MAEA Conferences Dates:​
2026 October 15-16         
  • Location: C.M. Russell High School (228 17th Ave NW, Great Falls, MT 59404) and virtual
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2027 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Nominate NOW by sending your nominee's name and contact information to Autumn Elliot.

2026 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Monica Thompson of Missoula, MT
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2025 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Laura Elliott of Missoula, MT

2024 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Kate Ruland of Broadus, MT

2023 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Theresa Jacobs of Great Falls, MT
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2022 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Jenny Bevill of Whitefish, MT.

2021 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Frank Jacques of Belgrade, MT   

2020 MAEA Teacher of the Year:
Connie Barnhart of Broadus, MT

Find our MAEA Minutes Here

Conference 2026, 
Great Falls

2026 Keynote
Abi Paytoe Gbayee

How to Make Panic Look Like Progress, and Other Advice from the Front Lines of Leadership
Description: There is a version of leadership we are sold, steady, confident, clear. Then there is the version most of us are actually living, making decisions mid-sentence, responding before we feel ready, and trying to move something forward while it still feels uncertain. That gap is where a lot of art educators are right now. This experience sits inside that reality instead of trying to clean it up. It names what it feels like to lead in classrooms, schools, and professional spaces where the expectations keep shifting, the resources do not stretch far enough, and the timeline never quite slows down. It pushes back on the idea that leadership should feel settled before action happens, and instead reframes urgency, doubt, and even panic as part of the work itself. How do you make decisions when you do not have all the information? How do you keep things moving without burning yourself out or burning out the people around you? How do you recognize when what feels reactive is actually responsive, and when what feels like chaos is actually momentum starting to take shape? This is not about eliminating the panic. It is about learning how to work within it well enough that progress still happens, on purpose.

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