Board of Directors
Jim Knopik, Vice President, was elected to the board in 2002. He farms with his sons west of Fullerton. They along with others have formed a cooperative that is direct marketing several commodities they raise.
Mark Gustafson, Secretary, was elected to the board in 2003. Mark’s family farm is near Mead, Nebraska. He is active in a number of University of Nebraska-related organizations including Ag Builders of Nebraska (ABN), Council for Agriculture Research Extension and Teaching (CARET), and the President’s Advisory Council. Mark is on the local school board and has served on local and district cooperative boards and on the township board.
Art May, Treasurer and Past President, was one of the Center’s incorporators and was the initial Center board president. Prior to retirement, he was a small town utility management specialist for the Midwest Assistance Project. Art lives in Winnebago, Nebraska.
Joe Blankenau is a political science professor at Wayne State College in rural Northeast Nebraska. Joe is conducting research on the unique rural aspects of health care finance reform. He was elected to the board in 2008.
Lowell Fey, now retired to Nebraska City and elected to the board in 2004, has a background of research in several scientific fields. He has a farm in the county and an interest in developing local food systems.
David Hansen, Past President, was elected to the board in 1978. Having served rural and suburban Nebraska churches as a full-time Methodist minister for many years, David returned to farm in Custer County, where he was born. He has since retired from the ministry.
Chuck Karpf was elected to the board in 2007. Chuck is the Director of the Entrepreneurship and Discovery Program at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff. He has been involved in rural development and entrepreneurship for most of his career. Chuck is a member of the Nebraska Rural Development Commission and is involved in several rural community development projects in the Nebraska Panhandle.
Keith Mahaney was elected to the board in 1992. Keith is a Thurston County farmer who practices sustainable farming. He and his family have been long-time Center supporters and are active in Extension, church, Picotte Center, and other community activities.
Clark Nichols, Past President, was elected to the board in 1979. Clark practiced law in the Panhandle, where much of his work involved natural resources, particularly water. His family has farmed at Minatare since 1888. Clark is a member of Nebraskans for Peace and Common Cause. He now lives in Texas.
Paul Olson, Past President, was elected to the board in 1979. Paul was an English professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is a former director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and is involved in rural cultural affairs. Paul was the driving force behind creation of the School at the Center, which engaged rural schools and students in understanding and reinvigorating their communities.
Cy Pinkelman was elected to the board in 2006. Cy farms near Hartington, Nebraska. A graduate of the Nebraska LEAD program, he is active in his church in various liturgical roles and on the pastoral council, the Northeast Nebraska RC&D Council (Resource, Conservation & Development) and does what he can to help the area youth. He is active in Cedar County Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Farmer’s Union, Organization for Competitive Markets, and Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska.
Don Reeves, immediate Past President, was elected to the board in 1997. Don, a farmer from Central City, has returned to Nebraska after working for Bread for the World in Washington DC. He is a board member and former interim director of the American Friends Service Committee. Don also completed a curriculum unit on world hunger for high school agriculture and social studies classes, sponsored by the National Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the Bread for the World Institute.
Kris Rogge was elected to the board in 2005. Kris has returned to Johnson, Nebraska and serves as a farm and business manager. She is a vocal proponent of rural small business and community revitalization.
Maryanne Rouse, Past President, was elected to the board in 1986. Maryanne has worked to gain urban support for issues that link urban and rural concerns. She was formerly on the staff of Catholic Charities and the New Community Development Corporation in Omaha and is currently with Creighton University.
Juan Sandoval was elected to the board in 2007. Juan is the Hispanic Banking Director at BankFirst in Norfolk, and has almost five years experience in financial institutions. He is active in the community, serving as President of the Hispanic Ministry and board member for Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, board member for Norfolk Habitat for Humanity, ESL Instructor for the University of Nebraska-Madison County Extension Office, besides many other community activities.
Carol Schooley was elected to the board in 2007. Carol is an artist and educator in Grand Island, Nebraska. She worked tirelessly through Mid-Nebraska PRIDE to protect rural residents and the rural environment from corporate hog operations. Carol has participated in Center activities through membership in North Star Neighbors Cooperative.
Cynthia Thomsen was elected to the board in 2000. Cynthia lives in Exeter, Nebraska, and has served as Exeter Woman’s Club president, president of her local church group, a substitute teacher for over 30 years, and chapter and state President of Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE).
Karen Tikalsky, Past President, was elected to the board in 1986. Karen works with the developmental disabilities division of Health and Human Services in Knox County, Nebraska. She and husband Jim participated in the Center’s Small Farm Resources Project and are members of the Small Farms Cooperative, a group of farmers that are selling their natural livestock at premium prices. Karen is active in the Nebraska Association of Public Employees.
Bob Warrick, Director Emeritus, was elected to the board in 1976. Bob is a strong conservationist and a retired diversified farmer who now resides in Oceanside, California. He is cochair of the Agriculture Committee of the National Sierra Club.
Our board of directors consists of between 12 and 24 members that govern the Center. There are currently 19 members of the board serving staggered three-year terms. The board determines policy and overall direction of the organization at quarterly meetings.
An executive committee consisting of the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and three members elected by the board meets in conjunction with regular board meetings. In addition, the board establishes oversight committees to counsel staff on the implementation of the Center’s various programs.
About one-half of the board is farmers or ranchers. Others are small town business and working people including a small number of urban members with a strong interest in rural improvement. The board is self-selecting, and has made it a policy to provide the organization with a broad leadership base. Accordingly, it has recruited men and women from all regions of the state and people with diverse occupational backgrounds and personal perspectives.
The board has been conscious of the need to provide both continuity and new insight, and thus the by-laws require at least one new director be added annually. Director Emeritus status was established in 1990. We have one Emeritus director at present.
The board plays an active role in the development of Center programs. Each board member serves on one of four program advisory committees that provide quarterly oversight of program activities and guide the annual planning process. Directors also serve on at least one of the institutional committees that include Resource Development and Communications, Budget and Finance, Board Development and Nominations, and Grievance.
