HomeMy WebLinkAboutStatement of Interest and Qualifications_David Landis
313 S 6th Ave Email: david4landis@gmail.com David Landis, Ed.D. Bozeman MT 59715
Phone: 406-570-1753
Dear Bozeman City Commissioners, 27 September 2020
As a registered voter in the city of Bozeman, I have been closely following recent
events related to our City Commission, and would like to offer this letter expressing
my interest in being appointed to the newly vacant office of City Commissioner. I
meet the necessary qualifications for this position, as well as the requirements for
holding public office in the State of Montana. Furthermore, I believe my background
in elementary and higher education, executive leadership, intercultural
communication, and the hospitality sector – along with my history as an “old” and a
“new” resident of Bozeman – make me uniquely suited to hit the ground running in
this position.
I was raised in the City of Bozeman and graduated from Bozeman Senior High in
1973. I taught at public and private schools in the Gallatin Valley and northern
Montana throughout the 1980s, and completed my doctoral dissertation in Reading
and Writing Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1995. Following
the completion of my doctoral degree, I spent twelve years teaching as an Assistant
and then Associate Professor of Education at the University of Northern Iowa, while
also teaching internationally in Central Asia, Europe and Africa. My family and I then
moved to the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2007, where I worked at KIMEP University as
a faculty member before becoming the Associate and then Acting Vice President of
Academic Affairs. I returned to Bozeman and retired in 2017 and am currently
working part-time at the Lewis & Clark Motel in downtown Bozeman.
I believe my professional and personal experience will benefit the City of Bozeman in
the following ways:
● I know how to work on an executive leadership team, and can help City
Commissioners develop sound policies and determine how to implement
them.
● As both an “old” and a “new” resident of Bozeman, I can connect with
various demographics within our city.
● I can draw upon my cross-cultural teaching and project leadership
experiences to help ensure our City Commission is culturally aware, and that
the policies we craft are inclusive and equitable.
● My personal experience in higher education, and more recently the
hospitality and tourism sector, will be advantageous as the City Commission
navigates the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these two vital
sectors of the Bozeman economy.
A lot has changed since my first job in Bozeman at the age of seventeen – bussing
tables at the 4B’s Restaurant across from the Willson Middle School – but one thing is
still the same, and it’s what brought me back to Bozeman after twenty-five years
away: Bozeman is a great place to live. Whether you come for the outdoor
recreation or educational opportunities, and stay for the generous community, or
you’ve lived here your whole life, Bozeman is a place that’s worth calling home. I’d
be proud to represent the people of Bozeman as a member of the City Commission.
Thank you for your consideration,
David Landis