Staff
BreeAnna Polk
Youth Voices Instructor
BreeAnna is an Elementary Education major at the University of Montana. She grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. BreeAnna used her education expertise to help shape the Lab’s Youth Voices curriculum.
“I had so much fun working with the Montana Media Lab and am grateful for the opportunity to be involved with the cool stuff the Lab does,” she said.
Katie Medicine Bull
Youth Voices Instructor
Katie is a contemporary artist originally from Lame Deer, Montana, enrolled with the Northern Cheyenne tribe. She creates art through taking photos and specializes in portraits. She is currently pursuing her associates in Fine Arts at Salish Kootenai College. She aspires to inspire others and show her culture through photography.
Katie joined the Media Lab to gain experience in the field of teaching, and work with Indigenous youth.
Lotus Porte-Moyel
Youth Voices Intern
Lotus (she/they) is an audio journalism and musical theatre student at the University of Montana. She was a Montana Media Lab Youth Voices Instructor during her first two years at UM and became the Media Lab’s first intern at the end of 2024. They now work alongside the Lab’s leadership to review and adapt the Youth Voices program, prepare for workshops and events, and write blurbs to keep the public in the know about what the Lab is up to. Lotus continues to work for the Media Lab because of the awesome team, her love for strategic planning, and the exciting process of making audio stories with youth!
Maddie Jorden
Youth Voices Instructor
Maddie is a graduate student in UM’s environmental journalism program. Before grad school, she spent seven years working in media on a Colorado cattle ranch where she dove deep into conservation, food production, and rural issues. In her free time she is usually in the company of her dog, Newt, and her horse, Norman.
Mary Auld
Director
Mary Auld (she/her) is a teacher and journalist in Missoula. She makes radio stories about human-environment interactions. Her work has been featured on public radio stations and in newspapers around Alaska and Montana. Mary has a master’s in environmental journalism from the University of Montana. You can reach her at [email protected]
Mary’s first pets were worms in the compost bin.
Mike Green
Youth Voices Program Manager
Mike spent 12 years exploring the wild landscapes and waters of the Western US by foot, bike, and boat working as both a guide and an educator. He returned to school for his masters in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism at the University of Montana in the fall of 2023. He now focuses his work on the people and policies that shape the western United States today. He spends part of each summer teaching digital storytelling and expedition canoeing to Alaskan youth through Fathoms Alaska, a nonprofit he started with several of his best friends.
Mike was drawn to working with the Montana Media Lab by the ability to weave together his passions for storytelling and empowering youth to shape the world around them.
Najifa Farhat
Youth Voices Instructor
Najifa is a spring 2024 graduate from the University of Montana and currently working at SouthWest Michigan for a local newspaper. She worked with Montana Media Lab in Fall 2024 and says the experience was a great opportunity to come close to future journalistic minds. She worked with the Montana Media Lab because she is very passionate about audio journalism. Helping students to navigate audio equipment, take interviews, and bring together all the pieces to produce a story was very exciting.
Former Instructors
JoVonne Wagner
Former Youth Voices Instructor
JoVonne (she/her) is from the Blackfeet Nation and a senior at the University of Montana’s School of Journalism. She focuses on reporting on Indigenous affairs in Montana and for Buffalo’s Fire, an online Native news site. One time it took her about 12 tries to correctly spell out “Indigenous,” but practice makes perfect! She’s ready and excited to work with Montana Media Lab!
Elinor Smith
Former Youth Voices Instructor
Elinor (she/her) is a senior at the University of Montana studying journalism. She is originally from Boise, Idaho but moved to Missoula to pursue a career in writing. She’s spent the last few years writing and producing radio stories at the University of Montana and at the Montana Legislature for platforms across the state.
Elinor has a cat named Barbara–a name she chose so they would both have “matching old lady names.” And she used to DJ a show called “Cheaper than Therapy” on the UM college radio station, KBGA.
Kathleen Shannon
Former Youth Voices Instructor
Kathleen (she/her) is a freelance journalist and radio producer who believes storytelling can help change the world. She’s especially attuned to climate and social justice stories across the West, where she also earned a master’s degree in environmental journalism from the University of Montana in 2023. Catch her stories on NPR, in High Country News and elsewhere.