Laurie Bishop

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Laurie Bishop resides in Livingston, MT, where she is representing her community in the Montana State House of Representatives. When not working as a legislator, Laurie is the Director of the Montana Afterschool Alliance. Her previous work has included improving statewide high school graduation rates with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and serving as the executive director of a youth development nonprofit.

Clayton Christian *

Commissioner of Higher Education, Montana University System

For over a decade, Clayton Christian has proudly served the students of Montana. During his tenure on the Board of Regents (5/2006-12/2011) Christian was a champion for common course numbering, tuition freezes, and other system initiatives aimed at increasing student access, success, and affordability. As chair of the Board of Regents, he continued to focus on implementing measures to improve system accountability, transparency, productivity, and increased confidence in higher education. He was and continues to be an advocate for increased opportunities in distance learning, a measure that continues to have a significant impact on a state that encompasses over 147,000 square miles. In 2012, Christian was asked to continue his service to Montana as the Commissioner of Higher Education. Under his leadership and on behalf of the Board of Regents and in partnership with university presidents, he has elevated Montana’s educational system that serves nearly 45,000 students and 9,000 faculty annually at 16 public colleges and universities. As commissioner, Christian has leveraged public and private partnerships to dramatically increase growth in workforce development, implemented innovative state investments which yielded record amounts of university-based research, and implemented performance-based funding with institutional incentives for student retention.

Sheila Stearns

Past President, University of Montana

Dr. Sheila M. Stearns has served in senior administrative positions in higher education, including president of the University of Montana, vice president of UM, chancellor of UM-Western, president of Wayne State College in Nebraska, and commissioner of higher education in Montana.  Early in her career she was a school librarian and taught middle school classes in Department of Defense schools in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Since 2012, Stearns has served as a Senior Fellow for the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB), consulting for boards across the country, from Guam to Florida.

Stearns holds three UM degrees, in English, history, and educational leadership.  She and her husband, Hal, a retired educator and brigadier general (R) in the Montana National Guard, both travel and speak extensively on issues such as western historic trails, rural revitalization, college access, and importance of smooth transfer of credits for all students, including K-12 students in military families. They have two children and six grandchildren.  She is retired and lives in Missoula, MT.

David Bedey

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Laurie Bishop

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Laurie Bishop resides in Livingston, MT, where she is representing her community in the Montana State House of Representatives. When not working as a legislator, Laurie is the Director of the Montana Afterschool Alliance. Her previous work has included improving statewide high school graduation rates with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and serving as the executive director of a youth development nonprofit.

JP Pomnichowski

Senator, Montana State Legislature

Daniel Salomon

Senator, Montana State Legislature