Jessica is a Tobacco Use Prevention Education Specialists. Born a military kid, she lived in various places around the country, before moving to Montana to be closer to family right before her senior year of high school. After graduation she attended the University of Montana earning a degree in Journalism-Radio/Television Production. Jessica also holds a Master of Education, Interdisciplinary Studies from MSU-B. She brings ten years of youth ministry experience, as well as 3 years of substitute teaching. In her free time, she is active in sports: playing for a Billings area women’s contact flag football team, bowling league with her husband, and playing church league softball with her husband and two teenagers.

As a Montana public school teacher for 41 years, I was blessed with a fulfilling career that led to recognition for National Board Certification, Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, Unsung Heroes Award, Meritorious Awards, appointment by governor to Certification Standards Practice and Advisory Council, and ,000 Toyota Tapestry Award. In addition, teaching experiences led to being a published children’s author. Although the awards were appreciated, the true reward was doing what I loved each day; inspiring and contributing to the future by teaching children. Building relationships throughout the community with students, parents, colleagues, and the public is another asset of being a public educator. Described as a lifelong learner, after retirement, I completed credentialing in ministry. I now serve as the Family Care Pastor for New Life Church in Fairfield, MT, and associate with Stillwater Hospice in Great Falls, MT. As part of my Family Care Ministry, I am working with children and families. I secured a grant for teaching Raising Highly Capable Kids. Raising Highly Capable Kids is nationally recognized for positively supporting the mental health of all children, providing strategies for teachers when supporting children in their classrooms. State agency Promice686 encourages the implementation of strategies from Raising Highly Capable Kids when working with children struggling with behavior. This workshop will explain Raising Highly Capable Kids including a panel of experts for questions and answers.

Holly Burwell is a teacher, author, learning facilitator, and instructional coach with students and educators in grades Pre-K through 12. She consults through her business Inspired Mathematics, supporting math educators, and regularly presents professional learning sessions at regional and national conferences. Holly is a co-author of the math book Power Up Your Math Community: A 10-Month Practice-Based Professional Learning Guide (Corwin, 2025) and The Eight Habits of Highly Effective Math Students (and the Teachers Who Teach Them) (Corwin, 2025). She is an adjunct professor of Math Methods at the University of Providence and worked as a math specialist in Great Falls Public Schools to lead and grow math achievement for 10,000+ students. Holly is committed to bringing joy to teaching and learning mathematics in schools. You can connect with Holly at hollyburwell@inspiredmathematicsmt.com and @inspiremath.bsky.social

Susan Byorth Fox is chair and board member of Friends of the Montana Constitution. Before retirement in 2022, she served for 33 years as a staff member of Montana’s Legislative Services Division, including 16 years as Executive Director.

Kyndra Campbell is the Director of English Language Learners Program at Monforton School District. Also, she has been teaching for Gallatin College at Montana State University, Bozeman for going on 15 years. The classes she teaches are college writing, developmental writing, college studies, technical writing, and workplace communication. The tenet of her educational philosophy is to meet students where they are and collaboratively build knowledge toward excellence.

Currently an Eduknowmad, a 360 life-long, life-wide and life-deep learner, in an ongoing evolving professional journey. She advocates for change through mindshifts from a more humanistic learning paradigm where people collaborate in teams.

She earned two degrees (Teaching English a foreign language for pre-school and primary education in the University of Barcelona and King's College London, and English Philology in the University of Barcelona, ​​University of Birmingham and University of Manchester) and two masters (MA in Construction and Representation of Cultural Identities and MA in Educational Research and Change in the University of Barcelona). Besides her studies, her eagerness and curiosity led her to travel and live enriching learning experiences in educational ecosystems from around the world (Finland, England, Bali, the USA –Boston, San Diego–, Colombia, Tanzania and India).

Initially, she started her teaching career focused on the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language from preschool to high school for about 20 years. Her teaching quickly evolved from a discipline-centered to a more globalizing competency-based approach to guide the holistic development of lifelong learners. At the same time, she also coordinated teams within the pedagogical field and was involved in innovation teams taking different roles, as head of the Departments of Foreign Languages, Pedagogical Coordinator or Educational Expert in Catalonia, Spain.

With time, she has moved into training, facilitating and guiding educators, professors and even educational council officers to offer more meaningful and deeper learning experiences within and outside the walls of educational institutions. Also, she has collaborated with different entities and organizations in other types of educational projects, especially those related to education for sustainable development, 360 education for all, equity in education, and lifelong learning towards the transformation of societies glocally.

Michael Cassens is an Associate Professor of Game Design and Interactive Media in the School of Art and Game Design at the University of Montana, where he directs the university's esports program. A leading voice in generative AI education, Cassens teaches Creatively Exploring Artificial Intelligence and has integrated AI tools across UM's game design curriculum, championing both practical application and ethical literacy. He has served as a panelist at UM's AI Symposium, presented to the Montana Board of Regents, and facilitated AI trainings for K-12 educators across the state. As a member of UM's Future Project, he helped propose a university-wide AI certificate program. His applied research with tools such as Claude Code has produced an open-access AI Learning Hub featuring games, full-semester courses, and student debugging tools. Cassens has also developed custom GPTs for use across the UM campus, extending AI resources beyond the classroom.

Rebecca is an Assistant Professor and the Director of English Education at North Dakota State University. She specializes in teacher education, methods of teaching reading, Young Adult Literature, and rural teacher support. She grounds herself with meditation and yoga and loves reading and gardening and, most especially, spending time with her husband and two children. She is in her 17th year of teaching and is a former board member of MATELA.

Beverly Ann Chin, Ph. D. , is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Montana. She is the former English Department Chair and Director of the English Teaching Program, the Montana Writing Project and the Composition Program. Dr. Chin has served as President of NCTE and MATELA. and as a Board Member of NBPTS. She is Emeritus Board Director of Writing Coaches of Montana. With over 40 years of experience, Dr. Chin is an internationally respected leader in literacy education and an author/editor of video programs and text books on teaching reading and literature, writing and grammar, and multicultural education. She works with ELA standards, curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy at all levels of education. She has received numerous awards for her teaching, leadership, and service. She is a member of the Smithsonian Institute Rural Initiative Leadership Cohort. Dr. Chin is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, mentoring, student-centered pedagogy, and collaborative learning communities.

English teacher, OPI Language Arts and Curriculum Specialist, OCHE College Readiness Director, Helena College Career Pathways Coordinator; Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Jennifer Combe is an artist, mother, and Professor of Art at The University of Montana. Before shifting to higher education, she taught K12 in Washington State Public Schools for fifteen years.

Art teacher, OPI Arts Specialist, Gifted and Talented Director, artist.

28 year Science Teacher at CMR HS . Teacher differentiation trainer and mentor for GFPS in Great Falls. Currently full time release president of the Great Falls Education Association