Meet The Team
Meet your Instructors
Amanda Blaker
M 121/021, Instructor
Amanda Blaker has been with Gallatin College MSU for over eight years. She has led innovative curricula changes for our STEM and non-STEM developmental math courses including a new math pathway for students in Humanities and Social Sciences degree tracks and a new “compressed” course that combined several developmental courses into one, 8-credit course that allows students to reach college-level math faster. Amanda is a perfectionist who puts in countless hours to work and rework everything from the order of content covered in a course to the delivery in the classroom. Extremely dedicated to education, Amanda heartily believes that everyone has the right to seek an education.
Katie Ivester
M 090, Instructor
Katie Ivester was hired as a full-time, tenure-track faculty member in the fall of 2016 after having successfully taught courses for Gallatin College for over two years. Since then, Katie has become a leader in the many curricular innovations including a redesign of the STEM-track math courses and a new math placement process to determine the most appropriate math course for each student. Katie is an exceptional teacher who is constantly pushing herself to evolve. Students speak of Katie’s combined empathy and high standards that push them to not only reach college-level math successfully, but have a new understanding and appreciation for a subject they previously disliked.
Dr. Sarah Bennett
M 121, Assistant Teaching Professor
Dr. Sarah Bennett earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics with a focus on mathematics education
research from Montana State University in 2008. She has experience teaching a wide
variety of mathematics courses at MSU.
Clinton Watton
M 151, Instructor
Clinton Watton earned his M.S. in Mathematics at Montana State University in 2016
and has been a member of the faculty ever since. In addition to his teaching role,
Clinton is also the assistant director of the Math Learning Center at MSU.
[email protected]
Jennifer Grahl Miller, B.S.
Student Success Advisor
Jennifer joined the Allen Yarnell Office of Student Success in the summer of 2018.
She is a proud native of Wisconsin and graduated from Winona State University with
a B.S in Elementary Education and Fine Arts. After college, she joined AmeriCorps
and worked to implement service learning into the curriculum in Seattle schools. She
then began working in higher education, first as an adviser at The Art Institute of
Seattle, and later at the University of Washington in The School of Music. Jennifer
fell in love with Bozeman after spending a summer in the Big Timber area, and when
her husband was offered a job in the area, jumped at the chance to move to their family
to Bozeman. Jennifer, her husband, and her daughter love the outdoors and are excited
to explore all that Montana has to offer. Jennifer feels fortunate to be at MSU and
able to do what she loves most -- working and connecting with students and guiding
them towards their educational and life goals.
Janet Barkow, M.A.
Student Success Advisor
Janet received a B.S. in Psychology from Colorado State University and a M.A. in Education
from The University of Colorado. She taught Elementary Education for 14 years in Broomfield,
Colorado. In 2003, Janet and her family reconnected with their Montana roots and moved
to Bozeman. In Bozeman, Janet has worked at REI, taught Nordic Ski Clinics and been
a K-12 Substitute School Teacher, in addition to working one on one with students
as a Success Advisor.
Maria Perks, B.A.
Student Success Advisor
Maria joined AYCSS as a Success Advisor in the spring of 2021. Before becoming a
Success Advisor, Maria was an instructor of developmental math at MSU-Gallatin College.
Maria holds a BA in mathematics from Gonzaga University. After serving in AmeriCorps,
she pursued her career in education and has taught in a variety of academic settings
primarily in the subject of math. Maria’s specific interest in the comprehension
of math and the challenges and anxiety students must overcome in college led her to
the position of Success Advisor.
Tyler Vogel
CATalyst Mentor
Hi there! My name is Tyler and I am a senior here at MSU. I am studying Mechanical
Engineering Technology with a German Studies double major. During my time here at
MSU, I have been involved with Hall Council and was an RA for a year. On top of being
a CATalyst mentor, I am the treasurer for German Club and a SmartyCats tutor for German.
In my free time I like to ski, play guitar, play video games, and watch movies. I
hope I can be a great resource for you to find success while at MSU!