Meet Our Team

Principal Investigator monica.skewes@montana.edu

Community Research Associate

Marty is a social worker.  He was Director of The Chante Project and moved over to work on the IRP Project in 2021.  He has 3+ years of working in research.  He is leaving this amazing team to travel on to new and exciting paths.  He is very thankful for this amazing opportunity and will still be working with this project through contracting.  

IRP Facilitator

I am an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Tribes and work as a program development specialist at Spotted Bull Recovery Center. I am a facilitator for the IRP program.

Mental Health Specialist

Proud member of the Nakoda People from the Makoche, Earth and the Winchastabi, Stars.  Strong commitment to serve and protect the integrity of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Nation.  I work as a mental health specialist at the Fort Peck Service Unit.

Research Coordinator amy.stix@montana.edu

Amy Stix serves as the research coordinator of the IRP program and has worked at MSU-Bozeman for the past 12 years.

Statistician

Ben is a developmental psychologist and applied statistician who specializes in understanding how normative (e.g., belongingness) and non-normative experiences (e.g., maltreatment, trauma, and loss) intersect with childhood adjustment, civic engagement, and positive wellbeing. He provides theoretical, methodological, and analytic research support for projects focused on childhood trauma and grief and uses cutting-edge statistical techniques to examine how these experiences influence adjustment over time.

Research Associate

Julie is a researcher dedicated to addressing health disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Her work emphasizes community-based participatory approaches and the development of culturally adapted interventions. Julie has worked with the IRP project since 2016 and is excited to see the positive impact it has had on people trying to maintain their sobriety.

Consultant

I live in Bozeman have my own counseling practice. Worked in the behavioral health field since 2001. Became a Licensed Addiction Counselor in MT in July. Worked at Ft Peck since 2014. I think I’m really fortunate to be a part of this project.  

I love FP and love the people we work with at FP.

Graduate Research Assistant

Fiona is a graduate student in the Indigenous & Rural Health PhD program at Montana State University. She is a cisgender, white, queer woman of European descent, primarily Irish & Spanish. She has 5+ years of experience working on research in partnership with Indigenous communities to support mental and behavioral health and health equity. Specifically, she is interested in work related to substance use and suicide prevention. Throughout all of her work, Fiona strives to be a co-conspirator and to support the health equity and sovereignty of Tribal Nations.

Graduate Research Assistant

Morgan Neavill is a Ph.D. Candidate at Montana State University studying Psychological Science, advised by Dr. Skewes. Morgan joined the IRP project in 2021 and assists with a variety of research tasks, often working on data entry.

Research Assistant

Shannon is thankful to continue to learn from and support the IRP Team with data entry. She continues to remain grounded in CBPR lessons of humility and partnership in her current work as a public health nurse.