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, working during college with Missourians for Safe Energy in her first foray into sustainability. She used to pour through issues of Mother Earth News, longing for the day she lived off-grid in the country. She has a master’s degree in social work, has worked as a counselor and educator, and has designed workshops pertaining to wellness and living life fully. She loves visiting with people about the Green Initiative, and never tires of telling the story of the local decision to rebuild as America's Model Green Community.

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.

Adam Andrews (Project Manager) was looking for his next big adventure when the opportunity to live and work in Greensburg fell into his lap. Fresh from a service-learning trip in the Ecuadorian Rainforest where he helped design an entirely new village for the underprivileged Añangu people, Adam packed his belongings and gladly made the move to Greensburg. Having grown up in Omaha, Nebraska and having attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Design, Adam is no stranger to the Midwest or sustainable design. He is especially interested in sustainability in terms of the reuse of existing materials and/or buildings; new technologies are wonderful, but there are tools already in existence that can help us achieve an environmentally conscious future that needs no developing, manufacturing, or distributing. Adam’s favorite movie is Wall­-e and he can’t say no to a good piece of cake.