2025 Presenters

Ericha Anderson is an Engagement Specialist at Vancouver Innovation Technology & Arts (VITA) elementary school in Vancouver Public Schools (Vancouver, WA). The focus of her work is to engage students in learning that is deep and long-lasting, inspires joy and personal connection, and amplifies communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Ericha has a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Montana, Masters of Educational Technology from City University, Library Endorsement from Portland State University, and Administration Certification from Gonzaga University. She has worked in the educational field for 25 years as an elementary classroom teacher, teacher librarian, and K-12 instructional coach. Ericha has served on several school and district-based committees focused on improving school safety and social-emotional learning. She has experience as a professional development leader in her district guiding nearly sixteen hundred teachers in best practices for developing a broader set of knowledge and skills to prepare students for college, careers, and beyond. She has presented at several state and national EdTech Conferences addressing impactful technology integration and digital safety including International Society for Technology in Education, Northwest Council For Computer Education, IntegratED, and CUE California.

Nancy Berg serves as the Assistant Director at the Montana Safe Schools Center housed at the University of Montana. In this role Ms. Berg is involved in overseeing all fiscal management of grant and non-grant accounts as well as training and implementation of school safety goals and objectives. The Montana Safe School Center’s (MSSC) mission is to provide outreach regarding school safety; all-hazards management; suicide; bullying; emergency and crisis prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery in early childhood programs, P/K-12, and institutes of higher education. Ms. Berg holds her Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) and is currently working towards her clinical social work licensure. Ms. Berg is a certified master trainer in the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and Suicide Alertness for Everyone (safeTALK) suicide prevention protocols. She has been trained in the I Love U Guys Standard Response Protocol, Standard Reunification Method and the ALERRT Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course. Ms. Berg provides training and consultation on emergency operations planning, school physical site safety,
educator wellbeing and happiness, trauma informed practice, Trauma Stewardship and Montana’s Crises Action School Toolkit on Suicide.

Colton joined Safer Schools Together (SST) in 2016 after receiving a degree in Law Enforcement Studies. In his current role as Director of Program Management, Colton works closely with SST CEO/Founder Theresa Campbell in the development and implementation of training and services.

Colton is an accomplished trainer, having presented to thousands of individuals from organizations across North America including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and numerous other law enforcement agencies, K to 12 school districts and higher education campuses.

Colton began his time at SST as a Threat Analyst where he gained invaluable experience and knowledge collecting social media data that is used to assist Safety/Threat Assessment teams in conducting accurate threat assessments.

Joe Halligan is a retired middle school administrator from Billings, MT, who spent 12 years in the classroom and 13 years as a building level administrator, retiring in June of 2023. In the fall of 2017, he opened Ben Steele Middle School, and spent his last 6 years building the educational and cultural foundation for the newest middle school in Billings. Prior to (and during) his teaching career, Joe spent 6 years in the Marine Corps, ending his enlistment with the local reserve unit – Bravo Company, 4th Reconnaissance Bn. He was honorably discharged in December of 2004. Currently, he is serving the Billings Public School District as the School Safety and Emergency Management Coordinator for all of BPS, and has been in that role since October 2023. In that role, he works closely with a team of 8 SRO’s, and an SRO supervisor. Additionally, Joe serves his community as a Yellowstone County Sheriff Reserve Deputy. Joe has been married to his wife, Tonya, for 30 years this August, and together they have raised two successful young men, Jake (25) and Connor (23), both of whom are graduates of MSU and are currently serving as officers in the United States Air Force and United States Army, respectively. Joe has a passion for school safety and public service, and has adopted the training philosophy of “training for reality, not for comfort.”

Tina Hayes is the University of Montana Safe School Center’s Training and Technical Assistance Specialist. She earned a BA in Human Biological Sciences, BS in Business Administration and Master’s in Health Administration. She brings to the center a wealth of experience including almost a decade of Emergency Management, ten years of Behavioral Health and five years of experience working directly with schools.

Kelly Oriard is a family therapist, former school counselor, and co-founder of Slumberkins—an emotional wellness brand dedicated to helping children and families connect through story, play, and heart-centered tools. As co-executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Slumberkins preschool series in partnership with The Jim Henson Company, Kelly brings therapeutic principles to life through beloved characters and accessible lessons.

With a background in counseling within school systems, Kelly is deeply passionate about supporting educators and creating emotionally safe learning environments. She is the co-author of All Feelings Welcome and a leading voice in emotional literacy, advocating for approaches that go beyond discipline to foster connection, empathy, and resilience in children.

Through her work, Kelly aims to equip schools and families with tools that nurture emotional growth—because when we lead with empathy, we create communities where every child feels seen, supported, and empowered to thrive.

Tracy Rassley is the Programs Manager for the Montana and Wyoming Chapters of the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention (AFSP). After twenty-four years as a paralegal and volunteering with the American Foundation for Suicide for Prevention for almost seven years she has now been in her current position over two years. She has presented countless trainings for AFSP that include Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention, Finding Hope, It’s Real: Teens and Mental Health, and It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health. In addition, she is a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainer.

While Tracy strives to provide education and awareness to as many individuals as possible in whatever setting is available, her passion for education is particularly strong for teens and college students as she believes that the change in attitude we need regarding mental health will come from our youth.

John Sommers-Flanagan is the director of the PJW Center for the Advancement of Positive Education (CAPE) and a professor of counseling at the University of Montana and author or coauthor of over 100 publications, including nine books and many professional training videos. His books, co-written with his wife Rita, include Clinical Interviewing (7th ed., Wiley, 2024), Tough Kids, Cool Counseling (2nd ed., ACA, 2007), and Suicide Assessment and Treatment Planning: A Strengths-Based Approach (ACA, 2021). He has published articles or commentaries in the New England Journal of Medicine, American Psychologist, Professional Psychology, and the Journal of Counseling and Development. In 2018, he produced a three-part, 7.5-hour suicide assessment and treatment training video for mental health professionals with Psychotherapy.net. John’s current work primarily involves promoting an evidence-informed strengths-based learning model designed to grow student and teacher strengths, skills, resources, and virtues, rather than growing more mental disorders (which we have enough of). In his wild and precious spare time, John loves to run (slowly), dance (poorly), laugh (loudly) and produce home-made family music videos. You can learn more about John and Rita’s latest venture, the Montana Happiness Project.

Dale Stripling holds a Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Alabama, a bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Language Arts from UAB, a master’s in Educational Administration from UAB, and an Educational Specialist Degree from The University of Montevallo. Dale has served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal in schools that range from urban to rural. He has worked as a Student Services Supervisor for the Jefferson County Board of Education in Birmingham, Alabama. He is currently a School Safety Specialist for The Alabama State Department of Education.

Dr. Stripling is a member of the Alabama Department of Education’s Central Office Task Force on School Safety and regularly assists in regional safety trainings throughout the state. He has served as a judge on the Alabama Attorney

General’s Blue-Ribbon Council for safe schools. He is a certified trainer in the Colorado Threat Assessment and the Alabama Behavioral Threat Assessment protocol. He is trained as an Adolescent Mental Health First Aid Trainer. Dale has been affiliated with The Alabama Association of School Resource Officers since 2003. He has served as a district education representative and currently serves as the Executive Education Advisor.

Dr. Burke Wallace has been an educator for 20 years. He has served as a teacher, a site administrator, and a district administrator. He’s also worked as an adjunct professor at multiple universities. He holds a Masters in Education, a Masters in Business Administration, and his dissertation research for his PhD focused on administrative leadership in non-traditional school models. Dr. Wallace is a frequent conference presenter and received an award in 2024 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for his work in character education. He currently serves as the School Safety Specialist for the Office of Public Instruction.

Nate West is an 18 year veteran with the Billings Police Department, currently serving as the department’s SRO Sgt. Nate has worn many hats, having many different assignments and responsibilities in his career. Nate was an FTO, training approximately 15 new officers as an FTO. Nate is currently an FTO supervisor, supervising new hires and their FTO’s through the entirety of their training process. Nate is a current firearms instructor, being one of the department’s 3 master instructors. Nate is an active driving instructor for the department, coordinating the department’s drive training program. Nate spent 11 years serving on the department’s SWAT team, receiving 2 medals of honor during that career. Nate is a current response to active shooter instructor. Nate is a certified professional CPTED practitioner through the National Institute of Crime Prevention, completing security assessments for the last 8 years. Nate is a proud family man, being married to his wife Nadja. Nate and Nadja share 3 beautiful kids – Kaiden (18), Jaice (14), Aunyssa (8), and Quinn (8). Nate is truly passionate about the safety of our schools and our wonderful community.

Dylan Wright is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Licensed School Counselor in the state of Montana. He serves as the Wellness Education Coordinator for Families First, a nonprofit in Missoula, MT providing group facilitation, parenting consultations, and public presentations on parenting education and wellbeing. He also commits a great deal of time and energy to developing programs, providing supervision, and conducting research for the Montana Happiness Project, a suicide prevent and wellness organization. When taking a break from all the “irons in the fire,” Dylan relaxes with long bike rides, and by spending time with his very supportive wife and daughters.