Meet The CyberMontana Team

We might work in cybersecurity, but we want you to see the faces behind the screens!
Our CyberMontana team is a group of dedicated professionals with experience in both the public and private sector. We are educators at heart and are privileged to share cybersecurity education throughout the state of Montana.
Dianne

Dianne Burke

Director, CyberMontana

Dianne Burke is a cybersecurity faculty member at Missoula College University of Montana and serves as Director of CyberMontana.She has taught networking, security, data operations, and computer forensics courses in both the public and private sectors She recently completed a career as a forensic analyst where she specialized in ESI collection and analysis and assisted counsel in cases across the U.S. Ms. Burke holds a B. A. from Rice University, an M.S. from the University of Houston, an M. Ed. From the University of Montana, and is a doctoral student at the University of Montana

Tom Gallagher

Tom Gallagher

Dean of Missoula College and Associate Vice Provost for Two-Year Education and Workforce Development

Tom has been a professor of Information Technology and Computer Science at Missoula College, University of Montana since 2001. Prior to coming to UM, Tom served in the roles of Technology Director and System Administrator. He holds a doctoral and master's degree in Education Leadership from the University of Montana, a master's degree in Computer Science from Western Washington University, and a baccalaureate degree in Mathematics from Carroll College.

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Zach Rossmiller

Chief Information Officer, University of Montana

Zach Rossmiller is the Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of Montana (UM). Zach provides vision and strategic leadership for UM’s computing and information technology enterprise and drives innovative solutions to support academics and research. Prior to the CIO role in 2020, Zach served as UM’s Executive Director of Cyber-Infrastructure and was responsible for campus-wide systems administration, research computing, data centers, network infrastructure, telecommunications, and classroom technology. Zach received an MBA, a B.S. in Management Information Systems, and an AAS in Computer Networking from UM. Along with earning degrees, Zach has taught UM courses on operating systems, enterprise security, desktop security, and business systems analysis design.

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Jeff Arends

Professor, University of Montana

Jeff was born and raised in Missoula, MT. He studied Math and Computer Science at the University of Montana and has been teaching since 2011. He has completed several of the CompTIA certifications, including the CySA+ (Cybersecurity Analyst). Currently, he is teaching math and IT courses at Missoula College. Jeff taught at a GenCyber summer camp in 2021 where middle school students were introduced to several STEM topics such as electronics and digital forensics. He is organizing several other similar summer camps throughout Montana for summer 2022.

cyberMT team

Christopher Prosa

Associate Director, CyberMontana

Christopher Prosa serves as Director of Workforce Training & Career Education at Missoula College. He also serves as Program Manager for CyberMontana where he works with leadership and support teams to develop and manage cyber-related student workforce development programs and provide specialized workforce training and career education. In this role, he also works to forward cyber awareness and security training and education initiatives across the state of Montana as well as business partner development and engagement efforts. Prior to his current roles, Christopher served as a consultant with the Montana Department of Labor & Industry where he advised diverse workforce groups comprised of multinational clients from regions spanning four continents.

Austin

Austin Horner

Outreach Coordinator, Missoula College

Austin Horner works as an outreach coordinator at Missoula College. Currently working on training available under CyberMontana for businesses in the Montana area. This training is pointed at increasing End User security and awareness for those businesses. He is also working to recruit and assess students in the local Montana Area to help accelerate learning in the area of computer and network security. His background in Information System and Computer Support Associates from the University of Montana Missoula College aid in his ability to assist those students as they progress through their programs. Prior to his current roles, Austin has also worked at Computer Training Camps (Montana Code School), which helped students learn the basics of web app development.

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Kristal Crowley

Special Projects Coordinator

Kristal Crowley serves as Special Projects Coordinator at Missoula College. In this role, she is the primary Point of Contact for several CyberMontana programs and works with CyberMontana leadership to develop and maintain marketing and communications. Kristal works closely with the CyberMontana Director and team on special projects, building and maintaining relationships with partners and stakeholders throughout the state. This position promotes positive student outcomes and supporting academic and career readiness skills. Before her current role, she worked as a Director at a local non-profit and has a background in Curriculum Studies.

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Wally Higgins

Information Technology Faculty Member, Missoula College

Wally has been instructing at Missoula College since 2009. Prior to taking this teaching position, he served for 23 years as a Field Engineer for Information Systems Analysts, Inc. and the UnisysCorporation. Since joining Missoula College, he has taught Electronics Technology, energy technology, and Computer Applications and currently serves as the lead instructor of Networking in the Missoula College IT department. He holds a B.A. from the University of Montana, an AAS in ElectronicsTechnology, and currently holds four Cisco NetAcademy Instructor certifications. He offers Networking in both the traditional Face to Face format with lab experiments using Cisco equipment and in an Online format with Cisco’s lab simulation application software.

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Victor Valgenti

Program Director – Information Technology / Assistant Professor, Missoula College

Victor has held almost every job in the IT world from Software Testing to Software Development and from Information Auditing to Computer Security  Research.  Victor graduated from the University of Montana many years ago with a Bachelor’s degree in French and English Linguistics but more recently graduated from Washington State University with a PHD in Computer Science with an emphasis in computer Networks and Security. Prior to returning to his hometown of Missoula, Victor worked for a startup building all-in-one tools for simplifying security. Victor’s goal is to make the InformationTechnology and Cybersecurity program at Missoula College an integral aspect of cybersecurity education in Montana and Missoula.

Bianca

Bianca Bostrom

Graduate Assistant

Bianca is a graduate student at the University of Montana working towards a Master of Science degree in Business Analytics. She is from Malmo, Sweden, and came to Missoula in 2017 to attend the University of Montana where she graduated from in May of 2021 with Bachelor degrees in Management Information Systems and Marketing. Bianca has worked in the Marketing and Technology Consulting field and is the customer point of contact with several marketing efforts at CyberMontana.

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Kelsey Lappier

Business Development Specialist

Kelsey Lappier serves as our Business Development Specialist. She leads our marketing, digital strategies, and outreach efforts. With a diverse background in marketing, management, communication, and sales, Kelsey graduated with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Marketing and Management and Entrepreneurship from The University of Montana - College of Business. She is excited to add her strategic thinking and creativity to the CyberMontana team.

Matt

Matt Collins

Security Awareness Training Program Specialist

Matt currently serves as the Security Awareness Training Program Specialist for CyberMontana. Matt is a 28 Year Army Veteran who served in a multitude of roles during his military career, to include Training, Recruiting and Operations. He is a graduate of the Army's Master Leaders Course and while on active duty, also earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Columbia Southern University. Upon retirement, Matt and his family were excited to return to his wife's native Montana to raise their daughter and plant roots in Missoula, where they currently reside.

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