Events

Ginny Curley is the founder of Power Your Partnerships, a consultant to family-owned businesses.  Her professional work focuses on helping family-owned businesses become successful multi-generational endeavors through improved communication and alignment.

But her role with us today is as the 2023 Omaha Woman of Impact Nominee for the American Heart Association. Selected as Nebraska's first nominee in this national competition, Ginny is set on raising awareness and much-needed funds to save lives.  In fact, her team of 10 dedicated volunteers has already raised over $19,000 toward that goal.

Ginny is here today to share her story and teach us the basics of Hands-Only CPR.

Dr. Candace L. Gregory was born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada. She is a devoted wife to her husband Steve, and mother to their four children. For more than 25 years, she has served at Open Door Mission in many capacities and currently is the President/CEO.  She has become a noted national advocate for the homeless and is sought out for her experience in implementing community prevention programs that help end the cycle of homelessness and poverty.  Candace received an Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarian Studies from Clarkson College of the Sciences. In 2019, she was given the Inspiring Hope Award from Fresh Hope Ministry and the Legacy Award from Women on a Mission for Change.  Recently, Candace was inducted into the Nebraska Housing Hall of Fame in honor of her outstanding commitment to affordable housing.

Matthew S. Aubry, Operations Manager, Omaha Airport Authority

Matt Aubry joined the Omaha Airport Authority as Operations Manager in September of 2016.  His career prior to Omaha includes just over 6 years as an Operations Coordinator for the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (July 2010-September 2016) and 2 ½ years at Peoria International Airport as an Operations Specialist (January 2008-July 2010).

Matt’s academic background consists of a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) in Aviation Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois (Springfield). He is also an Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) through the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).

Patrick S. Kelly, Senior Project Manager, Omaha Airport Authority

Pat Kelly joined the Omaha Airport Authority as a Senior Project Manager in April of 2022.  His career prior to the Airport Authority includes almost 20 years in the consulting engineering field for electrical and low voltage systems for firms in the Omaha metro and nearly 10 years as a owner of an electrical contracting business with his parents in Kearney NE.

Pat’s academic background consists of a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in Construction Management. He also holds BICSI accredited Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) certification, a DBIA design builder certification and is a licensed Electrical Contractor in the state of Nebraska.

My title with the City of Omaha is Recreation Manager.  I have been with the city for about 9 years and have been in my current position for nearly 2 years.  I oversee all Recreation for the City of Omaha which includes the community centers, pools, camps, programming and recreation events.  

About Congressman Don Bacon

Growing up and working on a farm in Illinois, Congressman Don Bacon
learned first-hand how the value of hard work and commitment contributes to
the success of a small business. He moved from the family farm to attend
Northern Illinois University, from which he graduated with a Bachelors of
Political Science in 1984, the same year he married Angie, the love of his life.
They have three sons, one daughter, and five grandchildren. One year later,
he began his military career by joining the U.S. Air Force and serving nearly
30 years, ultimately retiring as a Brigadier General.

During his career in the Air Force, Congressman Bacon specialized in
electronic warfare, intelligence, reconnaissance, and public affairs. His career
highlights include two tours as a Wing Commander, at Ramstein Airbase in
Germany and Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska; group command at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona; squadron command in Arizona,
and expeditionary squadron command in Iraq. In total, Congressman Bacon
served 16 assignments including four deployments across the globe, three of
which were in the Middle East, and one assignment to Iraq in 2007 to 2008
during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

Congressman Bacon’s military decorations include the Air Force
Distinguished Service Medal, two Bronze Stars, two Legion of Merits, five
Meritorious Service Medals, and the Aerial Achievement Medal. Additionally,
he was selected as Europe’s top Air Force Wing Commander for his time at
Ramstein Airbase, as well as recognized as a distinguished graduate of the
Air Command and Staff College, Navigator-Electronic Warfare School, and
Officer Intelligence School. Further, Congressman Bacon has earned two
Masters Degrees, from the University of Phoenix in Arizona and the National
War College in Washington D.C.

Upon his retirement from the Air Force in 2014, Congressman Bacon served
as the military advisor to Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01), where he
specialized in military affairs focusing on Offutt Air Force Base and the
Nebraska National Guard. He also was an Assistant Professor at Bellevue
University where he taught Undergraduate Leadership along with American
Vision and Values (The Kirkpatrick Signature Series), until his 2016 election to
Congress, representing Nebraska’s Second Congressional District.

Presently, Congressman Bacon serves on two committees within the House
of Representatives: the House Armed Services Committee, and the House
Agricultural Committee.

Lindsey Rai Kortan - Chief Executive Officer Lindsey Rai Kortan is the Chief Executive Officer for the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha. She is responsible for executing the strategic vision for the organization as it aligns with the mission. Lindsey Rai originally began working for the Ronald McDonald House as the Director of Development and was appointed CEO nine months later. She brings with her a diverse professional background inclusive of academic administration, non-profit management, and environmental compliance.

She is originally from California and has been living in Omaha for the past 12 years.  She earned her undergraduate degree on the President's List for English Literature at California State University, Long Beach and her Masters of Public Policy from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with emphasis on Ocean Law and Policy.  She has two young boys and serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Aqua Africa.

Brian Barks is President & CEO at Food Bank for the Heartland. In this role, he is responsible for overall management and direction of Food Bank for the Heartland as well as overseeing the budgetary, strategic planning, and community relations management functions. Brian became President & CEO in July 2018 after spending nine years as the Director of Development & Communications at the Food Bank.
Prior to the Food Bank, Brian spent more than 20 years in the broadcast industry working in North Platte, Omaha and Phoenix, AZ. Brian was born in Iowa, graduated high school from Omaha Burke and earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Born February 1st. 1966 Dubuque, Iowa to parents Ricardo and Bernice Hernandez. Ron’s father was a career service veteran who served the end of World War II, Korea and was an advisor in the early '60s for Vietnam. Ron’s mother was a domestic engineer that raised three boys. Ron graduated high school in 1984 from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. At that time Ron was dating his high school sweetheart, Kimberly Bonge. Ron and Kimberly were married on December 6th,1986 and to this date are still married. Together they have 3 children and 11 grandchildren. Ron served in the United States Army carrying the M.O.S. as United States Army Calvary Scout for most of his career. After leaving the military. Ron created the non-profit Moving Veterans Forward based out of Papillion, Nebraska in April of 2011.

In her role as President and CEO, Shawna Forsberg ensures United Way of the Midlands’ relevance to the communities it serves, provides inspirational action-oriented leadership to enhance UWM’s capacity to carry out its mission and ensures accountability of the organization to its diverse constituents.
She also serves as the chief staff officer and main professional resource to the volunteer leadership of the organization – maintaining significant relationships with the Board of Directors and officers, committees and volunteer leadership, and with the health and social service agencies UWM partners with to serve the Omaha area. And in cooperation with the Chairman and other key board leaders, she represents UWM to the community and maintains active, cooperative relationships with broad and diverse constituencies.
In addition, Forsberg is responsible for the day-to-day operations, leadership and direction of staff in carrying out the organization’s mission. She makes sure UWM’s work focuses on providing critical funding to help our neighbors meet their most basic needs including access to healthy food, physical and mental health services, safe and affordable housing and academic supports – with the ultimate goal of helping families achieve long-term financial stability.
During her tenure with UWM, the organization has achieved a ranking of 7th in the network out of 1,200 United Ways for campaign performance, and Forsberg led the development and rollout of a new “open grant” funding strategy – ensuring impact will be measured and that every donor dollar is invested wisely to make the biggest impact in the community. In addition under her thoughtful leadership, UWM has: partnered with the Omaha World-Herald to administer the Goodfellows program; launched the JAG Nebraska program across the state; established partnerships with the City of Omaha for the disbursement of ARPA funds for basic needs support and with MAACH for the delivery of rental and utility assistance; created an initiative to address mental health needs and offer free Mental Health First Aid training for the community; expanded the 211 Call Center and added additional Community Resource Specialists to address the ever-increasing volume of contacts.
Prior to joining UWM, she led the corporate marketing team at Conagra and served as director of marketing at the Durham Museum in Omaha.
Forsberg earned an MBA from Sam Houston State University. She received a BSBA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she majored in marketing and international business, and also studied abroad at Senshu University in Tokyo, Japan and Mansfield College at Oxford University. In 2016, she completed the United Way’s Executive Leadership Development Program which included coursework at the Center for Creative Leadership, Harvard University and Deloitte University.
She currently serves on the Omaha Chamber Board of Directors, United Way Worldwide Network Advisory Council and is a trustee of the Business Ethics Alliance.
Forsberg is married to Grant Forsberg and they have three adult children, Seth, London and Devon.

Jessica Brabec is the Tournament Director of the Pinnacle Bank Championship. She has been in this position since its inception in 2016. Before the Pinnacle Bank Championship, she worked as the Tournament Manager at The Principal Charity Classic and the Operations Director at the Cox Classic. 

Katie Colwell is the Tournament Services Manager and has been in this position since February. Before starting at the Pinnacle Bank Championship, she was in school at Daemen University and graduated in December of 2022.

=>12:00-12:15 pm - Folks eat lunch

=>12:15-12:25 pm - normal club business

=>12:25-12:35 pm - Scott recognizes current year (2022-23) leadership and Scott will hand president role off to Puja

=>12:35-1:00 pm - Puja introduces new year club leadership and shares her goals as (2023-24) President

Kathryn was raised in Nebraska. She graduated from Papillion LaVista High School and then went on to receive a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration in 1994 from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, with a focus in Commercial Banking and International Finance. Kathryn is a Certified Financial Planner® and a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch. She started her career in Omaha upon graduation from UNO, and now works in both the Omaha and Lincoln communities. Together with her team, she provides sophisticated financial strategies and solutions for high net worth individuals and families all across America. In February 2022, Kathryn was named to the Forbes “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State” list.

Kathryn is an active member of the Omaha Suburban Rotary Club in Omaha, Nebraska, and has been since 2009. She is a Paul Harris Fellow and a Patron of the Suburban Rotary Charitable Foundation. She is a past member of the board of Suburban Rotary and past President. She is also a past Trustee and past Chairman of the Suburban Rotary Charitable Foundation. She has served as Sergeant-at-Arms and has chaired both the Membership Development and Fundraising committees at Suburban Rotary. She is also a graduate of the Rotary Leadership Institute and has served as the Membership Chair and Chair of the DEI committee for District 5650. In 2021, Kathryn was nominated to be the District Governor for 5650 to serve in 2023-2024.

Kathryn lives in Lincoln with her husband, Craig, and 3 children: Zachary is 19 and will be a Sophomore at the University of Kansas studying Math and Physics; Annabeth is 17 and will be a Senior at Lincoln East High School; Isabelle is 14 and is going into her Freshman year at Lincoln East High School.. Together as a family, they spend a lot of time around the ice rink. Both her son and her youngest daughter play ice hockey. When they are not at a rink, they are either in a theater where Isabelle is active in dance or at a school where Annabeth is competing in Speech for the Lincoln East Speech team. They are also a musical family. Both Kathryn and Craig played instruments in the school band when they were young and now all three kids are in the school orchestra. Zachary plays the violin, Annabeth plays the cello and Isabelle plays the viola.

INTRO BULLET POINTS:

• graduated from Papillion LaVista High School

• Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Certified Financial Planner®, Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch in Omaha and Lincoln

• February 2022 named to the Forbes “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State” list

• member of the Omaha Suburban Rotary Club since 2009

• Paul Harris Fellow and a Patron of the Suburban Rotary Charitable Foundation

• Served on Board, past President, trustee and Chair of the Suburban Rotary Charitable Foundation, Sergeant-at-Arms, Membership Development and Fundraising chair at Omaha Suburban Rotary

• graduate of the Rotary Leadership Institute

• District Membership Chair and Chair of the DEI committee

• Kathryn lives in Lincoln with her husband, Craig, and 3 children 

Andy Saladino is the Director of Development at Youth Emergency Services. He has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 15 years, raising millions for nonprofits in Omaha, Kansas, Iowa, and New York City. An east coast transplant, he moved to Omaha to work at The Rose Theatre after completing his degree at The University of New Hampshire. He has held leadership positions at the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Amplify Arts, and the American Red Cross, among others.

 

Kim Kalina is the Director of Quality Improvement at Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare.  Kim has served the Omaha community for over 20 years in the fields of Behavioral Health and Child Welfare and holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  As a Social Worker, and clinician, Kim is an advocate for improving systems, processes, and programs through data analysis and continuous quality improvement frameworks.  Kim was raised in western Nebraska and now resides in Millard with her husband and children.


 

Always having a passion for history, Ben Justman graduated from Central College in Pella, IA for his BA in History and obtained his MA in History from Western Illinois University. He has served as the Executive Director of the Sarpy County Museum since 2010 and has worked to relocate and restore a Union Pacific train caboose, coordinated the local display of a Smithsonian Institution exhibit on the history of jobs in America, given dozens of lectures, including on his research on Sarpy County’s military veterans and provided history tours to area schoolchildren.  A published author, Ben has written on a number of topics including Offutt Air Force Base and Bellevue. He also teaches history at Iowa Western Community College. 

His prior experience involved working with local history museums as well as Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and the Churchill Museum, a branch of the Imperial War Museum in London. More recently, Ben was named the 2018 Person of the Year by the Bellevue Leader and served as the Grand Marshal in the 2022 Arrows to Aerospace Parade. He lives in Papillion with his wife, Jeannette and their yellow lab, Barley. 

First elected to the Nebraska Public Service Commission in 2006, Commissioner Tim Schram is serving his third term. Commissioner Schram represents District 3, which covers Sarpy, Saunders, and western Douglas Counties in eastern Nebraska. A resident of rural Gretna, he was involved in County Government before joining the Commission having served 12-years on the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners, six-years on the Sarpy County Planning Commission, and three-years on the Sarpy County Extension Board.

Commissioner Schram has a background in agriculture, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Agriculture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1986).

Active in a number of committees, boards and organizations, Commissioner Schram serves as co-vice chair of the Committee on Telecommunications-National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and was appointed by the FCC to the Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture (TFOPA). He volunteers time at the annual Sarpy County Fair and Rodeo and as an auctioneer for a number of benefits to include the Heart Association, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Whitetail Unlimited and the National Turkey Federation. A detailed listing of Commissioner Schrams' involvement can be found here.

Pam Wiese Vice President Marketing and PR, Nebraska Humane Society

College:  Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, Colorado State University

Began a career in television as an anchor and reporter at tiny KREX-TV in Grand Junction Colorado, moved to Kearney and then to Omaha to work for KPTM Fox 4

When the shelter called looking for someone who had “been on the other side” to work with the media and promote the shelter…it was a right place right time situation. Pam has been blessed to have been at NHS for 21 years doing a job she loves.

Pam’s husband is Jeff Bundy who currently publishes Huskers Illustrated Magazine.  

They have three dogs…Minerva, Rocks and Sky

Javier Fernandez joined OPPD in June 2017 as vice president and chief financial officer. He was selected by the OPPD Board of Directors to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer starting in July 2021.

Fernandez came to OPPD from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Department of Energy, in Portland, Oregon. He had been with the federal power marketing organization since 2012, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He previously served as senior vice president of Fixed Income Capital Markets for D.A. Davidson & Company and vice president of Public Finance for Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation.

Before joining BPA, Fernandez served for three years as senior vice president with D.A. Davidson & Co., a financial services firm, and seven years with Seattle-Northwest Securities, where he performed public finance banking and financial advisory services to municipal jurisdictions, primarily in Oregon.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City, a master’s degree in Business Administration from Yale University, a Utility Management Certificate from Willamette University, and a Utility Executive Certificate from the University of Idaho.

He currently serves as Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha Branch, Bellevue University, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity Omaha.