Listening First: Montana AI Community Conversations
Montana Afterschool Alliance · 2025
The Situation
Montana ranks among the lowest in the country for broadband affordability and access, and has one of the highest concentrations of small and rural school districts. As AI was reshaping education, work, and daily life, communities across the state were navigating it mostly on their own — without clear guidance, accessible learning, or a space to voice what they actually needed. The Montana Afterschool Alliance's STEM Ecosystem set out to change that by bringing AI conversations directly to communities: not as top-down training, but as structured listening.
What I Did
Served as lead or co-lead facilitator for five of the Montana STEM Ecosystem's community convenings on AI:
Also presented at the inaugural Montana AI Education Summit in Helena (April 2025) — delivering two hands-on AI workshops and participating in a panel discussion.
The community conversations were 3–4 hour roundtable listening sessions, not structured trainings. The design centered on hearing what communities were actually experiencing, worried about, and asking for around AI — and responding in real time. I came prepared with materials and knowledge I could draw on when relevant, but the sessions were led by community voice, not curriculum. Attendees spanned K–12 educators, government, nonprofits, Tribal community members, parents, businesses, and youth.
Outcomes
The conversations I facilitated — alongside the Helena summit — directly shaped the 2025 Montana AI Landscape brief: a community-derived document outlining AI readiness needs, risks, and priorities across Montana. The brief centers the voices of the communities themselves — educators feeling under-resourced, Tribal organizations raising data sovereignty concerns, youth asking for spaces to lead their own AI conversations.
What They Said
“The communities I work with, rural families, Tribal nations, and educators in small towns, aren't asking to be left behind in the AI conversation. They're asking to be included in situations where decisions are being made. This work matters because AI education can't just be an afterthought for communities outside tech hubs. It needs to be co-created with the people it will impact most.”
— Community Conversation Participant
“While there are increased national efforts around AI, I think it's just as important for Montana-based and Tribal institutions to take the lead here at home, shaping this work to reflect the values and concerns of the communities we live and work in.”
— Community Conversation Participant
“It is easy to become overwhelmed by immediate issues such as 'what is cheating,' but we need to simultaneously focus on big-picture, long-term questions.”
— Community Conversation Participant
Working with a community that needs a thoughtful entry point into AI?
Whether it's a listening session, a statewide initiative, or something in between — I'd love to talk about what's possible.
Get in Touch