Kim Obbink
Executive Director

Kim is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Burns Technology Center. Her professional interests include online teaching and learning and the changing educational environment of the 21st century. Kim is co-director of the National Teachers Enhancement Network project funded by the National Science Foundation and is the principal investigator on a number of BTC grants.

A native of Nebraska, Kim still enjoys a good Cornhusker football game, travel, and, most of all, fly fishing Montana's streams and rivers.

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Marleen Eitzen
Associate Director of Public Relations and Development

Marleen leads the BTC's public relations, marketing, and fundraising activities. She promotes services, identifies potential donors and markets, and develops relationships with members of the MSU campus community and with clientele from the public and private sectors.

Before joining the BTC, Marleen was owner of Red Dog Interactive, Inc., which provided multimedia content development, project management and production resources for non-profit and for-profit companies and organizations. Before starting Red Dog, Marleen worked as an Executive Producer and then Vice President at RXL Pulitzer, a nationally and internationally recognized leader in educational technology applications, innovative program design and video/multimedia development. Her clients have included Microsoft Studios, American Express, British Airways, Boeing, Washington Mutual Bank, Bastyr University, Seattle Public Schools, El Paso Independent School District, Beijing Television and Catholic Community Services. Marleen also spent six years as a Northwest anchorwoman and reporter for regional CBS News affiliates.   

Marleen enjoys being a dog mom, movies, hiking and singing.

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Ritchie Boyd
Assistant Director for
Educational Technology

Ritchie oversees the BTC's instructional technology efforts, including faculty support and development for integrating technology into the curriculum. He also supports professional development activities for K-12 teachers and administrators across the state. He currently works with the BTC's Technology Leadership programs and institutes for K-12 audiences, heads the BTC's WebCT support team in providing support for faculty using web-based courseware, and provides general support for distance education at MSU-Bozeman.

Ritchie is the contact for:

• WebCT Course Tools

Ritchie's interests include multimedia on the web, wireless communications technologies, and on-line teaching and learning. He has a background in geology and geophysics, which explains his interest in math and science education. In his spare time, Ritchie enjoys woodworking.

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Marilyn Jarvis
Assistant Director of Continuing Education

Marilyn coordinates the diverse learning opportunities offered through the Burns Technology Center, including technology training, academic credit, professional recertification opportunities and conferences. In addition, she specializes in the development of Lifelong Learning components which offer challenging seminars and courses for various audiences. These include an array of Elderhostel courses for seniors as well as other credit and non-credit seminars and courses which can be customized to meet the needs of any organization.

Marilyn is the contact for:

• Elderhostel

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Kim Rehm
Assistant Director for Finance and Administration

Kim is responsible for all aspects of fiscal management at the BTC, including reporting, analyses, accounting, and personnel functions. Her professional interests include accounting, fiscal policy, and personal financial planning. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Family Financial Planning.

When Kim's not crunching numbers, she's riding motorcycles (in the summer) or skiing (in the winter). She tries to combine the two with travel whenever possible.

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Debbie Albin
Non-Credit Courses Program Manager

Debbie is program manager for non-credit and self-supporting credit programs. She partners with on-campus departments and off-campus clients to bring non-traditional programs to MSU-Bozeman. In this capacity, she works with a variety of professional organizations to develop annual conferences and institutes. She also oversees summer programs aimed at bringing young people to the Bozeman campus. Her level of involvement ranges from logistical support to program development.

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Clare Becker
Distance Learning Program Manager

Clare coordinates credit and non-credit distance learning programs at the Burns Technology Center in conjunction with MSU departments and other educational institutions. She especially enjoys working with the tribal colleges and facilitating linkages between campus departments and the BTC.

Outside of work, Clare enjoys traveling, hiking and photography.

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Kelly Boyce
Distance Learning Program Manager

Kelly oversees the daily operation of the National Teachers Enhancement Network, an online program that delivers science courses to K-12 in-service teachers. He also provides general support for distance education efforts at MSU-Bozeman.

Kelly is the contact for:

• National Teachers Enhancement Network

Kelly's interests include on-line teaching and learning and improving on-line services for students at MSU-Bozeman. In his free time, he follows amateur and professional sports, especially when his three sons are competing.

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Lisa Brown
NTEN Elementary Project Coordinator

Lisa is responsible for the daily operation of the National Teachers Enhancement Network - Elementary (NTEN-E) program, which provides elementary teachers with on-line graduate-level courses covering disciplinary background and instructional methods to enhance kit-based science pedagogy. The program offers training and mentoring to teachers, especially those serving Native American and other minority students, to insure success with the online professional development format. NTEN-E also provides teachers with cross-curriculum/cross-cultural learning opportunities incorporated into on-line modules.

Lisa is the contact for:

• National Teachers Enhancement Network—Elementary

Lisa's professional interests include distance learning, computer programming, computer graphics, multimedia development, and K-12 science education. When she's not working, she enjoys camping, gardening, reading, weaving, and spinning.

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Nadeen Comfort
Video Conference Coordinator

Nadeen schedules requests for interactive video conferences and courses, researches video conferencing sites nationally and internationally, and certifies equipment compatibility between the BTC and distant sites. She also troubleshoots; provides customer service; and trains technicians, faculty, and others on how to use the interactive video equipment.

Nadeen is the contact for Videoconferencing.

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Christy Cousino
Web Services Manager

Christy is the BTC webmaster. She is responsible for designing sites, writing HTML, and coding dynamic and database-driven pages for the BTC. After work, she dances the Argentine tango.

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Terry Driscoll
TeCH Learning Centers Program Manager

Terry provides technical support for the BTC's outreach efforts, including networking and application support. She works with the Tribal Colleges, the Critical Illness and Trauma Foundation, the Native American Programs on the MSU campus and the Women to Women project. She serves on the American Indian Research Opportunities Program Advisory Board and on the President's Native American Advisory Council.

Terry is the co-principal investigator and program manager for the "Montana Indian Technology and Cultural Heritage (TeCH) Learning Centers" grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program.

Terry is the contact for:

• Montana Indian TeCH

Terry's interests include using technology to preserve the Native American culture, working with Native American students and showing others how easy and fun technology can be. She is an avid flyfisher and loves to read.

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Heather Estvold
Program Assistant

Heather provides support for the program managers in the areas of credit and non-credit programs.

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Robert Friedrich
Network and Computing System Administrator

Robert provides support and maintenance for the extensive array of control systems, high-level computers, multimedia enhancement equipment, and audio-video synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies at the BTC. He sustains a detailed knowledge of the inner workings of these systems in order to provide necessary support to BTC staff and campus faculty.

In addition, Robert assists in many of the programmatic solutions for distance-delivered courses for the MSU campus. He works with instructors and students on issues related to management of courseware tools, connectivity to and from remote sites, and the overall effective delivery of information and materials.

Robert is the contact for:

• BTC Facilities

Robert enjoys traveling and engaging in outdoor activities with his wife and family. He also serves as a raptor rehabilitator for Big Sky Wildcare, a local wildlife organization.

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Janine Hansen
Credit Courses Program Manager

Janine is responsible for organizing academic credit courses. She also manages continuing education units and OPI renewal units.

Janine is the contact for:

• Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
• Office of Public Instruction (OPI) Renewal Units

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Bonnie Holden
Registration Coordinator

Bonnie is responsible for all aspects of registering students and participants in distance learning courses, continuing education courses, conferences, and youth programs. She coordinates the management of course scheduling, course inventory data, registration, class rolls, fee payments and grades through the use of SCT Banner. She also administers the in-house student management system, Foxpro Aceware.

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Theresa Huyser
Montana JASON Coordinator

Theresa is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the Montana JASON Project, including marketing, development, and teacher training. She works to bring the JASON Project, a science- and technology-based education program, to elementary and middle schools across Montana.

Theresa is the contact for:

• The Montana JASON Project

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Julie Pester
Instructional Technology Specialist

Julie administers and provides support for WebCT to MSU faculty and students. She is especially interested in all aspects of distance education and instructional technology.

Julie is the contact for:

• WebCT Course Tools

After work, Julie enjoys traveling, camping, reading, and spending time with her daughter.

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Jonathan Paver
Online Learning Specialist

Jonathan provides technical and pedagogical support, including direct assistance with design and implementation, for faculty and instructional staff who are creating online learning opportunities and resources for MSU students and programs. He supports the use of online courseware and instructional methodologies by designing, developing, and delivering online learning resources and experiences. He also contributes to the design, development, and implementation of training strategies, opportunities, and support resources for members of the MSU community using and developing online instructional resources.

Jonathan is especially interested in online learning, instructional design, learning assessment, and integrating technology into teaching and learning.

When he's not working, Jonathan enjoys hiking, reading, biking, and photography.

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John Usher
Instructional Media Coordinator

John trains faculty in WebCT courseware tools and helps run the NASA multimedia lab.

John is the contact for:

• WebCT Course Tools

His professional interests include distance learning, distance learning educational theory, K-12 educational technology, Macromedia Flash development, digital video, and digital recording.

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