Museums Association of Montana

President

Tate Jones is a Missoula native and holds B.A. in International Studies from Macalester College and a Master of Arts degree in History from George Washington University. He is Montana Historian and a University of Montana Doctoral candidate. He serves as Executive Director for the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History and Vice President of the Northern Rockies Heritage Center, both located at Fort Missoula.

Tate authored the book "Fort Missoula" published in 2013. This book gives a comprehensive history of the Fort from its beginnings in 1877 and discusses the various roles the Fort served in the Missoula community.

Treasurer

Gina Harrington is the volunteer Archivist for the Big Horn County Historical Museum in Hardin, Montana since 2021. Her daily routine includes developing interactive children’s activities, ongoing inventory and cataloging with location tags, working on genealogy projects with the Montana History Portal, and helping with events to include Kids History Day and the museum’s silent auction for Country Fun Days.

Gina grew up in the Gateway to the West, St. Louis, Missouri, where she developed a keen interest in the Lewis & Clark legacy. Her formal education includes a B.S. in Management & Accounting and a Masters in Library & Information Science from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She married a career air force officer and has six years’ experience managing various thrift stores on military installations including Malmstrom AFB, in Montana. She spent 17 years as the Library Director for a large Catholic high school in Dayton, Ohio.

In her spare time, she likes to roam around Montana with her husband visiting museums and microbreweries.

Secretary

Brit Clark is the Executive Director of the Conrad Mansion Museum in Kalispell, Montana. As a fifth generation Montanan, she is dedicated to preserving the history of Kalispell and sharing it with others. She earned her B.A. in History from the University of Montana in 2014. After graduation, she gained valuable experience at youth-based nonprofits. She returned home to Kalispell and has served as Executive Director of the Conrad Mansion Museum since 2018. During her time at the Conrad Mansion, Brit has implemented new tour and educational programs which have helped expand the historical narrative of the Flathead Valley. She collaborates with local organizations and schools with the hope that museums like the Conrad Mansion can renew interest in the past and give us a better understanding of where we are going.

When not at the Conrad Mansion, you can usually find Brit hiking with her husband and hound dogs or frequenting one of the Flathead Valley’s many breweries.

Nikki Bailey-Will is the Executive Director of the MonDak Heritage Center in Sidney, MT. She has had the pleasure of being the ED for the last two and half years. Before her time at the MDHC, Nikki worked as an MSU Extension Agent in Carbon County, MT. Growing up on a fourth generation farm and ranch in Fort Benton, Nikki learned early on the importance of traditions and developed a passion for passing history on to the next generation. Nikki has a Master’s Degree from Montana State University in Agriculture Relations and has found that there is a strong carryover from community work within Extension, youth programming, and agriculture to community work within museums and galleries. Nikki enjoys the opportunities and challenges of working in an eastern Montana nonprofit museum and art gallery. She loves to see people's eyes light up when they see a new exhibit and the "ahh hah" moments when they tour the history exhibits; but mostly she enjoys creating a fun and inviting space for everyone in the community. When she's not busy being the "museum lady" Nikki is home trying to keep up with her husband, 2 teenagers, 1 year old, 4 dogs, and 6 horses.

Dave Colamaria is a Photo Archivist at the Montana Historical Society. He previously worked as the Digital Historian and Archivist for the Montana History Portal of the Montana State Library, and in Records Management at the Montana Highway Patrol managing crash photography. He spent over a decade working for and partnered with the U.S. Navy's official history command, as a Photo Archivist and Digital Historian. He has experience working with physical collections, as well as building and maintaining online content management systems and websites for history organizations. He has an M.A. in History from George Mason University, as well as certification through the Western Archives Institute.

He is a co-author of the book "The War in Cebu" which examines the Japanese invasion and subsequent liberation of the Philippine island of Cebu during World War II. 

Dave loves winter and skiing the snowy mountains of Montana, and when there's no snow he is out running the trails in the hills around Helena.

Samantha French is the Executive Director of Blaine County Museum in Chinook, Montana. She grew up on Montana’s Hi-Line, earned her B.A. in History from Carroll College in 2016, and her M.A. in History of Art from University of Bristol in 2019. She began her position in Chinook in spring of 2019, and since then her focus has been dedicated to gaining intellectual control of Blaine County Museum’s collections and creating exhibits and programs relevant to museum goers of today.

Sam is a member of both the Central Montana tourism board, and the Friends of Big Hole, Bear Paw, and Canyon Creek Battlefields. She is also a proud member of the Chinook Lions Club.

Lauren E. Hunley has spent nearly 20 years in the museum field. Earning her Master of Arts in Learning & Visitor Services in Museums and Galleries through Leicester University in England, she’s worked for both small museums and national museum service organizations. She is currently the Community Historian at the Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Mountain-Plains Museums Association. Her recent projects include Conquering Diseases of the Past, Saints & Sinners: Women Breaking Tradition, and Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservations.

She is the author of "101 Museum Programs on a Shoestring Budget" and has presented at numerous museum conferences. 

Past President

Matt Lautzenheiser is a native of Ohio, growing up in the small town of Dover about 85 miles south of Cleveland. He attended Hiram College earning a B.A. in History and the University of Akron where he earned his Master’s Degree also in History. Following completion of his M.A., he was hired as the Site Historian at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio.  In 2005, Lautzenheiser was hired as the Executive Director at the Dover Historical Society. In 2014, Lautzenheiser moved to Missoula, MT where he became the Executive Director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums, one of only six museums in the state of Montana with this distinction.

Outside of his museum work, Lautzenheiser is an avid reader, and has published three books on local history.  They are "Images of America: Dover" and "Legendary Locals of Dover" with Arcadia Press and "The Dover-Phila Football Rivalry: A Tradition Shared Through its Greatest Games" with the History Press. Matt is an avid runner and has completed the Boston Marathon twice.  He lives in Missoula with his wife Kelly and two boys, Douglas and Benjamin.

He can assist other museums with Grant Writing and Fundraising, Living History Programs/ Interpretation, Museum Administration, Special Events and Board Development and Challenges.

Kristi D. Scott is a historian, curator, and 4th generation Montanan who considers herself to be an avid nature lover, blessed daughter and devoted mother. She is currently an independent museum consultant and grant writer with a focus in historic preservation and museum studies. In her previous position she served as the Executive Director of The Cascade County Historical Society/The History Museum & Research Center in Great Falls, MT. In the decade prior Scott was an intern for Ursuline Western Province Archives, curatorial assistant at the C.M. Russell Museum and the Curator of Art for Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. Scott has a background in non-profit work and her professional interests include Northern Plains culture and art, historic preservation, conservation of museum collections and associated public programming.

Lisa Tate grew up in Missoula, Montana but moved to Boise, ID in the early 1980's where she worked in Museum and Non Profit manage-ment for over 32 years.  Her career has focused primarily on  curatorial  and Museum Director roles, as well as fundraising positions including Development Director. She holds a Master degree in Nonprofit Management and is a Certified Fund Raising Manager from Indiana University Lily School of Philanthropy.  Lisa has served on several nonprofit boards including 8 years as President of a national nonprofit association.  She has also served as a Trustee for several nonprofit foundations. Prior to returning to  Missoula in 2016, Lisa spent five years in Fargo, ND where she was the Director of the Red River Zoo, a world renowned facility known for their conservation work with some of the world's rarest cold climate species.  While in Fargo, she was honored to be nominated for and receive Fargo's Woman of the Year in 2016.

In 2016 Lisa moved back to Montana to serve as the Executive Director for the National Museum of Forest Service History.  She a strong passion for understanding history as a way to make better, more informed decisions for the future.