RISE Challenge Big Sky Summit
May 3, 2023
Cymatic Event Center | Missoula, MT
Join us as finalist student groups compete for prize money at this exciting event! All participating students, adults, and anyone wanting to support the students are welcome.
What is the RISE Challenge Big Sky?
RISE Challenge Big Sky Team
The mission of RISE Challenge Big Sky is to create a generation of citizens with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to improve community resilience to natural disasters. Part inquiry-based learning, part competition, and part summit, it engages students in exploring their local communities to identify real-world environmental issues and develop solutions and action plans for making their communities more resilient.
What is the Summit?
Groups of Montana middle and high school students and their teachers participated in the RISE Challenge Big Sky by selecting environmental issues impacting their communities, conducting in-depth research, interviewing experts, and developing action plans for addressing the issues. The top student groups are invited to showcase their projects at the culminating Summit on May 3rd for a chance to win unrestricted cash prizes between $200 and $1,000 from the ASFPM Foundation. All projects are eligible to apply for funds from FEMA to implement their projects.
How will the Summit winners be chosen?
A panel of expert judges will view each group’s verbal presentation, ask student representatives questions, and use a scoring rubric to determine the prize winners. See bios below.
Summit agenda and finalist list coming soon!
Thank you to our team of expert judges!
Tracy Campbell, CFM
Superintendent, City of Missoula Stormwater Utility
Tracy is the Superintendent of the City of Missoula Stormwater Utility and has worked with the City since 2019. She manages the operations of the stormwater system and compliance with the City’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit. She has over 20 years of experience in environmental regulatory compliance, specializing in the Clean Water Act, USACE Levee Safety Program, and floodplain management. Tracy received her Bachelor of Science from Colorado State University and her Master of Science from Montana State University. She is committed to applying scientific principles to protect water quality, helping the City of Missoula make meaningful progress towards environmental sustainability.
Sara Hartley
State Hazard Mitigation Officer for Montana and member of the Mitigation Team at Montana Disaster and Emergency Services (DES).
Sara works with federal agencies, state agencies, tribal partners, local jurisdictions, and private non-profits to further investment in natural hazard mitigation and resiliency across Montana. Sara was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P.) and lived in Colorado for many years. She was the Hazard Mitigation & Resiliency Director for a local jurisdiction in Colorado where she assisted in recovery and mitigation efforts following a series of natural disasters before moving to Montana and beginning work with MT DES in 2019.
Cara R. Nelson
Professor of Restoration Ecology, University of Montana
Cara is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at the University of Montana’s College of Forestry and Conservation and Director of the College’s Restoration Ecology Laboratory. The Lab generates knowledge about ecological processes associated with ecosystem degradation and repair - and innovates that knowledge into prescriptions for restorative interventions. Towards these ends, Cara and her students study the effects of large-scale disturbance on vegetation dynamics, the efficacy and ecological impacts of restoration treatments, and the science behind the selection of native plant materials. In addition to her position at the University, Cara leads the Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management and is a past Chair of the Society for Ecological Restoration. This past year, she led the effort to develop principles of ecosystem restoration to guide the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Traci Sears
NFIP/CAP Coordinator, DNRC
Traci is the State of Montana's National Floodplain Insurance Program (NFIP) Coordinator. She works with local communities and state and federal partners on flood recovery, the Community Rating System (CRS), mitigation, flood insurance, policy issues, and permitting to reduce flood losses and build community resilience. Before joining the State of Montana, Ms. Sears started her floodplain management career while working as a local county planner in Montana. Her responsibilities included overseeing the Lakeshore Protection and CRS programs in Flathead County. Since 2004, she has held numerous positions on the Montana Association of Floodplain Managers (AMFM) Board. She also previously worked for United Way, directed a non-profit youth program, and was a proud United States Coast Guard member. Ms. Sears is a Certified Floodplain Manager with a B.A. in Criminal Justice with a minor in Planning from Florida Atlantic University. Ms. Sears is a founding member of the Montana Silver Jackets Program, the Montana Stream Restoration Committee, and the Montana CRS Users Group. She is actively involved in national flood policy issues and is the current Region 8 representative with the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). She advocates nationally for western state flood issues, the NFIP, and sound mitigation and land use planning.
Dan Spencer
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies, University of Montana
With degrees in geology, theology, and ethics, Dan has been active in many areas of teaching and research. He has three primary areas of interest: community participation in ecological restoration, environmental and social justice issues connected to economic globalization, and the intersection of religion, ecology, and environmental ethics. Dan is also a big proponent of experiential education. He has taken students to Latin America, southern Africa, and Vietnam to study issues related to sustainable development, environmental justice, and climate change adaptation. He also has taught for the Wild Rockies Field Institute and recently served on the WRFI Board.
Radley Watkins, Resource Conservationist, Missoula Conservation District
Radley Watkins has a broad background in conservation and natural resource management. He has worked for a Wisconsin Conservation District where he headed the aquatic species management program and did some shoreline restoration. Radley attended the University of Montana and received an undergraduate degree in bio-geography. He received his master’s degree in forestry from Michigan Tech where he focused on landscape ecology and ecosystem science. This background has allowed him to work as a wildlife ecologist in Washington, a lake management consultant in Wisconsin, a county land-use planner in northern Idaho, and in the field of real estate. Before moving back to Missoula, Radley has spent the last decade living in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the third most lake-rich region of the world, where Radley’s family has owned property for over 70 years. Managing family land gave Radley hands-on experience balancing natural resource regulation with maintaining a historic way of life. Radley has a passion for protecting habitat and biodiversity, as well as getting out and enjoying natural places. When he is not working, Radley likes to spend time hiking, backpacking, boating, and training trail horses with his family.
Teachers: Join us for the 2024 RISE Challenge Big Sky!
Professional Experts – Volunteer!
Volunteers are the driving force behind the RISE Challenge Big Sky! If you are involved with floodplain management, environmental issues, natural hazard mitigation, state or federal policies, or a similar area of expertise, please consider volunteering. Montana students – and the environment – will thank you!
