Bitz elected to Humanities board of directors

Press release

Caroline Bitz of Box Elder was among three people Humanities Montana’s board elected as new members, the others being Scott Crichton of Missoula and April Charlo of Charlo.

These members’ terms will begin January 1. The board also elected Tobin Miller Shearer as the new chair and Aaron Pruitt as the new vice chair for 2017.

Ken Egan, Executive Director of Humanities Montana, said, “Humanities Montana’s board is thrilled to welcome these new members. They bring a commitment to cultural programming for diverse Montanans. They make a strong board even stronger.”

Bitz is a rancher with a commitment to serving rural and other underserved populations in Montana. She served for a decade on the Hill County Library Board as well as serving two terms on the State Library Board as a governor’s appointee and promoting libraries at the national level.

Scott Crichton has 26 years of experience as the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and served 12 years on the ACLU Executive Directors’ Steering Committee. He participated in founding the Montana Low Income Coalition and has dedicated his life to protecting the rights and dignity of all Montanans.

April Charlo earned a Native American studies Associate of Arts from Salish Kootenai College, an elementary education Bachelor of Arts from Salish Kootenai College, and an education leadership Masters of Education. from the University of Montana. Her work teaching Salish and Kootenai, as a board member of Healthy Native Communities Partnership and Native Generational Change, and with youth and young adults makes her a great fit for Humanities Montana’s mission. She currently works as the Tribal Outreach Director for the Special Olympics.

  Tobin Miller Shearer is an associate professor of history, director of graduate studies in history, and director of African-American Studies at the University of Montana. Aaron Pruitt is the associate general manager of KUSM-TV and director of content for MontanaPBS.

  Humanities Montana is the state’s independent, nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1972, Humanities Montana has provided services and grants to hundreds of Montana organizations in support of public programs in history, literature, civil conversations, and public issues. Among its many programs are its grants, Montana Conversations, Speakers in the Schools, Hometown Humanities, Community Conversations, Letters About Literature, and the Governor’s Humanities Awards.