cation policy and strategy

for public, nonprofit andbusiness sectors. Find out how you can simply create policiesand practices to strategically impact today and build capacityfor tomorrow in a rapidly changing world.

MSU Extended University

is an academic outreachdepartment that supportsMontana State UniversityBozemans land-grant missionby reaching beyond the traditional campus, classrooms andacademic programs to create unique learning environmentsand provide educational opportunities for individuals to meet

their academic professional and lifelong learning goals.Montana EPSCOR, the Experi-mental Program to StimulateCompetitive Research, is a Na-tional Science Foundation programto advance science and engineeringcapabilities for discovery, innova-tion and overall knowledge-based prosperity. EPSCoR cata-lyzes key research themes, activates effective collaborations,broadens SEM participation, and drives programmatic

M O N T A N A N S F


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experiments that motivate positive change and progression.Montana EPSCoRs flagship research program is the Instituteon Ecosystems (IoE), a statewide, university system-led effortdedicated to understanding the effects of climate change on

sustaining healthy ecosystems and economic growth. http://www.nsf.gov/od/iia/programs/epscor/

Northrop Grumman and the Northrop Grumman Foundation

are committed to ex-panding and enhanc-ing the pipeline of di-verse, talented SEMstudents globally. Tey provide funding to SEM programsthat span from preschool to high school and through colle-giate levels, with a major emphasis on middle school studentsand teachers. Northrop Grumman employees actively volun-teer in support of many SEM organizations in their com-

munities and internationally. In 2014, Northrop Grummanand the Northrop Grumman Foundation continued outreachefforts by contributing millions of dollars to diverse SEM-related groups such as the Air Force Association (CyberPa-triot), Conservation International (ECO Classroom), theREC Foundation (VEX Robotics) and the National ActionCouncil for Minorities in Engineering. Northrop Grummanis a leading global security company providing innovativesystems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber,C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government andcommercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northrop-grumman.com for more information.

NorthWestern Energy (NYSE:NWE) provides electricity andnatural gas in the Upper Mid-west and Northwest, serving ap-proximately 678,200 customersin Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More informationon NorthWestern Energy is available on the companys web-site at www.northwesternenergy.com. Follow us on Facebookand witter @NorthWestern_M

Xeroxprovides innovativesolutions, data analytics andpopulation health services thatsimplify health program man-

agement, transform healthcare data into actionable insightsand improve the health of the citizens you serve. We sup-port the continuum of government healthcare with analyticand clinical solutions, population health management andMMIS programs, eligibility services, long-term services andsupports, payment method development, auditing and BPOservices. We improve health outcomes, reduce administrativeburdens and save money for patients, payers and providers.We simplify the way work gets done so you can focus on whatmatters: better serving your citizens and state. Learn more atwww.xerox.com/govhealthcare.

Special thank you to the following:All of our presenters, panelists and moderators

Alphagraphics - Bozeman

Curtis Biggs and the Montana Digital Professional LearningNetwork / Montana Digital Academy

Scott Bischke, author of Fish ank

Jan Clinard, Helena College

Mallory Cooper, AmeriCorps VISA

Katie Gibson and High Country Apps

Montana Institute on Ecosystems

MSU Presidents Office

MSU Termal Biology Institute

Mountain Pearl Photography by Jen Fredette.www.mountainpearlphotos.com

Christy Stergard, Helena College

And to the many co-workers, friends and colleagues whom wemay have inadvertently left off this list. We appreciate all yoursupport!

Many thanks to our sponsors for their generous support!

TOMORROW: Women in Gear

Conference attendees are invited to observe tomorrows Women in Gear event, as girls in 8th

grade and high school get their hands on eight applied STEM elds beginning at 9am at Helena

College Airport Campus. A panel of successful young women is scheduled for noon.


16/16

MANY THANKS to our partners,

Helena College and the Womens Foundationof Montana, and to our sponsors:

A2Z Stafng Solutions, Blue Cross Blue

Shield of Montana, ExxonMobil, JML

Strategy, Montana Institute on Ecosystems,

Montana NSF EPSCoR,

MSU Extended University, Northrop

Grumman, Northwestern Energy, and Xerox

and to Boeing for hosting the evening

reception.

M O N T A N A N S F

Documents

Montana Girls STEM Helena Collaboration Conference