Meet the Greensburg GreenTown Staff

Daniel Wallach (Executive Director and Founder) has been a resident of rural Stafford County (his and Catherine's home is 35 miles northeast of Greensburg) since 2003. Before moving to Kansas he and Catherine founded the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations (name has since changed to Colorado Nonprofit Association). Daniel was also active in the development of the association of nonprofits movement nationally. In 2004 he started a natural and local foods co-op in Pratt that, for two years, served two dozen Pratt and Greensburg families.

Catherine Hart (Program Director) has had a passion for green living and renewable energy since the 1970s, first working during college with Missourians for Safe Energy. She has a master’s degree in social work, has worked as a counselor and educator, and has designed and led workshops pertaining to wellness and living life fully. She loves talking with people about all aspects of sustainability and is grateful to be able to draw from her experience in Greensburg to help launch GreenTown Joplin.

Ruth Ann Wedel (Site Manager) is a 1965 Greensburg High School Alumnus and Northwestern Oklahoma State University graduate. She and her husband, Bob, owned WB's Bulk Food Store in Greensburg; the store was completely destroyed in the tornado. After they reached the very difficult decision not to reopen the store she was happy to find an opportunity to connect with the public in a way that would serve her community. Ruth Ann is excited about the role Greensburg GreenTown is playing in the rebuilding of Greensburg. She sees her job evolving as the organization grows to meet the needs of the community. She has stayed involved with the Redevelopment Business Sector, Can Do Action Team, Make A Difference  Day, Greensburg Tourism Committee, Boy Scout Troop 211, and Greensburg Methodist Church.

Joah Bussert (Project Manager) comes to Greensburg from Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb located 15 miles west of Chicago. He has a Bachelors of Architecture from Iowa State University and a never ending desire to learn new, green technologies. Joah’s passion for sustainable building stems from his parents’ faith and world view that all people have a responsibility to care for the Earth. This responsibility extends from how we design and construct our physical environment to the simplest actions in how we live our daily lives. He believes no action is too small or less important in living sustainably. For fun, Joah enjoys traveling, seeing live music and taking photographs. He is excited to be living and working in Greensburg, and enjoys working with the local community.

Sarah Thyparambil (Project Manager) has spent most of her life in Lincoln, Nebraska.  She is right out of the University of Nebraska Lincoln with her Master’s degree in Architecture.  Sarah looks forward to seeing principles of sustainability she had been introduced to in school applied in Greensburg.  She is excited to get to learn more about sustainable building and living through working in a model green community.  Sarah feels that it is important to live in a way that is conscious of our personal impact on the earth and how that impact affects the future.  She believes that stewardship of the earth begins with each individual.  In her free time, Sarah enjoys bike riding, a good book, and dancing with friends.

Barbara Summers (Project Manager) is from Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. She just completed her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Urban Sustainability from Bucknell University. She was very active on campus, creating a sustainable cooperative housing option, leading workshops on solar energy, and working to establish a micro-finance bicycle program in northern Uganda. She also spent a year abroad on four different continents studying cities with a focus on sustainability and reuse of existing infrastructure. She is very passionate about working to reduce the ecological footprint of cities. She is excited to learn more about sustainable living and disaster recovery during her time in Greensburg. Barbara enjoys spending her free time traveling, eating ethnic food, running and crafting.