Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education

John E. Cech, Ph.D.

(406)444-0316
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Dr. John E. Cech is the Deputy Commissioner for Two-Year and Community College Education for the Montana University System.  As Deputy Commissioner, he also serves as the State Director for Montana’s Carl D. Perkins Program and as the Project Director for Montana’s College!NOW initiative funded through the Lumina Foundation for Education.  John previously served as Dean and campus CEO of the Montana State University Billings College of Technology from 2002-2010.  From 1989 through 2002, he was the Dean of Continuing Education and Community Services at Rocky Mountain College.  John is the project director of Montana’s College!NOW initiative which is being funded by the Lumina Education Foundation and he chairs the Montana University System Two-Year Education Council.  John has served on many boards and organizations in the Billings area including: Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Board of Directors for United Way, MSU Billings Foundation Board of Trustees, ZooMontana Board, Board of Trustees, Governor’s Workforce Grant Committee, and the Institute for Peace Studies at RMC.  John is also a board member for Montana PBS and the Governor’s IRR Committee.  During the last 22 years of John’s career, he has led the development of instructional programs at both RMC and the MSUB COT.   He is looking forward to engaging Montana’s two-year college leaders in his new job to further expand outreach to all Montanan’s through new partnerships, innovative learning design, and delivery modalities

David Hall, Ph.D.

(406)444-0608
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Dr. David E. Hall is the Coordinator for College!NOW, a Lumina Foundation for Education initiative.  He previously managed the Workforce Innovation Regional Economic Development Program – Montana’s Agri-Energy Plan (WIRED-MAP) for the Montana University System.  This program was a US Department of Labor four-year program.  From 1997 through 2006, David served as the Agricultural Education Specialist/State FFA Advisor within Montana’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI).  Prior to working in OPI, Dr. Hall spent eight years on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University.  He taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the Agricultural and Extension Education Department and has 14 years of experience in Oregon as a high school Agri-Science Teacher.  David has held numerous positions of leadership during his professional career including the Treasurer of the American Association of Agricultural Educators and the President of the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education.  He chaired the National Agricultural Education Content Standards Committee and was on the National Career Clusters Steering Committee as the head of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Career Cluster.   

Sue Jones, M.S.

(406)444-0318
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Ms. Susan K. Jones is the Director of Two-Year Mission Integration.  Her background includes a Master’s degree in Education with over 23 years of senior leadership experience in higher education.  Sue served as the Director of the Outreach Division and State Director for Elderhostel for UM Western.  She subsquently moved to Portland, OR to become the Area Director for the Western United States for Elderhostel, Inc., the world’s largest educational non-profit travel organization.  She later became Associate Vice President in charge of Elderhostel’s operations for all states west of the Mississippi.  Hailing from Dillon, Sue has served on a number of boards and committees including the Beaverhead Chamber of Commerce as a director and president.  Sue’s professional work has focused on lifelong learning with a special emphasis on education for older adults. 

Kali Wicks, M.S.

(406) 444-0313

Kali Wicks is the High School to College Pathways Program Manager/ Perkins Accountability Specialist for the Carl D. Perkins grant funded by the Department of Education. Kali has a Political Science Bachelor's Degree and a Communications and Organizational Leadership Master's Degree. Kali has previously served on the board of the Montana Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) and is currently the Vice President of Helena Young Professionals. In 2011, Kali began work for the State Workforce Investment Board at the Department of Labor, focusing on workforce development through sector strategies, lifelong learning, training, adult education, and youth connections. Prior to working for SWIB,, Kali served at the Manager of the Quality School Grant Program, a program that provides competitive emergency, planning, and facility project grants to public k-12 schools across the state of Montana.

Jan Lombardi, B.A.

(406)444-0317
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Jan Lombardi is the Director for GEAR UP, grant program funded by the Department of Education to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.  She started her career in banking and finance on the east coast before returning home to the Big Sky state in 1988.   Jan has more than 30 years of experience in government, nonprofits and the business sector.  Lombardi was named the Governor’s Education Policy Advisor in 2005, focusing on early childhood, K-12, higher education and workforce education and training.  Governor Brian Schweitzer appointed Jan Lombardi as Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Service, in 2009, overseeing volunteer and national service programs, such as AmeriCorps, across the state. Jan previously was an appointee for the State Superintendent in the Office of Public Instruction supporting K-12 initiatives.     Jan serves on the leadership team for the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative and is active with numerous local organizations.  Her work in Montana’s nonprofit and public sectors has resulted in lasting change in public health services delivery and education policy for families.   Jan received her B.A. from Newcomb College of Tulane University.

Jan is pleased to have this opportunity to join the Montana University System to help make a difference in the lives of Montana’s children.  

Heather Miller, M.A.

(406)444-0334

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Heather Miller is an enrolled member of the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma.  She is the Director of the Montana Education Talent Search program which is a TRiO program funded by the Department of Education.  Although not born and raised in Montana, Heather fell in love with the state wnile pursuing her Masters of Native American Studies at Montana State University in Bozeman.  After graduation she focused her career in the area of Native nonprofits and philanthropy.  She has worked for Hopa Mountain in Bozeman, MT, Potlatch Fund in Seattle, WA and First Nations Development Institute in Longmont, CO.  Her passion for supporting Native American educational pathways and love for Montana brought her back to Montana and the Education Talent Search program.  She has participated in leadership and development programs through First Nations Development Institute and the University of Washington.  She believes that strengthening Native communities by providing individualized services and access to resources and opportunities to our first generation and minority college students will strengthen all our Montana citizens and communities. 

Jeannie Origbo, B.A.

(406)444-0335
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Jeannie Origbo is the Administrative Associate for the TRIO/Educational Talent Search Program. In 2004 she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts from Carroll College in Writing and Literature in the Broadfield with secondary education endorsement. She taught high school English in Hays, MT from 2005-2011 before joining the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

Lyle Courtnage, Ed. D (Rigorous Programs of Study)
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Lyle Courtnage brings a combination of experience from industry and education to the RPOS project. Most recently Courtnage managed the implementation of Big Sky Pathways at MSU Billings College of Technology as well as co-directing the state wide Tech Prep Initiative. Earlier education experience includes business faculty assignments at Rocky Mountain College and MSU Great Falls plus managing adult degree completion programs and FIPSE/NSF grants for RMC. Courtnage’s management experience ranges from holding Fortune 100 marketing positions to owning and operating radio and television stations as well as a tax accounting business. Hobbies include sea kayak touring and working with Montana’s Trout Unlimited state council. Courtnage received his doctorate from MSU Bozeman, a MBA from the Wharton School, and a BS in accounting from Rocky Mountain College.