Back to About the Council Board Archives Board Nomination Form	Board of Directors   NHC board members are selected statewide from nominees who show a strong interest in the humanities and the cultural life of Nebraska, with special emphasis on community leaders from the state’s diverse geographic, occupational and ethnic constituencies. The council seeks a balance between involvement in the humanities and other professional, business or community pursuits.   Council members are expected to attend three board meetings a year, serve on one or more subcommittees, assist in private fundraising, make a financial contribution to the council, promote public awareness of the NHC and its objectives and attend and evaluate programs funded by the council.    Among the programs that the council supports are the Great Plains Chautauqua, the Humanities Resource Center and Speakers Bureau, “Humanities Desk” programming on Nebraska Public Radio, Capitol Forum on America’s Future and the Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities.    For more information, contact the Nebraska Humanities Council at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508; call (402) 474-2131 ext. 102; fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org.   top
	March 2009 Humanities boards announce new members   The Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Foundation for the Humanities announce new board members and officers elected at the winter board meeting in Lincoln Jan. 17, as well as a recent appointment to the Council by Gov. Dave Heineman.   Elected to the Foundation board are the following: Tawanna Black, director of diversity for Cox Communications in Omaha, is former director of Destination Midtown and has served on various community boards, including Girls Inc. and the Omaha chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, which she serves as president. She was recognized by the Midlands Business Journal as one of the 2006 40 Under 40 award winners. Christine Harris of Lincoln has served on the board of directors for Cedars Youth Services, the University of Nebraska Foundation, and the State of Nebraska Nominating Commission for Juvenile Judges. Her first novel, “The Gypsy in My Soul” was published in the fall of 2008. Marilyn Hadley of Kearney is the former dean of the College of Education at UNK and founder of the Senior College of Central Nebraska at UNK. She has served on the board of directors for many local and statewide organizations including the Judicial Nominating Commission. She and her husband, Galen, are co-chairs of the Kearney Public library expansion campaign Molly O’Holleran of North Platte is a community volunteer and serves on the North Platte Public School Board and the Nebraska Association of School Boards’ Legislative Committee. She has been active in local cultural organizations and is president-elect of the Nebraska Medical Association Alliance. Deb Thomas is assistant vice chancellor for business and finance at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and serves on the C. Louis Meyer Foundation. She was director of health and human services under Gov. Kay Orr and was director of special projects for the University of Nebraska’s Office of External Affairs. Susan Watts is chair of the Humanities Department at McCook Community College and is a charter member of Leadership McCook and the McCook Arts Council, and has served on the Southwest Nebraska Community Theater Association. She is a member of the International Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. New to the Nebraska Humanities Council are the following: Mary Henning of Kearney, who was appointed by Gov. Heineman, is president of the GFWC Kearney Woman’s Club. She has served on several boards, including Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, the University Foundation Grants Committee, Kearney Literacy Council, Kearney Public Library and Foundation, YWCA, and Buffalo County Historical Society. She received the Kearney Hub Freedom Award and the MONA Guild Friend Award. Henning writes children’s books and performs as a storyteller at the Minden Opera House. Steven Achelpohl, an Omaha attorney, holds a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law, where he was on the Nebraska Law Review, and a B.A. in political science from UN. He has also served for many years as the state chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and previously chaired the Board for Visiting Nurse Health Services. In 2006, Achelpohl received the Omaha Bar Association Robert Spire Public Service Award. Virginia Aita is associate professor at the University of Nebraska College for Public Health, Division of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health. She worked with grant funding for research projects, has organized numerous humanities and arts programs related to medicine, including the recent exhibit, “Here I Am And Nowhere Else: Portraits of Care” at the Bemis. Aita has served on various committees related to public health, music, ethics, and gender-related issues. She has been active in community service through various Omaha organizations, including the boards of the Junior League of Omaha, Visiting Nurse Community Health Services, and the Child Saving Institute. Andrew Alexander is professor in the Department of Language and Literature at Wayne State College. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Toronto. Alexander has published many articles on literature and has made numerous presentations across the country. He has served on multiple committees at Wayne State College and is on the board of the Northeast Nebraska Humane Society. Taylor Keen is in the Office of Entrepreneurship at Creighton University in Omaha and teaches courses on Native American Studies. He holds a B.A. in English literature with a certification in Native American Studies from Dartmouth College, and holds two master’s degrees from Harvard in public policy and business administration. Keen has worked extensively with Native American communities on business and community development. He has served on the Council of the Cherokee Nation, on the board of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma and on the board of the Heart Walk in Tulsa. Michael Nolan of Norfolk is executive director for the League Association of Risk Management, through the League of Nebraska Municipalities. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is a certified economic development finance professional by the National Development Council. Nolan has been active in Norfolk community organizations and as former Norfolk city manager has worked closely with elected officials on legislation and community development, publishing numerous articles and presenting at many state and national conferences and training programs related to his work. Rhonda Seacrest has served with a wide variety of organizations ranging from environmental organizations to those that serve women and/or children to many focused on the arts and humanities. She was the founding director of the Rape and Domestic Abuse Program and the Healthy Start Program at the Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. She also co-founded the Sheldon Statewide program through the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln and has been a board or foundation member for numerous other organizations in Lincoln, Omaha, and North Platte, including the Nebraska Cultural Endowment Advisory Council. New officers for the Nebraska Humanities Council include Chuck Shoemaker of Hastings, chair; B.J. Reed of Omaha, vice chair; and Carol Gendler of Omaha, treasurer; and executive committee members Sara Crook of Peru and Don Pederson of Lincoln. New officers for the Nebraska Foundation for the Humanities include Kim Robak of Lincoln, president; and Natalie Olson of Lincoln, vice president; Angenette Meaney of Omaha, secretary; Densel Rasmussen of Grand Island, treasurer; and executive committee member Trixie Schmidt of Lincoln. top

	Nebraska Humanities Council Board of Directors	Nebraska Foundation for the Humanities Board
	D. Charles Shoemaker, Chair, Hastings	Kim Robak, President, Lincoln
	B. J. Reed, Vice Chair, Omaha	Natalie Olson, Vice President, Lincoln
	Carol Gendler, Treasurer, Omaha	Angenette Meaney, Secretary, Omaha
	Sara Crook, Member-at-Large, Peru	Densel Rasmussen, Treasurer, Grand Island
	Don Pederson, Immediate Past Chair, Lincoln	Trixie Schmidt, Immediate Past President, Lincoln
	Kim Robak, Ex-officio, Lincoln	D. Charles Shoemaker, Ex-officio, Hastings
	Steven Achelpohl, Omaha	Joanne Berkshire, Omaha
	Virginia Aita, Omaha	Tawanna Black, Omaha
	Andrew Alexander, Wayne	Eric Brown, Lexington
	Timothy A. Alvarez, Seward	Diane Brownell, Lincoln
	Eric Brown, Lexington	Carol Cope, Kearney
	Diana Doyle, Omaha	Annette Eisenhart, Culbertson
	Annette Eisenhart, Culbertson	Lana Flagtwet, Lincoln
	Mark Foxall, Omaha	Carol Gendler, Omaha
	Mary Henning, Kearney	Deb Glenn, Scottsbluff
	Susan Honeyman, Kearney	Marilyn Hadley, Kearney
	Taylor Keen, Omaha	Chris Harris, Lincoln
	Glory Meakin, Lincoln	Taylor Keen, Omaha
	Mike Nolan, Norfolk	Meg Lauerman, Lincoln
	Gretchen Peters, Gering	Melissa Marvin, Omaha
	Rhonda Seacrest, Lincoln	Glory Meakin, Lincoln
	Clay Smith, Lincoln	Mike Nolan, Norfolk
	Harriet S. Turner, Lincoln	Molly O'Holleran, North Platte
		Don Pederson, Lincoln
		B. J. Reed, Omaha
		Thompson Rogers, Omaha
		Joel Russell, Omaha
		Barbara Schaefer, Omaha
		Clay Smith, Lincoln
		Deb Thomas, Omaha
		Gail Veitzer, Omaha
		Carol Waring, Fremont
		Susan Watts, McCook
	top

For more information, contact the Nebraska Humanities Council. Phone 402-474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org

Return Home