Sands, Diane

Haysel Diane Sands was born in 1947 in St. Ignatius, Montana and grew up on Indian reservations where her parents taught school. She attended high school in Frazer, Montana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from The University of Montana, Missoula in 1974 with an emphasis in American Indian culture and social organization. She attended George Washington University in Washington DC from 1974-76 completing courses toward a master’s degree in Women’s Studies with an emphasis on public policy and non-profit organizational development. During her time at The University of Montana, Sands was a member of several student activist organizations including Students for a Democratic Society, and a member of the early women’s liberation movement in Missoula. She participated in the creation of conscious-raising programs on campus, which met regularly at the Women’s Action Center (1969–1974), which eventually became the Women’s Resource Center (1974–1986) where Sands and others taught women’s studies courses without the approval of the university.

Diane Sands was the director of the Montana Women’s History Project from (1975-1990). She researched, designed and presented educational programs, courses, conferences, and publications focusing on women’s history and oral history. From 1984-1994, Diane Sands was the Executive Director of the Montana Women’s Lobbyist Fund, a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of 52 organizations organized to develop public policy, organize communities and lobby the Montana Legislature on a wide range of social and economic policies of benefit to women and families. Sands served as Campaign Manager for the “No on One” campaign in Boise, Idaho in 1994 and successfully defeated Proposition One, an anti-gay ballot measure. Diane Sands was elected to the Montana State House of Representatives in November 1996 representing the North and Westside, downtown, and the Rattlesnake of Missoula, Montana. As a legislator, she focused on affordable housing, healthcare, welfare reform, and issues to improve the lives of children. She has been the Co-Project Director of the Montana Feminist Project since 1999 and has worked tirelessly to collect and interpret the history of the second wave of feminism and women leaders from 1960-2000 in Montana and to create avenues for public education and discourse. From 2001-2003, she held the position of National/State Relations liaison for the Montana Office of Public Instruction. She was the Program Director of the Montana Community Foundation from 2003-2004 and in 2005 served as the Interim Director of the Partnership Health Center in Missoula, Montana. She has held numerous positions in local and state organizations including the founding President and Board Member of the Montana Oral History Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Women’s Studies Association, and the Regional Coordinator of the Northwest Women’s Studies Association. She was also the Program Director of the American Association of University Women and has been on the Montana Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee since 1994.

She has won numerous awards including the Montana Committee for the Humanities Award in 1986, the Montana Business and Professional Women’s Montana Woman of the Year Award in 1993, Office of Public Instruction Equity Award for Public Service in 1991, the Missoula YWCA Silver Award for Public Policy 1986, The Missoula American Association for University Women named endowment in 1994, and the Montana AIDS Coalition “Heart and a Half Award” in 1989.