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 since the 1970s, when she coordinated a project to develop an alternative energy curriculum for classroom teachers. She has a master’s degree in social work, has worked as a counselor, and has developed and facilitated all sorts of workshops and educational events pertaining to health, wellness, and living life fully. She loves visiting with people about the Green Initiative, and is especially interested in the "personal green" aspect of the greening of Greensburg: How do we apply these principles of respect and caring for resources to our own lives?

Ruth Ann Wedel (Office Specialist) 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 is looking forward to working with the local community.

 Stephanie J Peterson (Project Manager) was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and received her Bachelors of Science and Design from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and is expected to graduate in December 2009 with her Masters of Architecture. She has traveled abroad twice to Germany and Peru and considers these experiences to be highly influential to the development of her perspective on sustainability and architecture. Stephanie is excited to be living and serving in Greensburg. She has the opportunity to help others take action toward positive change in their daily lives in terms of their natural and built environments. She is interested in finding new ways to spread the message of practical sustainability in architecture and hopes that her experience and enthusiasm will be a catalyst for the community. Steph is a squirrel lover and art appreciator.

Andrew Ryan (Outreach Coordinator) was born in Wichita, Kansas and within a few months his family moved to Los Angeles.  Andrew has been highly interested in disaster relief ever since his family's neighborhood was heavily damaged by the Northridge Earthquake of 1994.  At the age of ten his family returned to Kansas and he eventually graduated from the University of Saint Mary with a degree in Psychology.  After graduating from college Andrew followed his passion of disaster relief and immediately moved to New Orleans and began one of two terms with AmeriCorps.  While in New Orleans he worked with a large non-profit that was rebuilding the homes of elderly and disabled peoples.  In his first term with AmeriCorps he worked as a site leader, directly managing volunteers on construction sites.  In his second term with AmeriCorps he served as the Volunteer Coordinator, organizing up to 150 volunteers a week.  Andrew is very excited to be assisting in the recovery of Greensburg and is looking forward to helping Greensburg GreenTown move forward with all of their inspiring projects.