Staff of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, and of the Community Forestry & Sustainable Landscapes program of the Nebraska Forest Service. Arboretum office is 402-472-2971 or arboretum@unl.edu.
Hanna Pinneo, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Executive Director
NSA programming: administration, funding, strategic planning
hpinneo2@unl.edu, 402-472-2945, 102K Keim Hall
Sarah Buckley, Sustainable Landscape Specialist
NSA programming: grants, landscape design, education
sarah.buckley@unl.edu, 402-472-7923, 102 Keim
Toby Burnham, Member & Affiliate Coordinator
NSA programming: affiliate sites, membership marketing and events
toby.burnham@unl.edu, 402-472-2971, 102G Keim
Michelle DeRusha, Communications and Events Coordinator
Publications, e-news, advertising, news releases, social media, events
mderusha2@unl.edu, 402-472-8478, 102H Keim
Justin Evertson, Green Infrastructure Coordinator
NSA programming: grants, landscape design, trees, affiliate sites, education
jevertson1@unl.edu, 402-472-6604, 203G Forestry Hall
Bob Henrickson, Horticulture Program Coordinator
NSA programming: plant propagation and sales, prairie, education
rhenrickson2@unl.edu, 402-472-7855, 102H Keim
Graham Herbst, Nebraska Forest Service Community Forester Specialist
Omaha/Eastern Nebraska Community Forestry
gherbst2@unl.edu, 402-444-7875, 8015 W Center Rd, Omaha, 68124
Christina Hoyt, Community Landscape and Forest Health Bureau Chief
choyt2@unl.edu, 402-472-5049, Forestry Hall
Brad Kindler, Sustainable Landscape Specialist
NSA programming: grants, landscape design, education
bkindler2@unl.edu, 203C Forestry Hall
Chrissy Land, Community Forester Specialist for western Nebraska
chrissyland@unl.edu, 308-633-1173, 100547 Airport Road, Scottsbluff, NE 69361
Kendall Weyers, Sustainable Communities Coordinator
kweyers2@unl.edu, 402-472-6693, 2nd floor Forestry Hall
Board Members
Julie Zahn, President, Syracuse
Edward Pohren, President-Elect, Ashland
Carol Thomas, Treasurer, Syracuse
Leah Meyer, Secretary, Lincoln
John Cariotto, Lincoln
Megan Forgue, Lincoln
Bob Grimit, Lincoln
Jeff Kennedy, Gothenburg
Katie Markheim, Gering
Karen Pesek, Omaha
Denise Wally, Lincoln
Dr. Richard Bischoff, Ex Officio, IANR
John Erixson, Ex Officio, Nebraska Forest Service
Board Member Bios
Julie Zahn, President
Julie was born and raised in Lincoln and now lives in Syracuse, where she enjoys being outdoors and immersed in the natural world. She has a degree in early child education, owned a small business for 13 years, was a master gardener for 9 years and a longtime community volunteer. She and her husband, David, have four grown children.
Edward Pohren, President-Elect
Ed was a founding member of the Omaha law firm he practiced in for over forty years, primarily advocating for clients involved in civil litigation. In addition to raising their four children, Ed and his wife, Elaine, immersed themselves in various volunteer activities involving church, school and sports teams. Now living in Ashland, they enjoy traveling, playing pickleball and tending to the prairie plantings in their yard.
Carol Thomas, Treasurer
Carol has 30+ years of experience as an accountant, tax preparer and IRS Enrolled Agent. She lives in Syracuse and enjoys spending time among the flowers in her garden.
Leah Meyer, Secretary
Leah is a lifelong Nebraskan and has great interest in how urban and rural communities and landowners can incorporate native and adapted plants for the benefit and beautification of our state. She is an independent contractor working in the sustainability and resource management field. You can find her at every Spring Affair, adding to her collection of thermoposis, hyssop and asters.
John Cariotto
John worked for the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Court Administrator’s Office, leading a group which has computerized Nebraska’s 189 courts. He and his wife Penny are UNL Master Gardeners, regularly volunteering in the Backyard Farmer garden and with the Garden Club of Lincoln. John and Penny have been married more than 50 years and have three adult children and three grandchildren. They enjoy traveling, often taking day trips to visit NSA arboretums and arranging their itinerary to visit gardens that are reciprocal with NSA.
Megan Forgue
Megan is a lifelong Nebraskan, having lived in both Eastern and Western Nebraska, where she observed the diverse ecosystems across our unique state. She is a fourth generation community banker, and she enjoys reading, gardening (both floral and edible), and snuggling with her Shih Tzu, Howie.
Bob Grimit
Retired Lincoln attorney Bob Grimit likes to quote Thomas Jefferson, who once stated, “But though an old man, I am but a young gardener.” Bob's “piece of nature” is a one-acre lot on which he says the only plants for consumption are Swiss chard and rhubarb. Born and raised in Omaha, Bob graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He and his wife have two grown children and three grandchildren. Since retirement, “Every day is gardening,” he says.
Jeff Kennedy
A native Nebraskan and certified arborist, Jeff has owned a landscaping business in Gothenburg since 1999, to which he added a retail nursery in 2007. He’s interested in all things growing and enjoys helping others with their landscapes.
Katie Markheim
Born and raised on her third-generation family farm near Benkelman, Katie pairs her passions for education, agriculture and finance with her interests in sustainable landscape design, gardening, and community volunteering to serve in various leadership roles. She holds an associate degree in Horticulture Systems from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Chadron State College. Katie currently works as the Accounting Services Assistant Director at Western Nebraska Community College and serves the community as a University of NE Extension Master Gardener. She resides in Gering, NE with her husband Justin and two sons, Grayson and Carrick, who tend a small flock of backyard ‘city’ chickens, the family garden and a tiny, but mighty greenhouse.
Karen Pesek
Karen is a bilingual, entrepreneurial professional with a background in public accounting and nonprofit leadership spanning 17 years. In addition to her role as the Director of Finance at Pesek Law in Omaha— the largest fully bilingual law firm in the state— she also oversees the firm’s community service initiatives, which include the True Potential Scholarship for immigrants, the Free Legal Clinic, and the South Omaha Business Improvement District, which has partnered with the Arboretum to plant and maintain the community gardens in the commercial corridor.
Denise Wally
After living in seven states, including northeastern Oklahoma, where she spent most of her youth, Denise has resided in Lincoln for the past 17 years. She is a retired forest ecologist and an avid mycophile (fungus lover). She is fascinated by the roles that fungus plays in the ecosystem and the relationships they have with both plants and animals. To her, gardens aren’t just for beauty, peace of mind and food, they are also a way to replace lost habitats.
Dr. Richard Bischoff, Ex Officio, IANR,
Dr. Richard Bischoff is the IANR Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Academic Leader Success and a faculty member at UNL since 1988. He is passionate about increasing access to high quality mental health care, particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations.
John Erixson, Ex Officio, Nebraska Forest Service
Before returning to his native Nebraska to assume the role of Nebraska State Forester, John Erixson spent more than 20 years managing natural resources in Idaho for a private consulting firm. He holds bachelor and master's degrees in resource management from the University of Idaho. He is an active member of several regional and national organizations, including the Nebraska Riparian Task Force, National Association of State Foresters and Western Forestry Leadership Coalition.
Board Positions Open
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is currently seeking new board members to fill open positions. For more information, click the button below.
Executive Board Member Descriptions
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Board has four officer positions: President, President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer.
Board President and President-elect
The Board President fulfills a two-year term and serves as the head of the Governance Committee throughout the two year-term. The President-elect serves through the course of the President’s second term and attends all Governance meetings. The position of President-elect shall serve a one (1) year term in the capacity of President-elect before assuming the position of President for a two (2) year term. The position of President-elect shall be elected on odd years.
Essential Skills and Expectations
- Strategic planning
- Meeting management
- Commitment to the organization’s mission and familiarity with the structure and history of NSA
- Cultivate deep knowledge of the organization’s records and governing documents.
- Comfortable using or learning email, Zoom meeting technology, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
Essential Functions
- Facilitate regular and ad hoc board meetings.
- Create a purposeful agenda in collaboration with the Executive Director.
- Lead an engaging meeting, seeking out contributions from each board member and managing time effectively.
- Call for votes and confirm direction of votes for meeting minutes.
- Prepare and deliver the President's and Governance Committee report.
- Schedule and facilitate quarterly governance meetings.
- Develop meeting agendas. Meetings focus on board education, recruitment and internal policies.
- Upload meeting agenda and meeting minutes into SharePoint files.
Board leadership
- The President and President-elect are points of contact for board member issues and questions.
Recruitment and coaching
- Work with committee heads on developing and elevating board members without a leadership role into leadership positions.
- Promote the board at organization events (e.g. plant sales, lecture series, awards).
- Facilitate annual board retreat.
- Outline goals for annual retreat; work collaboratively with committee heads on establishing annual goals.
- Coordinate planning, develop exercises and establish a date and location.
Approval of organization operating agreements
- Approve the Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- Review and grant permission to begin annual audit.
- Review and approve all contracts of $1,000 or above or grant approving permission.
- Research and provide education opportunities to board members.
Review and conduct board orientation with the President-elect and Secretary.
Maintain regular communication with the Executive Director.
Board Secretary
The Board Secretary fulfills a two-year term and is elected on even years. Board members are volunteers, serving two three-year terms with an option to extend a final year.
Essential Skills and Expectations
- Structural and detailed, highly organized.
- Familiarity with the nonprofit’s structure and strategic mission
- Cultivate deep knowledge of the organization’s records and governing documents.
- Comfortable using or learning email, Zoom meeting technology, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Word
Essential Functions
- Record and distribute board meeting minutes.
- Key information includes: board actions, rationale, elections of new officers, committee report, officer reports.
- Promptly proofread, gain board chair approval and distribute to invitees.
Maintain accurate records.
- The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum maintains documents over Microsoft SharePoint.
- Ensure all critical documents are organized, safely stored and readily accessible.
- Schedule quarterly board meetings and ad hoc meetings as required.
- Distribute agenda created by Board President and Executive Director.
- Ensure board member information is up-to-date.
- Update contact information and terms on an annual basis.
- Note preferred contact methods.
- Hold members accountable.
- Notate attendance in quarterly board meetings and work with board leadership to address attendance issues.
Support new board member orientation.
Board Treasurer
The Treasurer serves a two-year term, elected on the off-year of the Secretary’s term. The Treasurer is the head of the Finance Committee.
Essential Skills and Expectations
- Must have a background in business or non-profit accounting.
- Familiarity with the nonprofit’s structure and strategic mission
- Cultivate deep knowledge of the organization’s records and governing documents.
- Comfortable using or learning email, Zoom meeting technology, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Word
Essential Functions
- Schedule and facilitate quarterly/as needed Finance Committee Meetings.
- Develop and distribute meeting agendas.
- Upload meeting agenda and meeting minutes into SharePoint files.
- Prepare and deliver Finance Committee reports for quarterly board meetings.
- Help develop and review annual budget.
- Be prepared to answer questions and make recommendations to the board about the budget.
- Review annual audit and tax forms.
- Review and approve request to release funds for non-budgeted projects.
- Serve as a point of contact for questions related to organization finances.
- Coordinate with the Development Committee to ensure successful fundraising activities.
- Keep a calendar of important dates including filing deadlines.
- Review procedures, internal controls and financial reporting annually.
- Make recommendations if needed to Director.
- Help develop systems to ensure organization's solvency.
- Provide education to the board on understanding financial statements.
- Do succession planning for this position.
- Nominate qualified new board members.
- Mentor finance committee members toward leadership positions.
