Institute Faculty
Jason Anderson- Summer Institute EMCEE
Jason Anderson is Senior Trainer and training developer with The Montana Institute, with a focus on teaching others how to use the Science of the Positive and Positive Community Norms to transform community health.
After a 25-year career in community corrections, serving as a probation/parole officer, project manager, and probation department director, Jason transitioned into a full-time role as a consultant and trainer in early 2023. He has been affiliated with The Montana Institute doing curriculum development and training since 2014. He spent a number of years as an active member of two school-based substance abuse coalitions and is a current member of the Itasca County Veteran’s Crisis Response Team, which supports veterans experiencing mental health crises. An avid outdoorsman and storyteller, Jason enjoys singing in his church choir and dabbles in community theater.
Jason Kilmer, ph.D.- Wednesday & thursday AM keynote
Dr. Jason Kilmer is a Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW), and serves as an investigator on several studies evaluating prevention and intervention efforts for alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use by college students. In addition to research and teaching, he has worked extensively with college students and student groups around alcohol and other drug prevention programming and presentations throughout his career (including student athletes, fraternity and sorority members, residence life, and first-year students), both at UW and on campuses across the nation. Jason worked for 10 years as an Addictive Behaviors Specialist in the Counseling Center at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, then worked for 10 years as the LiveWell Assistant Director for Alcohol and Other Drug Education in LiveWell: Center for Student Advocacy, Training, & Education at UW (formerly Health & Wellness). As faculty in the School of Medicine, Jason continues his direct work with students through presentations for intercollegiate athletics and residence life. Jason also serves as the chairperson of Washington state's College Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Jason has been project faculty for several national learning collaboratives in the US, including NYU’s National College Depression Partnership, Dartmouth’s National College Health Improvement Program, and the NCAA’s 360 Proof project. He was one of the six members of the development team for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s College Alcohol Intervention Matrix (CollegeAIM).
In 2015, Jason became a Research Fellow with The Montana Institute, and has been collaborating with Dr. Jeff Linkenbach and his colleagues on a number of projects that consider the use of Positive Community Norms to impact health.
Jason was the 2014 recipient of the National Prevention Network’s Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the field of prevention. He was a 2017 recipient of the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, and was also the 2017 recipient of the Washington State Prevention Professional Award of Excellence. He received the 2018-2019 Research Award from NASPA’s Student Athlete Knowledge Community for outstanding contributions to scholarship highlighting the shared interests of athletics and student affairs. Jason has been a 2017, 2018, and 2019 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching award by the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Training Program.
JEFF LINKENBACH, ED.D.- tuesday am keynote & PM workshop
As the Director and Chief Research Scientist at The Montana Institute, Dr. Jeff Linkenbach has developed national award-winning programs that change community norms. Jeff holds a doctorate of education with a focus on community education, a master’s degree in counseling and has over the past 30 years of experience in public health leadership. He is a co-investigator of the HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) study at the HOPE Center at Tufts School of Medicine and a past Fellow at the Mansfield Academy for Global Leadership at The University of Montana.
In 1998, Jeff created the National Conference on The Social Norms Approach to Prevention, which has since transformed into the renowned Montana Summer Institute on Positive Community Norms. Jeff also founded the Center for Health & Safety Culture at the Western Transportation Institute, and is the developer of the Science of the Positive and Positive Community Norms frameworks, which have been utilized by tribal, federal, state and local organizations to achieve positive change and transformation around issues such as child maltreatment, substance abuse, suicide and traffic safety.
Jeff is known for translating social norms science into practical applications and has trained others to implement effective norms interventions across North America. For the past sixteen years, he has led Positive Community Norms implementation across the state of Minnesota, which has resulted in significant reductions in teen alcohol and other substance abuse. Jeff was a member of the Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s Knowledge-to-Action (K2A) think tank on Essentials for Childhood, and was commissioned by the CDC to write a supplemental paper on Promoting Positive Community Norms. He has served as a consultant and trainer for numerous prestigious organizations such as the U.S. White House (Office of National Drug Control Policy), the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, The Canadian Agriculture Safety Association, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Harvard University, The American Medical Association, The National Football League and many others.
stacey litam, ph.D. - wednesday am keynote & Pm workshop
Stacey Diane Arañez Litam PhD., LPCCs, NCC, CCMHC (She/Her/Siya) is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at Cleveland State University, a licensed professional clinical counselor and supervisor, as well as diplomate and clinical sexologist with the American Board of Sexology. Dr. Litam is a member of the Forbes Health Advisory Board and an Advisory Council Member for the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Minority Fellowship Program. Dr. Litam’s speaking, research, and clinical areas of specialization include topics related to mental health and sexual well-being, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), intergenerational trauma, as well as Asian and Pacific Islander (API) American concerns. She is an immigrant and identifies as a Filipina American woman.
Dr. Litam’s work has been featured in Forbes Health, National Public Radio (NPR), Discovery Magazine, Psychology Today, The National Institutes of Health, Mental Health Academy, as well as in podcasts, documentaries, and news outlets. She has nearly 50 academic publications including 17 research articles archived in the World Health Organization’s global literature database on COVID-19 and she is one of the foremost leading researchers on the impact of racial discrimination on the mental health of diverse racial and ethnic groups. In her spare time, Dr. Litam enjoys traveling, searching for the perfect cake donut, and having dance parties with her two sons.
john nolter- Friday am keynote
A gifted storyteller, Noltner has worked on four continents, gathering stories of human courage, grace, and resilience. He has produced projects for national magazines, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profit organizations. A Peace of My Mind reflects his belief that art and storytelling can help individuals, organizations and communities articulate their deepest values and encourage action toward building social capital and community connections.
carla ritz- tuesday am keynote & wednesday pm workshop
Carla Ritz is the Special Projects Director at The Montana Institute. For the last 15 years she has worked from coast-to-coast as a nonprofit leader, convener, early childhood and prevention advocate, and innovator. Prior to joining the Institute, she served as the Executive Director for First 5 Lake County in Northern California where she collaborated at the county, regional and state levels to reduce ACEs by applying the principles of H.O.P.E. Carla holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona.
john sommers-flanagan, PH.D.- tuesday pm workshop
John Sommers-Flanagan is a professor of counseling at the University of Montana, a clinical psychologist, and author or coauthor of over 100 publications, including nine books and many professional training videos. His books, co-written with his wife Rita, include Clinical Interviewing, Tough Kids, Cool Counseling, and Suicide Assessment and Treatment Planning: A Strengths-Based Approach. He has published articles or commentaries in the New England Journal of Medicine, American Psychologist, Professional Psychology, and the Journal of Counseling and Development. In 2018, he produced a three-part, 7.5-hour suicide assessment and treatment training video for mental health professionals with Psychotherapy.net. John’s current work primarily involves promoting an evidence-informed strengths-based learning model designed to grow student and teacher strengths, skills, resources, and virtues, rather than growing more mental disorders (which we have enough of). In his wild and precious spare time, John loves to run (slowly), dance (poorly), laugh (loudly) and produce home-made family music videos. You can learn more about John and Rita’s latest venture, the Montana Happiness Project, at https://montanahappinessproject.com/
Sara Thompson- wednesday pm workshop & Thursday am keynote
Sara Thompson is the Director of Training and Communications with The Montana Institute. She specializes in the development and delivery of training, technical assistance, and communications centered on the Science of the Positive Framework and Positive Community Norms. Sara was introduced to Dr. Jeff Linkenbach’s work with the Science of the Positive and Positive Community Norms (PCN) frameworks in 2006; these transformative new approaches challenged her perceptions, reignited her passion for prevention leadership, and renewed her energy for her work.
Building on her experience as a strategic marketing consultant serving large and small companies, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, festivals, and community events, she began working with community coalitions in her home state of Minnesota to prevent underage drinking and other drug use by applying the PCN framework. Through The Montana Institute, she offers consultation, training, tool development, and technical support to communities who are applying the Science of the Positive process and Positive Community Norms approach to prevention. She is a faculty member of the annual Montana Summer Institute in Big Sky, has been featured at several PTTC regional and national training events, and delivered a plenary session at the 2021 Drexel University Forensics Conference. Sara is privileged to collaborate with some of the most experienced prevention specialists, innovative thought leaders and cutting-edge social science researchers in the country.