Montana Wilderness School Welcomes Martha Sellers as Executive Director
The Montana Wilderness School Board of Directors is pleased to announce Martha Sellers as MWS’ General Director beginning in January 2023.
Sellers succeeds Executive Director and Co-founder, Gar Duke, who is transitioning to the Board of Directors after a decade of leadership in the organization. Sellers is moving to Executive Director from the Development position she has held with MWS since March 2020. Alongside her intimate knowledge of MWS, Martha brings past experience in fundraising, human resources, and program leadership.
Montana Wilderness School provides empowering multi-week backcountry expeditions that challenge diverse groups of young people mentally and physically, helping them develop leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. From its inception, MWS has focused on enrolling underrepresented youth by addressing financial constraints and fears that someone won’t fit into a particular cohort. This focus ensures that the profound and positive impacts gleaned from exposure to wild places are available to ALL Montana youth.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Gar Duke, said “It’s been an honor to serve alongside a passionate group of colleagues impacting the lives of young people over the past 10 years. I’m thrilled to pass the leadership role to an amazing individual, Martha Sellers, whom I know will continue to ensure the MWS youth program continues to empower and support our participants into the future and the organization’s culture and reputation continues to flourish as well. I look forward to continuing being involved as a board member, donor, and cheerleader in the years ahead.”
Sellers shared, “I am grateful for the trust the board, co-founders, and staff have extended to me, and I am thrilled to be expanding my role with Montana Wilderness School. As I have said many times, this organization is the finest one I’ve ever been a part of. This team is spectacular in every way, and we are changing lives, in real time, in ways that will stick with our students into adulthood. Having the opportunity to pay forward my own transformative backcountry experiences is the greatest pleasure I’ve ever had in my career.”
Sellers holds degrees in News/Editorial Journalism from the University of Saint Thomas and Public Administration from Montana State University. In her 18 years working at MSU, Sellers helped launch the University System-wide performance evaluation process; conducted supervisor/leadership training; secured grant funding from and developed and/or managed programs for NASA, NSF, NIH, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Dept of Education; and wrapped up her time at MSU as Assistant Dean of the Honors College. Immediately prior to joining MWS, Sellers raised money for People and Carnivores, working to protect bears and wolves.
Board President Chris Bunting shared, “The MWS Board of Directors is thrilled to have Martha Sellers leading the Montana Wilderness School. Over the past two years she has proven herself as the Development Director and we have full confidence in her ability to guide MWS and its amazing staff in the coming years.”
For more on the Montana Wilderness School including its 2023 expeditions, scholarship fund, and other ways to support its work, please visit https://www.montanawildernessschool.org/
