Senator Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton)
Chair, Montana Broadband Commission

Misty Ann Giles
Director, Montana Dept. of Administration
Vice Chair, Montana Broadband Commission

10:15am: Local Government Priorities for ARPA funding
Eric Bryson, Executive Director
Montana Association of Counties

11:30am: Montana Telemedicine Alliance
Jody Haines, President, Montana Telemedicine Alliance
Director, Telehealth Services, Billings Clinic

Jody Haines has dedicated her career to improving the health of Montana. Jody is the director of Telehealth Services at Billings Clinic. For the past fifteen years she has served in regionally based healthcare management roles including the strategic development, implementation, and oversight of population health, telehealth and virtual care, innovation, operations, and community and workforce development programs.

Jody earned her Bachelor of Science from Montana State University in 2006. In 2010 she graduated from the University of Washington with an executive master’s degree in healthcare administration. She is also the youngest board-certified healthcare administrator in the state of Montana- earning her FACHE in 2013. In 2016 she was listed in the Missoulian’s “20 Under 40” for her dedication in putting the patient first while managing the state’s largest medical home program. Additionally, she has received numerous awards for her work in advancing healthcare in Montana.
Jody currently serves in several volunteer positions, including president of the Montana Telehealth Alliance, past-president and current Regent of the Montana American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and more locally with youth sports and conservation organizations.

In her rare spare time, Jody enjoys spending it with her husband and kids enjoying one of the several outdoor opportunities Montana offers.

Sarah Compton, Telehealth Program Manager, One Health

Sarah Compton is the Telehealth Program Manager for One Health, a family of federally qualified health centers that serves rural and frontier communities in eastern Montana.

Sarah has worked at the Gallatin City-County Health department, first as an AmeriCorps VISTA, progressing into grants administration, and then to accreditation coordinator. In this role, she was responsible for preparing the health department for national public health accreditation, leading efforts of performance management, quality improvement, as well as conducting collaborative community health assessment and improvement planning processes.

Sarah spent five years at Bozeman Health building a telehealth program from the ground-up. She worked with a diverse stakeholder group to develop and implement workflows, managed vendor relationships, and stayed abreast of regulatory and compliance requirements. She oversaw a 7,000% increase in telehealth visit volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sarah has been a member of the Montana Telehealth Alliance since 2016, and is the current vice-president-elect of that member-organization and is currently pursuing her Masters of Public Health at the University of Montana.

1:30 Federal Funding Priorities for Montana Education
Kirk Miller, Executive Director, School Administrators of Montana

Michael Sweeney, CIO, Office of Public Instruction

Michael Sweeney has been the Chief Data Officer at the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) since January 2019.  He provides leadership, direction and supervision to 40 data and technology professionals responsible for the day-to-day operations of the data management and information technology services and systems utilized by the OPI.  Michael has over 25 years of experience delivering secure, reliable and cost-effective data and technology solutions to a wide variety of public and private sector customers.

2:15pm: Broadband Solutions: Satellite, Fixed Wireless, Fiber
Larry Thompson. CEO, VantagePoint Solutions

Larry is the CEO and founder of Vantage Point Solutions, a national provider of engineering and consulting services to broadband providers. Larry is a licensed professional engineer and has been designing satellite, wireless, and wireline broadband networks for more than 30 years. Larry is a frequent speaker at state and national conferences and a frequent expert witness at utility commission and legal proceedings relating to telecommunication technology and regulatory matters. He is also a two-term member of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee.

Senator Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton) Chair
Scott Osterman, Director, Montana Department of Commerce
Senator Dan Salomon (R-Ronan)
Senator Janet Ellis (D-Helena)