Sarah Music Headshot

 Sarah Music


Coordinated School Health Director

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Direct the programs within the Coordinated School Health Unit including physical activity/physical education, health education, nutrition, health services, school counseling/psychological/social services, staff wellness, healthy school environments and student/family/community involvement.
  2. Develop and recommend education program guidelines, procedures and performance indicators that meet OPI policy framework and state/federal requirements for programs in the Coordinated School Health Unit..
  3. Prepare annual state plans for the programs receiving state/federal funding within the Coordinated School Health Unit.

Sarah Music is the Coordinated School Health Program Director for the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Sarah had worked in public health for 10 years before joining the OPI team. Sarah brings a passion for equity and advocating for whole student wellness. She enjoys golfing, board games, and spending time with her family during her free time.

Kris Minard

 Kris Minard

406-444-0785
Tobacco Use Prevention
Education Specialist
 

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Promote comprehensive tobacco free policy in Montana schools.
  2. Provide access to youth tobacco use prevention education resources for schools.
  3. Provide student and staff tobacco use prevention education presentations.

Kris Minard is the Tobacco Use Prevention Education Specialist for the Coordinated School Health Unit. She’s been providing schools with assistance in youth tobacco use prevention since 2012; helping students make informed, intentional choices to stay tobacco-free is her priority. Kris spent her early years in Nebraska and Alaska and earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Northern Arizona University. Her educational career began in rural Alaska where she enjoyed teaching elementary and high school physical education and coaching volleyball and basketball. She moved with family to Montana in 2002 and loves living in Big Sky Country.

Katie Wardisiani Headshot

 Katie Wardisiani

406-431-3029
21st CCLC Program Specialist

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Provide leadership and technical assistance to 21st CCLC subgrantees
  2. Research and create innovative programming for out of school time programs to better serve youth
  3. Plan and conduct 21st CCLC grant competition

Katie Wardisiani is the 21st CCLC Program Specialist. Her educational background includes a BA degree in Elementary Education with emphasis in Middle School Mathematics & a Master’s in Educational Leadership. Katie has 13 years of teaching experience with students in KU5-8^th^ grade, which also included working as a Title 1 Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Program Coordinator, and Instructional Coach. Katie has been part of the 21st CCLC program for 5 years working as both instructional staff, and site coordinator. Katie is passionate about advocating for and supporting schools, students, families, and communities that are part of the 21st CCLC program.



Amanda Domino

 Amanda Domino

406-431-0466
21st Century and Suspension-
Expulsion Data Specialist

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Manage the 21st CCLC data collection in the Transact Cayen AS21 system for federal, state, and local grantee reporting.
  2. Provide Training and Technical Assistance to 21st CCLC grantees on all aspects related to the data collection in the Cayen AS21 system.
  3. Data Steward for federal EDFACTS reporting for FS 086Students Involved in Firearms, FS130 Persistently Dangerous Schools, FS163 Gun Free Schools Act (GFSA) assurances that schools are reporting gun related incidents to the state, and the (GFSA) Survey.

Amanda has been working for the Montana Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant program since October of 2007. She manages the data collection and reporting for the grant. Amanda provides professional development, technical assistance and support to sub-grantees to ensure that Montana conveys the story of the importance and impact that our 21st CCLC afterschool programs have on the well-being and success of the student participants. In addition, Amanda works to provide quality assurance and data reporting for federal discipline EDFACTS reporting.

Genie Zeeck

 Genie Zeeck

406-444-3178
Instructional Coordinator

Work-Related Duties:

  1. State coordinator for both the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Health Profiles Surveys through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  2. Maintains and updates reports for the OPI website, stakeholder-specific information, school information, and comparative data between national and state data sets. She also is asked to do public presentations and provide information on the data that is kept from the surveys when requested.
  3. Provides direction for inquiries from schools and the public regarding K-12 physical education and health education. This includes direction on curriculum, current standards and information on who to contact for licensure and accreditation.

Genie has spent all but two years of her life in Montana and is proud to follow her family's roots back to early settlers on the Highline. She has spent her career in social work and human services, collecting her Bachelor's and then Master's in Psychology along the way. Genie loves to take her elderly pug, Boris, for is daily waddle and take her other dog, Bella, for swims at the lakes when she can.

Courtney Hubbs

 Courtney Hubbs

406-438-0473
Project AWARE Program Manager

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Provide technical assistance to Project AWARE local education agencies and serves as a liaison between sub grantees and SAHMSA.
  2. Coordination and facilitation of state level workgroups related to school mental health.
  3. Support implementation of evidence-based strategies within an MTSS framework for grantees.

Courtney lives in Billings and is the Project Aware Program Coordinator. Courtney was raised in Billings and served 9 years with the Montana Army National Guard including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. She received a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation and Related services from Montana State University Billings and has spent the last 8 years gaining experience with mental illness, community resources, and the criminal justice system. Courtney has a passion for working with underserved and disadvantaged populations and believes in supporting whole-person wellness. She is a Licensed Addiction Counselor and is looking forward to assisting Montana schools increase awareness and supports around substance use and mental health disparities.



Beth Dominicis Headshot

 Beth Dominicis

406-459-0496
Tobacco Use Prevention
Education Specialist

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Promote comprehensive tobacco free policy in Montana schools.
  2. Provide access to youth tobacco use prevention education resources for schools.
  3. Provide student and staff tobacco use prevention education presentations.

Dr. Beth is passionate about health promotion. She has a BA in Film, BS in Biology, Graduate Degree in Education, and Doctorate in Chiropractic. She has taught elementary school, plus middle and high school sciences. Beth also led doctorate level health sciences courses. She has been a practicing chiropractic physician since 1994 and loves answering neuro-musculoskeletal, biomechanical, and nutritional questions. She’s an avid humane society volunteer with two sweet, adopted dogs. Beth’s an artist at heart and in her spare time, she plays with fine/studio arts. She lives in Montana’s lovely Bitterroot Valley.

NO HEADSHOT

 Brian Patterson

406-594-0059
School Safety Program Manager

Work-Related Duties:

  1. Directs school safety and violence prevention initiatives/programs in active collaboration with divisions across the agency.
  2. Determines the statewide plan for school safety and violence prevention initiatives/programs oversight and determines broad policy that impacts the statewide plan and the operation of local programs.
  3. Provides technical assistance to Montana schools to assist in the resolution of problems concerning school safety and violence prevention initiatives/programs.

Brian Patterson is the School Safety Program Specialist. His educational background includes a BA degree in Emergency & Disaster Management with emphasis in Mitigation & Preparedness Management and certifications in Project Management. He has retired from the Air Force and came back home after 20 years of moving his family 6 times with 3 deployments as the Assistant Fire Chief and Incident Commander on numerous disasters. He is dedicated and driven for the safety of our children in the Montana Schools.