Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Welcomes Mary Heller as Montana Ready Coordinator

• Brian O'Leary
• April 08 2022

HELENA – Superintendent Elsie Arntzen welcomes Mary Heller as the Office of Public Instruction’s (OPI) Montana Ready Coordinator. Montana Ready is one of four initiatives that Superintendent Arntzen championed when she was elected as state superintendent in 2016. Montana Ready focuses on Career and Technical Education (CTE) to create partnerships with industries, the military, and the university system to develop Montana’s workforce.

The Montana Ready Coordinator will help strengthen the Workforce Learning Program in CTE at the OPI. Other duties include working closely with the Governor’s office, Department of Labor and Industry, and stakeholders to grow workforce development in our K-12 schools. The coordinator will focus on building relationships between the public and private sectors.

“Developing our students’ Montana Ready skills in science, technology, engineering, and math has been one of my top priorities as Superintendent,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “Mary’s long history of service to our students and her dedication to workforce development will be a great addition to serving our students and communities. Montana Ready reflects the investment of public tax dollars to promote strong career readiness.”

"I'm excited to help an already awesome team at OPI tackle the workforce shortage problem,” said Mary Heller. “Our Montana K-12 schools have amazing teachers, students, and Career and Technical Student Organizations building tomorrow's quality workforce. With these ingredients already in place, we can bridge with Montana industries so we're all working together to narrow the skills gap."

Mary has been a secondary education teacher, an administrator for state and federal regulations at oil refineries, and a Legislative Assistant in the United States Congress. Mary has also been the Director of the Career Center and Industry Relations at Montana State University-Northern, the State Director for SkillsUSA Montana, and a member of the Montana Board of Public Education. Mary will start her new position in June.