Billings Education Freedom Workshop

Welcome to the Billings Education Freedom Workshop! Join us at the DoubleTree by Hilton Billings for an evening filled with insightful discussions and networking opportunities. This in-person event aims to explore the importance of education freedom and charting the path forward to expand the education landscape in Montana. Be prepared to engage with experts in the field Ben Lindquist of Acadia Education, Kerry McDonald Senior Education Fellow at Foundation for Economic Education and Trish Schreiber, Senior Education Fellow at Frontier Institute. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Reserve your spot today!

Ben is the Co-Founder and Executive Partner for Arcadia Education. He previously served as the president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools in June 2018. Before joining the League, he spent 23 years working to improve public education nationally. Ten of those years were spent as a charter school manager starting public charter schools and serving high-poverty urban students. Ten of those years were spent as a grant-making manager with the Charter School Growth Fund, Walton Family Foundation, and Kern Family Foundation. From 1994 to 1997, Lindquist was a researcher and writer for The Education Industry Report where he evaluated entrepreneurial activity in all sectors of education from childcare through corporate training and development.

Kerry McDonald is a Senior Education Fellow at FEE and host of the weekly LiberatED podcast. She is the author of (Chicago Review Press, 2019). In addition to her role at FEE, Kerry is also the Velinda Jonson Family Education Fellow at State Policy Network, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a regular Forbes contributor.

Kerry's research interests include homeschooling and schooling alternatives, self-directed learning, education entrepreneurship, parent empowerment, school choice, and family and child policy. Her articles have appeared at The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Newsweek, NPR, Education Next, Reason Magazine, Washington Examiner, City Journal, Entrepreneur, and the Journal of School Choice, among others. She has a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Bowdoin College.

Kerry lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children.

Raised in San Jose, California during a time of great cultural and economic change, Trish’s life changed at the age of 13 when her family moved 20 miles west to the newly branded Silicon Valley. Having a front row seat to the inequities of educational opportunities that exist between neighboring zip codes set Trish on a pathway into a career of education. After earning a master’s degree and a certificate of educational therapy, Trish opened a private practice offering high quality special education services directly to families. Recognizing a dearth of affordable, diverse, and exceptional educational choices for Montana students and their parents amidst obvious demand lured Trish into advocating for an open educational marketplace throughout this expansive state.

Host or Publisher Frontier Institute