kearney works board of directors and staff
Kearney Works is managed by a nine member board of directors, who oversee the non-profit organizations, its programs, and the executive director.
The board comes from a diverse set of criteria, including one member from a social service agency, one member from the Economic Development Council, one from the Chamber of Commerce, one member from the education sector, one member from a local employer with more than 25 employees and one from an employer with less than 25 employees, and three members from the community at large.
The board comes from a diverse set of criteria, including one member from a social service agency, one member from the Economic Development Council, one from the Chamber of Commerce, one member from the education sector, one member from a local employer with more than 25 employees and one from an employer with less than 25 employees, and three members from the community at large.
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Angela Smith, Executive Director
Angela’s education includes an associate degree and bachelor's degree in Human Services. Angela later went on to pursue her love of learning to obtain a master’s degree in Public Administration through Bellevue University. She has an extensive background working in the Human and Social Service field. Angela is married to Jason, who is a service technician at Select Sprayers, together they have a daughter, Taylee. Angela participates in Envoys and volunteers with Junior Achievement. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, repurposing items, and spending time with family, pets and friends. |
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Kelly Christensen, Central Community College, Board President
Kelly Christensen is the Dean for Central Community College-Kearney and also serves as the administrator of the Training & Development Division. Since 2013, he has been the administrator for the Holdrege and Lexington Centers as part of the Extended Learning Services Division. His employment with CCC began in 1998 on the Hastings campus as the supervisor of Learning Support Services and in 2000 he became the Associate Dean for Skilled & Technical Sciences. Previously, Kelly was employed as both an educator and sales in the Kearney area. Kelly earned his undergraduate and Masters degree from UNK and a Certificate and Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from the UNL. In his free time, Kelly likes to spend time with his wife Michelle, and their two adult children, Caitlin and Chase. |
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Judi Sickler, Kearney Area Community Foundation, Past Board President
Judi Sickler was named the Kearney Area Community Foundation executive director in January 2001. She is a native of Kansas, but has lived in Kearney since 1989. With a background in management, marketing and communications, she worked for a couple of corporations and an advertising agency before moving into the nonprofit world.
The Kearney Area Community Foundation manages more than $16.5 million in assets and oversees 200+ funds with their mission “to improve the quality of life in the Kearney by promoting the spirit of charitable giving and effectively responding to the community’s needs." Judi has extensive training and experience working with grants, special events, fundraising, planned gifts, endowments and donor relations since joining the Foundation, not to mention the wide variety of life experience through volunteerism. Judi has served on numerous boards in Kearney and currently enjoys volunteering as a TOPSoccer coach and program coordinator for kids with disabilities. Judi has a B.A. from Kansas State University in Journalism and Mass Communications, with an emphasis in Public Relations. She and her husband, Terry, live in Kearney and have two daughters in college and a grown son. |
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Linette Butler, BD Construction, Inc, Vice President
A northeast Nebraska native, Linette Butler has made central Nebraska her home since her days as a student at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. A few years after graduating with a bachelor’s in business administration, Linette was hired as the accounts payable clerk at BD Construction and today leads the firm as its general manager.
Since 2007, Linette has served on the board of the Associated General Contractors of America—Nebraska Building Chapter where she has held a variety of leadership roles, serving as the chair of the membership committee and, in 2011, as the organization’s first woman president. She is a graduate of Leadership Nebraska Class XI and an Envoy for the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce. Linette also donates her time to Buffalo County Relay for Life, American Heart Association Go Red for Women, and Junior Achievement. In her free time, you can find Linette enjoying the outdoors and being with family. She and her husband, John, have two daughters and five grandchildren. |
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Tammy Jackson, Retired, Treasure
Tammy Jackson is a native of Ravenna, and she has lived in Kearney since 1982. She is a graduate of Kearney State College (UNK) and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Tammy worked at the Kearney Ramada for 38 years and recently retired in 2020. While working at the Ramada, she managed the front desk in her early years there and then was the Director of Sales for the majority of her tenure at the conference center. Through her employment, she became involved in the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce as well as the Kearney Visitors Bureau giving her much insight to the Kearney community's businesses and workforce strengths as well as needs. She maintains connections to both entities and continues to serve on the board of the Kearney Visitors Bureau. Tammy is a graduate of the chamber's Leadership Kearney program and credits that program as being one of her best experiences as a business professional to learn more about the local area both in assets and future wants.
Since retirement, Tammy has joined several additional boards of directors and enjoys the networking, the successes, and the challenges with each of them. She also spends time volunteering at food pantries, her church, and remains active in our local chamber. Tammy appreciates her long-term service club membership with the Kearney Noon Rotary Club. She finds personal fulfillment in helping and serving others. Her husband, Paul, is a local custom home builder. They have two grown sons, Derek and Zach. Tammy is a dog lover, and they have two at home, Macey and Marley. |
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Lisa Lieth, Retired
Lisa Lieth was the Case Manager at the Kearney Salvation Army and had been employed there since 2018. She was responsible for the Food Pantry, Disaster and Christmas planning and has worked closely with other Kearney nonprofits, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the 2019 flood.
Lisa and her family moved to the Kearney area in 1989 from Southern California. Over the years, Lisa has served in the following capacities: Early Childhood Education, Purchasing Agent, Production Planner, Insurance Consultant, Accounting, Customer Production Liaison, Office Manager, and Senior Trainer. She traveled to Shanghai, China to spearhead, initiate and train the production planning team of a sister plant. Lisa serves as the Parent Facilitator for the Right Turn Kearney adoption support group, as well as in a Parent-to-Parent Advocate capacity. Lisa was on the executive board of the Kearney Area Disaster Recovery Group after the 2019 flood. She has previously served as the Chair for the Kearney Chamber of Commerce Diversity Committee and the Eaton Diversity Council, has been a member of Kearney Internationals, and she was on the board for the American Red Cross. She was a co-founder for Fiesta Kearney. Lisa and her husband, Terry, have seven children and fourteen grandchildren, so far. She enjoys spending time with her large flock, cooking, traveling, and crafting. |
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Tammy Moore, City Council and University of Nebraska at Kearney, Secretary
Tami Moore is a graduate of the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science in in Apparel Marketing, Master of Science in Human Development and Family Relations and PhD in University Leadership and Diversity Development she also holds a Master of Science from the University of Emporia State in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Tami owned and operated Moore Construction with Pat from 1981 to 2009, building over 200 homes in the Kearney area. Currently Tami is the CEO of T. James Enterprises, Inc., an S-Corp with her 3 sons that does speculative home building and executive home rentals. Tami just entered her 26th year at University of Nebraska-Kearney as Professor of Family Science in the Counseling, School Psych and Family Science Department. She has served on several non-profit boards to include, Yanney Heritage Park, Kearney Area Children's Museum, Nonpartisan Nebraska & Kearney Area Builders Association to name a few. Tami is currently serving her 4th year on City Council. She is the author of research and publication to include a leading textbook in the field of Family Resource Management, several journal publications and national presentations on innovative teaching methods, diversity development, and family finance. Tami provides service to Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) team that serves family and friends who have lost loved ones to suicide. Her favorite past time is when she is with her grandchildren James and Norah. Tami is rather proud of her children Patrick, owner of Goodlife Architecture. Taylor, General/operations manager of World Theatre, and Christopher, Durango CO. She has traveled extensively across the U.S., Europe, India, and Japan.
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Carrie Brune, Vice President of Human Resources and Safety at Cash-Wa Distributing
Carrie Bruno experience has been as a Human Resources Leader and Generalist where she has touched all aspects of Human Resources as well as Payroll and Safety. She has worked in small to mid-sized companies, Carrie has been a part of Senior Leadership Teams to help grow the employee base and experience. Her work includes building a Human Resources department, with companies who had never had HR, her focus has been on creative problem solving and building processes for companies, divisions or managers. Her goal is to develop a win-win-win for the employee, the manager, and the company. Carrie is the Vice President of Human Resources and Safety at Cash-Wa Distributing. |
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Derek Rusher, Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce
Derek Rusher is President/CEO of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also the President of a nonprofit business, and he possesses more than 15 years of experience as a teacher and many more as a former collegiate athlete and coach. Derek has worked part time for a consulting company working on employee engagement and leadership development for the last 4 years. He has also occupied a seat on the Leadership Kearney board and is currently on the Junior Achievement Board. He is passionate about supporting the growth and education of others. Derek along with his wife, Meggie, continues to pass this teaching on to their four daughters.
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Economic Development Seat
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I have enjoyed being a mentor for Kearney Works. Being a part of this program has been such a great experience. Helping others through difficult situations, watching them grow, overcoming challenges, and reaching triumph brings great joy to me. I am thankful for this opportunity to help others in similar situations, which I have been through. - C.G.