Meet the Staff

SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR

Lani Smith, The Special Education Director
lsmith@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Lani graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Linfield College in 2008.  After graduating, she spent the next five years working with infants and toddlers with developmental delays in various early intervention agencies across Montana and Florida.  While in Florida, Lani worked closely with school-based services and was first introduced to the school psychology profession.  During this time, Lani realized that this profession encompassed everything that she was passionate about.  After moving back to Montana, Lani decided to pursue a degree in School Psychology and in 2016 she graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Montana’s School Psychology program. She worked in a variety of educational settings throughout Montana during her years of practicum.  She completed her year-long internship at the Park County Special Education Cooperative in Livingston and received an Educational Specialist degree from University of Montana in May of 2017. Lani began working at the Gallatin-Madison Cooperative in 2017 as a School Psychologist. She continued to pursue her education while working for GMSEC and graduated with an additional master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Applied Behavior Analysis from Montana State University-Billings in 2021. During her time at GMSEC, Lani has served as a School Psychologist, Special Education Coordinator and recently transitioned into the role of Special Education Director in 2022.

Lani continues to maintain her status as a nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP) through the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and is a member of the Montana Council of Administrators of Special Education (MCASE). Lani was born and raised in Montana and loves all the activities that Montana has to offer throughout the year. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking, attending MSU sporting events and spending time with her family, friends, and sweet pup Luna! Lani believes in maintain a strong balance between hard work and personal pursuits and encourages her staff at GMSEC to do the same. She believes strongly in partnering and supporting rural School Districts to ensure that all students have supports and services available to reach their potential.

OFFICE STAFF

Riley Russell, Executive Assistant
administrator@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Riley Russell has been an Executive Assistant with the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative since 2016. Riley grew up in Billings, MT and graduated from Billings Senior High. After graduating Riley spent two years at Carroll College in Helena, MT before transferring to Montana State University and graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Community Health in 2015. Being a Montana native, she enjoys camping, snowboarding, hiking, as well as spending time with her husband, children and dogs.

Joyce Schmidt, Clerk/Business Manager
administrator@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Originally from Wyoming, Joyce has been a resident of Montana since 1963 when her family moved to Bozeman so she and her siblings could attend school.  A graduate of the Bozeman Senior High School bi-centennial class, she later went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree from Montana State University, College of Business in Accounting in 1988. The following year she accepted a cost accounting position with a fortune 500 corporation–Hercules Inc.  Joyce worked in their aerospace division in Clearfield Utah and was assigned to Air Force contracts. Although Hercules offered a secure career path with many opportunities for growth Joyce and her husband chose to return to Bozeman to raise their young son close to family.  Joyce entered public service as an elected county official in 1994. Joyce served two terms as County Auditor and during her second term ran for the position of State Auditor in 2000.  Since leaving public service Joyce was employed as the General Manager and Accountant for two local family owned QSRs for a decade, until they were sold to outside concerns. This past summer Joyce was hired as the part-time Business Manager/Clerk for the Co-op and finds this new experience a blessing that is both challenging and rewarding.

Joyce met her husband Jerry, a gifted artist and inventor, in a high school art class.  They have been married since 1977 and have one child. Their son Robyn is also an artist who is presently working in his chosen field of advertising photography in New York City. Joyce enjoys taking walks with her husband, hiking, target shooting, gardening, reading, fishing with her Dad, time with family and friends, and working towards her goal of a balanced life filled with simple pleasures.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

Jennifer Lewis, Occupational Therapist
jlewis@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Jennifer Lewis has been an occupational therapist for the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative since 2010.  A native of Iowa, she graduated from South Dakota State University with her B.S. in Psychology in 1999 and graduated from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a Graduate Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2001.  Prior to moving to Montana in 2010, Jennifer worked in hospitals, nursing homes, and a California School District for 9 years.  Her professional development has focused on, but was not limited to, sensory integration, handwriting, reflex integration, executive function, oral motor, wheelchair seating/positioning, and assistive technology.  Jennifer pursued Assistive Technology through California State University – Northridge and received a Certification in Assistive Technology in 2014.

Jennifer lives in Bozeman with her two children.  She enjoys participating in sports and outdoor activities, such as, camping, fishing and hiking.  Most of her free time is spent shuttling and watching her children participate in taekwondo, basketball, baseball, and gymnastics, or enjoying the Montana outdoors.

Megan Kemp DPT, ATC, Physical Therapist
mkemp@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Megan Kemp has been a physical therapist with the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative since 2022. Megan is a Gallatin Valley native and graduate of Manhattan Christian High School. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Montana in 2013. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California and is a board-certified athletic trainer through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Point Loma Nazarene University in their Masters of Kinesiology program. Prior to obtaining her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, Megan worked as an athletic trainer at Point Loma Nazarene University. Megan is passionate about helping children reach their full potential and strives to use the most current evidence-based practice medicine coupled with her knowledge of biomechanics to help her patients reach their goals.

Megan lives in Churchill with her husband and three children. She loves flowers and enjoys spending time in her yard. She also loves to be outside hiking and camping with her family, serving at her local church and attending MSU football games. Go Cats!!

Caroline Rehder, Physical Therapist
crehder@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Caroline Rehder has been a physical therapist for the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative since 2023. She was originally from Colorado and completed both her undergraduate, a BS in Exercise Science in 1989, and Master of Physical Therapy degree in 1991 at The University of Iowa. She and her family have lived in Livingston, MT for 21 years. Her professional experience includes acute hospital, geriatric, and orthopedic care of adults and outpatient and school-based services for children. Of the 32 years she has been practicing as a physical therapist, 12 years have been in rural schools in Montana. Her professional development has included courses in pediatric kinesiotaping, pediatric wheelchair seating and positioning, sensory-motor impairments, and primitive reflex integration. In her free time, she loves hiking, swimming, camping, cross country skiing, watching her son play soccer and downhill ski, and generally being outside with her family.

Julie Painter, Occupational Therapist
jpainter@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Julie Zimmerman is an Occupational Therapist and has been working with GMSEC since August 2020. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2012 from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), and her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2014 from Georgia Regents University (Augusta, GA). Julie began her OT career in acute care, outpatient, and driving rehabilitation. Julie serves West Yellowstone, Big Sky, and Ennis, MT schools. She enjoys working with her students and has always been passionate about education and providing equal access for all. Living in West Yellowstone, you’ll find Julie back-country skiing, hiking, running, and learning to snowmobile. —

Angela Holmes, Occupational Therapist
aholmes@galmadspecialedcoop.org

PSYCHOLOGISTS

Jamie Greene, School Psychologist NCSP
jgreene@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Jamie is a school psychologist who joined the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative in 2022. Jamie has always had a passion for working with and supporting children, and this paired with her interests in mental health support and education led her to the field of school psychology where Jamie enjoys supporting students and families in a variety of ways.

Jamie graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Seton Hall University in 2018. She then moved to Montana to pursue a career in school psychology and graduated with her master’s degree from the University of Montana’s School Psychology program in 2020. During her time in the graduate program, Jamie was fortunate enough to have practicum experiences training with the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative and getting to know their staff and students. Following this training and after completing a year-long school psychology internship at a local middle school, Jamie earned her Specialist in School Psychology degree from the University of Montana in 2021. Jamie is also a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) through the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and she is a member of the Montana Association of School Psychologists (MASP).

Jamie has worked with K-12 students in multiple schools across Montana with middle school age groups being her area of specialty. Providing counseling and social-emotional support are also particular areas of interest and passion for her. Jamie is excited to be at the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative working with all age groups and providing support and resources to our rural schools.

Jamie loves living in Montana and exploring the great outdoors! In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Kim Wegner-McCauley, School Psychologist / Special Education Coordinator
kmccauley@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Kim received her Masters in School Psychology and School Counseling from the University of Idaho in 2009. After completing her School Psychology and School Counseling internship, Kim accepted a one year position in Washington as a School Psychologist. Once that one year position was complete, Kim and her husband decided they wanted to move to Montana and she accepted a School Counseling position in Gallatin Gateway. After 5 years at Gallatin Gateway, Kim was offered a job as a School Psychologist at Manhattan Public Schools and she accepted the position. Kim worked in Manhattan for 7 years. During her time in Manhattan she worked as the K-12 School Psychologist, 504 Coordinator and Special Education Coordinator. Kim is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Montana Association of School Psychologists (MASP) and Montana Council of Administrators for Special Education (MCASE).

Kim and her husband enjoy fishing, camping and traveling during the summer months. They also enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Nicole Bottsford-Miller, School Psychologist
nbottsford@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Nicole graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2000. She attended graduate school in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota, where she earned both Master’s and Doctoral Degrees, completing the latter in 2008. After her internship with Area Education Agency 11 in Iowa, she decided to join her husband on his professional training adventures, working with Alamance-Burlington School System in North Carolina for four years and then Humble ISD in Texas for another four years. After taking a one-year hiatus to study culinary arts, she joined her husband again in Billings, Montana, working for Billings Public Schools for nine years. She joined the Gallatin-Madison Cooperative in 2024.

Nicole was born in Moscow, Idaho, while living in Palouse, Washington. Soon thereafter, her family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, relocating to Chadron, Nebraska two years later. For all of her early formative education, she alternated years between Chadron and Minneapolis. Following years of travel, she is so very happy to call Montana home, embracing so much of what is offered. In her down time, Nicole enjoys hiking, camping, meals with friends and family, concerts, music festivals, snowboarding, and spending time with her husband, Justin, and two pups, Cody and Cocoa Puff.

Professionally, Nicole has extensive experience working with diverse populations, in K-12 settings, and providing support and training to improve the educational outcomes for all children. These experiences have included data-based decision-making, psychoeducational and curriculum-based evaluation, functional behavioral assessment, and behavioral consultation. She has also been actively involved in system-level change by supporting district initiatives as they transition toward practices that more systematically promote academic and behavioral success.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS

Kaitlin Sonderer, Speech Language Pathologist
ksonderer@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Kaitlin Sonderer is thrilled to rejoin the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative staff after taking some time off to raise her young children.

Originally from upstate NY, she relocated to MT in 2006 and earned her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Montana in 2013.  Kaitlin has experience working as an SLP in schools, skilled nursing facilities, private practice and hospitals.  Kaitlin is passionate about early intervention and loves working with school-aged children.  She has completed continuing education courses in PROMPT, Oral Placement Therapy, Beckman Oral Motor, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), the TEACCH Autism Program, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP), Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and CPI non-violent crisis intervention.  She is a member of ASHA and MSHA.

Kaitlin lives in Ennis with her husband, two daughters, dogs and horses.  She enjoys the outdoors, yoga and traveling.

 
Alyssa Mount, Speech Language Pathologist
amount@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Alyssa Mount has been a speech-language pathologist for the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative since 2023. Alyssa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) in 2017. She also attended UNL for graduate school, where she graduated with her Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in August 2019. Since then, Alyssa has worked as a speech pathologist in the public school setting, mostly working with 5th through 8th grade students. She holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence through ASHA. She has experience working with students with articulation disorders, language disorders, social-language disorders, and students with complex communication needs. Alyssa loves to help make communication easier for all students and celebrate all of the small victories along the way.

In her free time, Alyssa enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Aubrey McAtee, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist
amcatee@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Aubrey is a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who graduated from the University of Montana and is from Three Forks, MT. She got her bachelor’s degree from Montana State University making her a Montana woman to her roots.

During the time in her graduate program, she gained a wide variety of experiences working in Washington state in settings such as the public school system, teletherapy, and inpatient/outpatient hospitals. She has had the opportunity to work with the neurodiverse population extensively, educating and treating dysphagia, aphasia, phonological awareness, apraxia of speech, and a variety of speech and communication disorders. She has experience with animal-assisted therapy with Eagle Mount and working in a hospital setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has collaborated with an interprofessional practice team from across the region to create a resource for young children including Utah, North Dakota, and Idaho. She is working towards becoming a certified Qualified Orofacial Myologist (QOM) working with children and adults on feeding, swallowing, and speech disorders. She is passionate about working with all ages and their families to educate, advocate, and treat speech language pathology disorders.

Kaitlin Harding, Speech Language Pathologist
kharding@galmadspecialedcoop.org

After completing her Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Kait spent the first several years of her career at St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development in Minnetonka, MN. It was there that Kait developed her skills and knowledge by providing services to a culturally and diagnostically diverse pediatric population. Within the facility Kait treated in the outpatient clinic, multidisciplinary Autism Day Treatment (ADT) program, early childhood education (ECE) classrooms and social skills groups. In 2020, she was promoted to Clinical Supervisor of a team of eleven speech therapists.  Her proudest achievement as supervisor is the creation of an intensive AAC Parent-Child Training program.

Kait’s specialties include working with children across the Autism spectrum, ADHD and executive functioning, and childhood apraxia of speech. She holds extra training and certifications in the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices (AAC) and programs, the Social Thinking Curriculum, and is a certified Greenspan Floortime Level-II practitioner.

In 2022, Kait and her husband moved to Belgrade, MT following an exciting job opportunity for her husband and a desire to experience all that Montana has to offer. Kait started her private practice, Ascent Pediatric Speech Therapy, in which she provides home-visits in the valley and greater Bozeman area. It is through Ascent that Kait contracts with the Gallatin-Madison Special Education Cooperative.

When not working, Kait aims to be outside as much as possible. She keeps busy hiking, trail-running, rafting, kayaking, camping, skiing, and reading on her front porch. She recently decided she needed a creative outlet and has started refinishing furniture.

SPEECH THERAPISTS

Shannon Childs, Speech Therapist
schilds@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Shannon Childs has been a practicing speech-language pathologist since 2000. She joined the Gallatin Madison Special Education Cooperative in 2011.  Shannon has worked in schools, skilled nursing facilities and private practice. She has extensive experience in school based issues.  Her special interests in the field include speech science, school based language learning and education, neurogenic communication disorders, fluency disorders, hearing disorders in childhood, social communication disorders and augmentative and alternative communication. Shannon enjoys working with a wide population of children. She is committed to continuing her education and staying current on the latest research-based treatment methods.

Shannon was born and raised in Upstate New York.  She earned her B.S and M.S in Speech Language Pathology from Nazareth College of Rochester.  Shannon holds a certificate of clinical competence from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association. She is a member of ASHA and MSHA.

Shannon lives in Bozeman with her husband and two children.  She enjoys backpacking, yoga, skiing, photography and spending time with family and friends near a river, mountain or campfire!

Amanda Massey, Speech Therapist
amassey@galmadspecialedcoop.org
Amanda Massey began working for the Gallatin Madison Special Education Cooperative in 2014. She received her undergraduate degree in Communication Science in 2013 and graduated in 2014 with a graduate degree in Speech Language Pathology from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Amanda grew up in a small town in West Michigan. She spent her childhood summers visiting extended family here in Montana. When her parents decided to move to Montana to become partners in the family potato farm, she knew she would end up there too. After graduation, she packed her bags and headed west to be closer to family.
Amanda now lives in Bozeman. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys reading, skiing, boating, fishing, and exploring Montana’s beautiful landscape.

Amber Fortier, Speech Language Pathologist
afortier@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Amber received her undergraduate degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders in 2016. She received her masters degree in Speech Language pathology from the University of Montana in 2019. While in school, Amber participated in intensive intervention camps targeting social skills and literacy. She has a passion for alternative and augmentative communication and is excited about exploring different modalities to increase communicative success. Before graduating, Amber worked with children in early childhood education and mental health settings.  Amber was born and raised and Montana and currently resides in Belgrade with her husband and two children. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, hiking, camping, and spending time with family.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Julia Tucker, Special Education Teacher
jtucker@galmadspecialedcoop.org

Julia Tucker, is the Special Education Teacher for Gallatin Madison Special Education Cooperative. As a special educator she is committed to fostering inclusive learning environments and empowering students with diverse learning needs. At nineteen, she embarked on her first educator role as a special education aide in a self-contained classroom. Julia developed a profound understanding of the unique challenges and incredible potential that
individuals with special needs possess. This experience led her to pursue a teaching career.

She graduated from the University of California Riverside in 2009, earning a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies. In 2010, she joined a teaching cohort at UCR, where she undertook an intensive teaching credentialing program focused on working with students with mild to
moderate disabilities. In 2012, Julia’s journey led her to the charming landscapes of Montana, where she found her true calling. For eight years, she was an employee of Big Sky School District where she continued to gain experience in k-12 classrooms. She currently resides in Belgrade with her husband and two children. They love to spend their time camping and exploring the amazing natural beauty that Montana has to offer.