Chandler Lieb
Youth Voices Intern
Chandler (He/Him) is a 2025 graduate of the University of Montana’s journalism undergraduate program. He started as an intern for the Youth Voices program in the spring of 2025 after being an audio reporter for the Montana Kaimin where he produced stories about the same rural communities the Youth Voices program visits. Before going to school for journalism Chandler was a sergeant in the US Army where he traveled all over the world to places like Germany, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Seeing the world is what drove him to study journalism since it gives ample opportunity to explore new people and places.
Lotus Porte-Moyel
Youth Voices Program Assistant
Lotus (she/they) is an audio journalism and musical theatre student at the University of Montana. She was a Montana Media Lab Youth Voices Instructor during her first two years at UM and became the Media Lab’s first intern at the end of 2024. They now work alongside the Lab’s leadership to review and adapt the Youth Voices program, prepare for workshops and events, and write blurbs to keep the public in the know about what the Lab is up to. Lotus continues to work for the Media Lab because of the awesome team, her love for strategic planning, and the exciting process of making audio stories with youth!
Mary Auld
Director
Mary Auld (she/her) is a teacher and journalist in Missoula. She makes radio stories about human-environment interactions. Her work has been featured on public radio stations and in newspapers around Alaska and Montana. Mary has a master’s in environmental journalism from the University of Montana. You can reach her at mary@montanamedialab.com
Mary’s first pets were worms in the compost bin.
Mike Green
Youth Voices Program Manager
Mike spent 12 years exploring the wild landscapes and waters of the Western US by foot, bike, and boat working as both a guide and an educator. He returned to school for his masters in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism at the University of Montana in the fall of 2023. He now focuses his work on the people and policies that shape the western United States today. He spends part of each summer teaching digital storytelling and expedition canoeing to Alaskan youth through Fathoms Alaska, a nonprofit he started with several of his best friends.
Mike was drawn to working with the Montana Media Lab by the ability to weave together his passions for storytelling and empowering youth to shape the world around them.
Owen Preece
Youth Voices Intern
Owen is a photojournalist and graduate student in the University of Montana environmental journalism program. He was born in Dallas, Texas and eventually moved to Corvallis, Oregon where he attended Oregon State University and studied design and photography. Owen fell in love with photography at an early age and initially struggled to find mentors who could help him grow as a photographer. Now, Owen wants to mentor students who are interested in exploring the world around them visually. Owen likes to work on long form documentary photography projects which involve spending months or even years working with the same person or family to see how they live and why they do what they do. Owen looks forward to working with the next generation of journalists to help them tell powerful, emotional stories close to home.
Former Instructors
