MVCIA BOARD MEMBERS
Chris Snyder
President
Detective Chris Snyder was born and raised in Butte, Montana. He graduated from Butte High School in 2003. He started his Law Enforcement career in 2005, where he started as a Detention Officer with Butte-Silver Bow. In 2009 he was promoted to Detention Sergeant. In 2013 he was hired as a Police Officer with Butte-Silver Bow. He graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in December of 2013. He received the Joe May Leadership Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership while at the MLEA. In August of 2019 he was promoted to the Detective Division with a focus on general investigations. In April of 2025 he was promoted to Detective Sergeant.
During his Law Enforcement career Chris has been apart of the Montana Jail Peer Review Board, a Field Training Officer, and a Background Investigator.
Richard Collins
1st Vice President
Richard Collins spent his early childhood years in various cities across the United States, a vast majority of his childhood and education occurred on the east coast where he grew up. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. During his time in the US Air Force, he was assigned to the 28th Security Police Squadron, now the 28th Security Forces Squadron. During his time in the US Air Force, he was assigned to various roles including flightline security, base patrols and as a Law Enforcement Desk Sergeant, both stateside and when deployed overseas in support of various operations. Richard moved to Montana in 1997 where he began his career with the Montana Department of Corrections working with juveniles at Riverside Youth Correctional Facility. During his early years with the Department, he also worked as a Drill Instructor/Facilitator at the Treasure State Correctional Training Center. In 2000, he was hired as a Deputy Sheriff with the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office where he was a D.A.R.E. Officer and Reserve Forces Commander. Richard returned to the Department of Corrections in 2005 as a Drill Instructor/Victim Impact Facilitator before being promoted to Senior Drill Instructor.
In 2007, Richard began his career with the Office of Investigations where his primary focus was PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) cases that involved sexual assaults and staff sexual misconduct. In addition to investigating both criminal and administrative cases, he was responsible for facilitating numerous courses on PREA for the department and other agencies across Montana. After approximately three years, Richard transitioned to a general case Investigator where he began investigating a variety of felony cases, including violent crime investigations, death investigations and miscellaneous drug investigations; while continuing to advise on PREA related matters and instruct PREA related courses for the department and other outside agencies.
Currently, Richard’s focus is conducting background investigations, investigations of personnel associated with the Department, and the Unified Intelligence Team for the Department. In addition to his role as a Criminal Investigator and working with various local, state, and federal partners, he conducts numerous training courses for the Department including firearms, PREA Investigator Training, Comprehensive Officer Resiliency, and Ethics. Richard began attending the MVCIA Conference in 2014 and was a previous member of the Northwest Gang Investigator Association.
Cara Guderian
2nd Vice President
Cara Guderian was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. She attended the University of Great Falls and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. In 2016, Cara was hired with the Great Falls Police Department. In 2020, she was assigned as a Detective with the Special Victims Unit, where she investigated hands-on offenses involving physical and sexual child abuse and works hard to provide justice for victims. She completed her Masters in Organizational Leadership in 2021. In 2025, Cara was promoted to Sergeant and is currently assigned to the Patrol Services Bureau.
Cara is an advisor for the Montana Junior Police Leadership Academy, which is a week-long academy for high school students to learn about the law enforcement profession and gain leadership skills. Cara also is active with Special Olympics Montana, the Law Enforcement Torch Run, GFPD Honor Guard, and is a negotiator for the department’s High Risk Unit. In her free time, Cara enjoys being outdoors with her dog, and hiking, camping, and traveling with family and friends.
Josh van dyke
3rd vice president
Josh Van Dyke was born and raised in Helena, Montana, and currently serves as a Detective with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. In addition to his duties with the sheriff’s office, Josh serves as a sworn Task Force Officer with the Montana Regional Violent Crimes Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Josh is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Program at North Idaho College, where he served as class president. As part of the program, he completed an internship and served as a reserve officer with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Following graduation, he began his law enforcement career with the Sandpoint Police Department in Idaho, where he served for four years.
In 2012, Josh returned to his hometown of Helena and joined the Helena Police Department, where he served as a police officer for several years. In 2015, he joined the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and has served as a detective since 2016.
Throughout his career, Josh has investigated a wide range of cases, including child crimes and property crimes, and previously served as the liaison to the Lewis and Clark County Attorney’s Office. He currently serves as the sheriff’s office Cold Case Detective and continues his work as a Task Force Officer assigned to the FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crimes Task Force.
In addition to his investigative duties, Josh has held numerous specialized and collateral assignments with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office. These roles include Field Training Officer, Forensic Interviewer, member of the joint Helena Police Department and LCSO Civil Disobedience Team, Water Emergency Team member, Background Investigator, MPAT Proctor, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team member, and participant in Child Protection and Multi-Disciplinary Teams.
Josh has twice received the Director’s Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for major case contributions and, in 2025, was honored with the Finnegan Award by the Montana Violent Crime Investigators Association.
eTHAN sMITH
tREASURER/sECRETARY
Ethan Smith grew up about an hour outside of Washington, DC, and first visited Glacier National Park with his family in 2000. As soon as he got off the plane in Kalispell, he vowed to move to the Flathead Valley, and did so in 2002. Ethan has a bachelor’s degree in English and several years of journalism experience, and landed a job with the Hungry Horse News in Columbia Falls, where he spent the next couple of years photographing and writing about Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley.
Ethan got promoted to be the editor of the Lake County Leader in Polson, and in 2006, he became a reserve deputy and worked part time for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for the next three years. He loved it so much, he decided to make it a career, and in 2009 he was hired by the Missoula Police Department.
Ethan was a patrol officer for 7 years before becoming the Crime Prevention Officer, which was responsible for a tremendous amount of public outreach in the community. In 2020, he was selected to be a detective, where he works in the general crimes division. Ethan specializes in financial crimes, including embezzlement, elder (financial) abuse, and identity theft, but handles all types of felony investigations for MPD, including suspicious death investigations and homicides. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the Association of Certified Financial Crimes Specialists, and is working towards his certification in both organizations. Ethan also serves on the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team, and is a certified Law Enforcement Security Assessment Specialist, certified in basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and a certified ALERRT trainer in civilian response to active shooters, as well as having his Instructor Development certification and Advanced POST certificate. Ethan is also a certified trainer in responsible alcohol sales and service for the MT Dept. of Revenue.
In his spare time, Ethan enjoys coaching his kids’ soccer, baseball and softball teams, and photographing wildlife in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.
Bill Pandis
Outgoing President
Bill Pandis was born in Choteau, and raised in Great Falls, MT. He is currently the Sergeant of the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigation Division. Bill started his law enforcement career in Missoula County as a Detention Officer in January of 2000. He worked for the Missoula County Detention Center until about September of 2004. At that point he was hired as a Deputy Sheriff for the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and also served as a Deputy Coroner. In November of 2011, Bill left the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office as the Patrol Sergeant and was hired with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office. In November of 2015 Bill was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau where he primarily investigated major crimes and crimes against children. In the early fall of 2022 Bill was promoted to Sergeant, and shortly afterwards he was assigned as the supervisor for their investigations division. Up until recently Bill was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children position for the LCSO and still serves as a Federal Task Force Officer for Helena’s FBI VCAC Task Force and is a sworn United States Special Deputy Marshall.
In addition, Bill has held and currently holds numerous extra duty positions with the LCSO, including Field Training Officer, Hostage Negotiator, a Team Leader of the LCSO and Helena Police Department Joint Civil Disobedience Team, Background Investigator, a former board member of the Lewis and Clark County DUI Task Force, and a member of the Helena area Child Protection and Multi-Disciplinary Teams. Also, Bill was recognized as the LCSO Deputy of the Year for 2017, and Bill has served on the MVCIA Board since 2018.