Karen Gibson, MS, CCC/SLP – Speech-Language Pathologist

kgibson@bpc.k12.mt.us

Hello, my name is Karen “Boyce” Gibson. I am the youngest of six children and I grew up on a very rural ranch in the Bear Paw Mountains south of Havre Montana. I attended two different one room country schools up until 8^th grade (Warrick and Bear Paw). The highest number of kids we had in the entire school was seven and the lowest was three. As a freshman I attended Chinook High School but transferred to Big Sandy High School as a sophomore. I graduated from Big Sandy in 1991. I studied speech communications at Montana State University and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor’s degree in speech communications. While attending MSU, I became fascinated with my communication disorders classes and sign language classes. At MSU, I was part of “The Theater of Silence” and had the honor of traveling through Turkey putting on performances for children in schools for the deaf in 1995. This led me to pursue a degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Idaho State University in Pocatello. I was part of a bridging program that was 36 months in length. I graduated from ISU in 1998 with a Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology. I married my husband, Micah Gibson in 1996 in the middle of graduate school.

After graduation, I took a job at Northern Montana Hospital in Havre. I completed my CFY year there and worked there for three years. In 2001 I began working for Havre Public Schools. In 2006 I became a private contractor, opening an office and taking private clients as well as contracting to Havre Public Schools and Quality Life Concepts. When my daughter became sick, I closed my private practice office and contracted solely to the school district. I contracted to Havre for 9 years. The last six years I have worked for Bear Paw Cooperative. I currently provide speech and language services to students in the rural towns of Rocky Boy, Box Elder and Big Sandy. I currently supervise three paraprofessionals. Two of my schools are part of the Chippewa Cree Indian Reservation. I am part of Bear Paw Cooperative’s ADOS team. I have supervised 6 graduate students who have gone on to become Speech and Language Pathologists. I am a member of the American Speech Hearing Association (ASHA) and Montana Speech Hearing Association (MSHA). I am currently the President of the Montana Speech Hearing Foundation.

My husband and I have four daughters Grace (passed away from Leukemia in 2010), Mary, Cassie and Ashlyn. We own a cattle ranch north of Havre. Running a ranch, full time job and three children keep me very busy. When I am not working, I am riding my horse, working on our ranch, or watching my children rodeo and play sports.