Meet Our Board of Directors
Kelly Haggerty, President
Kelly is the founder and business owner of Dyslexia Screening & Tutoring Services in Billings, Montana which was established in 2007. Dyslexia became a passion for Kelly when she discovered two of her three children and her husband are dyslexic. She has screened and tutored individuals for dyslexia since this time.
Kelly earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island and is a Certified Screening/Testing Specialist and a Certified Barton Tutor at the advanced level. Kelly is also a member of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Through her work, Kelly hopes to help hundreds of individuals who are dyslexic take on the world.
Dr. Estee Aiken, Secretary
Estee served as an elementary classroom teacher and differentiation coach for more than a decade before transitioning to higher education. She has spent the last thirteen years educating pre-service teachers and consulting about gifted education and differentiation. Estee’s areas of research and writing focus on gifted education, early childhood, and very young children with special needs. She is currently a professor in and the Chair of the Division of Education at the University of Montana Western
Thomas C. Manthey, Ph.D., Treasurer
Tom is the Director of the Montana Center for Inclusive Education at MSUB, celebrating our 75th anniversary this year. He began teaching in Casper, Wyoming. After teaching seven years, Tom decided there was so much more to learn. He went back to college, eventually receiving a Ph.D. in special education and school leadership at the University of Kansas.
Good fortune shined on Tom and he met his beautiful wife, Paula McMahon, and raised two wonderful sons, Aidan and Luke. Tom’s work focuses on making schools more effective in meeting all students’ instructional needs in inclusive settings. That remains at the heart of his work today. Tom believes everyone deserves to live an enriching life fully included in their community. It’s the Montana way!
Dr. Melissa Sullivan-Walker, Member At-Large
Melissa began her career teaching in resource rooms in Ohio and North Carolina. After five years, she realized she wanted to create a bigger ripple—she knew she was a great special educator, and if she became a professor, she could create so many more amazing special educators.
She earned her Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Melissa and her husband then moved to Billings, Montana for a new adventure, and has definitely found that teaching at MSUB! She teaches an introductory special education course, undergraduate and graduate courses on teaching students with learning disabilities, and frequently supervise students in field placements. When Melissa’s not teaching, you can usually find her doing outdoorsy things with her husband and son.
Rebecca Richards, Member At-Large
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