Coordinators
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Biographies
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Vietnam
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Ms. Patty Murphy
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Ms. Patty Murphy
Housing Director and Pathways Supervisor
YWCA Missoula
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. NGO Thi Thu Hang of Vietnam
Web address: http:// www.ywcaofmissoula.org
Patty Murphy has had the pleasure of working at the YWCA Missoula for the last 12 years. Patty started as a volunteer and then was the YWCA shelter Coordinator where she worked with Domestic Violence and Sexual assault survivors. Patty is now managing the YWCA’s housing programs for homeless families and individuals.
In her free time, Patty enjoys hiking, running, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Patty is married with two grown children and has two dogs and two cats.
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Ms. Kyle Colling
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Dr. Kyle K. Colling, Ph.D.
Consultant, The Rural Institute, The University of Montana
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. TRAN Thi Phuong Anh of Vietnam
Web address: http://ruralinstitute.umt.edu/
Ms. Colling has 35 years of experience working on behalf of people with disabilities in the fields of rehabilitation, special education, and/or mental health counseling. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology, a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and a doctorate degree in Human Rehabilitation. She has developed extensive training curricula, has conducted practitioner training programs, and has developed and taught many graduate level courses. She served as Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Services and as Vice Chair of Graduate Programs. She conducted research and authored or co-authored professional publications primarily in the field of Rehabilitation. She also conducted a number of applied research projects including qualitative inquiry into why students drop out of high school. Additionally, she is a strong advocate for including comprehensive sex education in public schools. A specific area of interest for her includes multicultural and gender issues; particularly equal access, opportunity and civil liberty.
Motivation: I am committed to social justice activities promoting full and equal participation in society for women and girls. Over the many years I taught the course Multicultural and Gender Issues in Counseling, I was astonished to learn that nearly all the women in my graduate classes believed women have achieved full wage equity in our society. They did not know that white women's wages are still not equal to white men's (and some researchers have suggested a backward trend), nor did they know how much that gap widens for women of color, or especially for women with disability. Our culture has thoroughly indoctrinated women to wrongly believe they have achieved equal value in the workplace and equal participation in community life and in our country's civil discourse. There are many areas of injustice that remain in our society, and more work must be done to achieve social justice for women and girls (and in particular, for those with disabilities) living in the United States. I am excited to partner with a woman from Viet Nam who is also interested in these same issues. I know I will learn much from her and I will share this valuable information with others working on behalf of women and girls.
Ms. Colling is married with children and grandchildren, and loves to spend time with family and friends. She enjoys reading, belongs to a book club, and volunteers in her community.
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Thailand
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Ms. Diane Sands
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Diane Sands grew up on Eastern Montana’s Fort Peck Indian Reservation and has spent her 65 years dedicated to Montana. She graduated from the University of Montana in Anthropology and went on to graduate studies in women’s history and women’s studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C... Like many founding feminists of the 1960’s and 70’s, she was involved in most areas of women’s activism. She taught the first women’s studies at the UM and at MSU. She was also a founder of the Women’s Center, the Women’s Employment Network, Women in Non-Traditional Jobs, Montanans for Choice/NARAL, Montana PRIDE, and the Montana Women’s History Project, to name a few.
Diane has spent 30 years in political service in Montana, including 12 years as the Executive Director of the Montana Women’s Lobby, a coalition of 52 organizations. She is currently a member of Montana House of Representatives, representing Missoula. She was the first “out” gay elected official in Montana.
Diane’s day job is at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula where she is development director and the project coordinator for the history of Fort Missoula’s WWII Alien Detention Camp. She is also President of the Missoula American Association of University Women and serves on the state board.
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Ms. Jane Guest
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Ms. Jane Guest
Family Advocate, WORD Inc.
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. Maliwan SENAWONG of Thailand
Web address: http://www.wordinc.org/
Jane Guest is a graduate of the University of Montana with a BA in Social Work. Jane’s work at WORD is as a Family Advocate and Housing Coordinator, but she has spent eleven years doing direct service work in the Missoula community and has also done shelter and outreach work while placed at The Salvation Army, the Gateway Program, the Poverello Center and the Joseph Residence. Jane’s work has centered on housing issues and homelessness, and Jane is a tireless advocate for those in poverty. She continues her work at WORD as a supervisor to other Family Advocates while she continues to serve families directly. Jane is an active member of the At Risk Housing Collaborative (ARHC) and on Montana’s Continuum of Care Committee. As a multi-year active member of ARHC, Jane has served on ARHC committees, both the Long-Term and Short-Term, and Emergency Winter Shelter Committee for multiple years.
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Laos
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Ms. Denise Higgins
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Ms. Denise Higgins
Bureau Chief
Family and Community Health Bureau
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. Chanthila KONGTHONGTIP of Laos
Web address: http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth
Denise Higgins oversees Maternal and Child Health programs for the State of Montana . The Family and Community Health Bureau aims to improve the health of mothers, children and their families through federally and state-funded programs. These programs provide and ensure access to comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care to women, especially low-income and at risk pregnant women; reduce infant mortality through prevention and intervention strategies; improve health outcomes and influence lifetime nutrition and health behaviors in a targeted, at-risk population and ensure children with special health care needs receive necessary health assessments, diagnostic and treatment services.
A native of northern Illinois, Denise has made Montana her home since 1993. Outside of work, Denise enjoys the busy-ness of being Mom to her children, Nora, age 12 and Eamon, age 8. She enjoys yoga, alpine skiing and mountain biking in her spare time.
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Ms. Julie Foster
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Ms. Julie Foster
Executive Director, Ravalli County Economic Development Authority
Fellowship coordinator for Ms. Anousone PHIMMACHANH of Laos
Web address: http://www.rceda.org/
Julie Foster has had the pleasure of working as the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority, Executive Director since December of 2005. Julie is a 23 year veteran of small entrepreneurial Montana business with 15 years of experience in rural economic development. Julie's expertise includes providing a variety of technical assistance to diverse businesses and corporations, small business counseling and business expansion and retention services, grant writing and administration, capitalization and management of various loan funds and project management. Julie's work includes development of local infrastructure and community projects as well as establishing effective regional partnerships.
Professional and personal interests include technology, innovative economic development, cooking and outdoor recreation with friends and family. Julie has lived in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of Western Montana for 26 years with her best friend and husband Steve, and a spoiled Parsons Russell terrier, Charlie.
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Ms. Jamie Silberberger
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Ms. Jamie Silberberger
Director of Programs and Policy
Women’s Voices for the Earth
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. Chanthalangsy SISOUVANH of Laos
Web address: http://www.womensvoices.org/
Jamie Silberberger is director of programs and policy at Women’s Voices for the Earth. Jamie’s work focuses on advancing policies and strategies that will reduce women’s exposure to toxic chemicals in both the home and occupational settings. She is the National Coordinator of the National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance, and serves on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics national steering committee and legislative subcommittee.
Jamie is also a state steering committee member of Montana Women Vote, a coalition dedicated to educating and mobilizing low-income women to participate in the democratic process. She has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. While attending the University of Montana, Jamie was named a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (2005-2006).
In her free time, Jamie enjoys skiing, hiking, backpacking, and keeping up on current events. Jamie was born in Helena, Montana, but grew up in southern California. She came back to the Rocky Mountains to work as a park ranger for four seasons in Yellowstone National Park before joining the WVE staff in 2007.
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Cambodia
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Ms. Roe Erin
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Ms. Rohanna (Roe) Erin
GUTS! Girls' Leadership Program Manager
YWCA Missoula
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. BUNNA Soseihak Nead of Cambodia
Web address: http://www.ywcaofmissoula.org/
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Roe has lived in Missoula for about three and a half years and has been working with girls ages 9-18 ever since. Roe started as a volunteer with the GUTS! program and has since then been hired as program coordinator and then promoted to program manager. Through the GUTS! program, Roe leads groups and trains volunteers in the "GUTS! model." GUTS! uses small group discussion, outdoor challenge and single-gender mentoring to work with girls from the inside out: first identifying their personal strengths/skills then building strong healthy relationships with one another and finally working together to tackle common challenges and community needs. Roe enjoys riding her bike, dancing, cooking good food, climbing mountains and swimming in the river.
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Ms. Sarah Rossi
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Ms. Sarah Rossi
Public Policy Coordinator, Montana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. SOEUM Soren of Cambodia
Web address: http://mcadsv.com/
Sarah grew up in rural Illinois. She has a very large family, including four siblings, 30 aunts and uncles, and around 100 first cousins. After high school, Sarah attended the University of Colorado, where she earned her BA in English Literature with a minor in Law Studies. From there, she joined the Peace Corps, serving two years in the West African country of The Gambia. After feeling drawn to work involving indigenous rights, upon her return to America Sarah attended the University of Montana School of Law, where her main area of interest was Native American Law. After graduation and passing the bar the exam, Sarah was offered a position at the Montana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where she is currently employed. Sarah enjoys hiking with her dogs (Catfish and Pasta) and hanging out with friends and loved ones.
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Ms. Olivia Riutta
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Ms. Olivia Riutta
Co-Director, Montana Women Vote
Fellowship Coordinator for Ms. YIM Sokunmealea of Cambodia
Web address: http://www.montanawomenvote.org/
Olivia Riutta was born and raised in the Midwest and moved to Montana over six years ago. She has had the opportunity to work on array of social and economic justice issues and to work closely with an amazing group of women allies and mentors. Olivia worked on issues that affect Montanans who are low-income and lobbied the Montana State Legislature while at Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (WEEL) in the state capitol of Helena. She organized communities through electoral campaigns in the Midwest and in Montana. She worked on issues of youth empowerment, violence against women, international development, and on renters' rights. Olivia began working at Montana Women Vote (MWV) in 2009 and acted as the Statewide Outreach Director until recently, when she became Co-Director of MWV. She has a B.A. in Grassroots Development from the University of Michigan and lives in Missoula with her partner and her two cats.
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Elizabeth L. Harrison