Mr. Steven Galbavy Is New Executive Director of Opportunity Link Inc. in Northcentral Montana

Mr. Steven Galbavy assumes his new position as executive director of Havre-based Opportunity Link, Inc. today, announced Dr. Russell Boham, chairman of the board of directors for Opportunity Link, Inc., a non-profit created to help the community reduce poverty long term.

“We are very pleased to welcome Steve to this position and to our work. He has lived in this region almost his entire life and knows the people and the issues, and has the experience to deal with the complexities of a developing organization.” said Boham. “The goal of helping to reduce poverty in a 32,000 square mile area of Northcentral Montana will require an Executive who can see the big picture while not loosing sight of the details, and we believe Steve Galbavy has that insight.”

A native of Box Elder, Galbavy has served in various education and economic development capacities in the region. Most recently he served the National Tribal Development Association by overseeing the development of a new project on the Rocky Boys Reservation That will provide approximately 42 full-time jobs, 2,000 peripheral jobs, and employment for up to 400 during construction. Prior to his work with NTDA, Galbavy was the President of Stone Child College. While there, he co-authored the Accreditation Self-Study for Stone Child College that addresses nine standards required for institutions to gain or reaffirm accreditation. He helped (or guided) the articulation of degree programs with other institutions thereby making transitions more seamless for students to move towards more advanced degrees. Galbavy also provided leadership to plan, design, and secure and leverage dollars from multiple funding sources for new campus construction.

“Opportunity Link allows our region to identify new possibilities and implement practical strategies we hope will benefit many future generations…..” Galbavy says.

Galbavy hold degrees from Montana State University-Bozeman and Montana State University-Northern. He and his wife Mona reside in Box Elder and are the proud parents of three children and five grandsons.

Established in 2005, Opportunity Link strives to create and implement strategies and encourage partnerships that will reduce poverty in the region long term. Opportunity Link Does not accept unsolicited grant requests but instead devotes its resources to promote public-private sector collaborations to develop systemic solutions.

Opportunity Link, Inc. is one of ten communities that have established a 10-year partnership with the Northwest Area Foundation (http://www.nwaf.org) which is dedicated to helping communities reduce poverty for the long term. For more information, visit http://www.opportunitylinkmt.org, or call 406-265-3699.