For Immediate Release: July 2, 2021
United Way of the Midlands Welcomes New Board Members
United Way of the Midlands (UWM) is proud to announce the addition of eight community leaders to its board: Julie Bechtel, Theola Cooper, Jessica Heidebrecht, Carol Henrichs, Derek Leathers, Paul Maass, Joseph Sullivan III and Randy Wood. With their diverse backgrounds and expertise, these individuals will help guide the work of UWM, ensuring it is investing dollars wisely in nonprofit programs that are addressing social and economic disparities and meeting community members’ essential needs. UWM also recognizes the contributions of its outgoing board members: Mickey Anderson, President and CEO of Baxter Auto Group; Joel Falk, Regional President at UWM Bank; Alison Ingunza, Landscape Architect at HDR and outgoing Emerging Leaders Steering Committee Chair and Pam Kale, former Vice President of Nursing at CHI Health.
Bechtel became President and Publisher of The Omaha World-Herald in March of 2020 and also serves as a Regional Publisher for Lee Enterprises, overseeing Iowa and Eastern Nebraska. She began her career in 1987 at the Des Moines Register and joined Lee Enterprises in 1998 as circulation manager in Lincoln. She was promoted to operations manager there in 2000. In 2002, she became the publisher of The Bismarck Tribune in North Dakota and advanced to publisher of the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, in 2005. There she also served as a group leader for Lee newspapers in Muscatine, Iowa; Maysville, Kentucky, and Orangeburg, South Carolina. She was promoted to publisher and regional executive in Lincoln in 2011 and led the Lincoln Journal Star from 2011-14. In 2014, Bechtel was promoted to group publisher overseeing newspaper media operations in Illinois and Nebraska. She served as president and publisher of the Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois, and the Herald & Review in Decatur, Illinois. In September of 2018 she joined the BH Media Group as Executive Vice President. Bechtel studied political science/pre-law major at the University of Iowa located in Iowa City. She also studied management and finance courses at Drake University and Simpson College. Bechtel has served on the boards of the Omaha World- Herald Goodfellows, various Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development groups, United Way, Lincoln Public Schools Foundation, Student Hunger Drive, Community Health Care Clinic and the non-profit Kennedi’s Kisses. She lives in Papillion with her husband, Rick. Julie and Rick have two adult sons, Matt and Nate, and three adorable grandsons.
Cooper has been a Crime Prevention Specialist with the Omaha Police Department’s Northeast Precinct for eight years. She coordinates neighborhood and business watch groups and community relation activities, such as Fun in the Park, National Night Out, Cops and Bobbers, Coffee with a Cop and the Youth Citizen Education Training Program. She also assists in planning cultural events – NAACP Juneteenth Parade and Native Omaha Days. Cooper is a member of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Chancellor’s Board of Counselors, University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Biobank Community Board, Cinco de Mayo Omaha and currently serves as President of the American Heart Association’s Together To End Stroke Ambassadors. She started a program, REALationships, to address an issue of straw purchasing – where young women are coerced into buying guns on behalf of someone who cannot pass a background check. REALtionships aims to decrease the involvement of young women in criminal activity and equip them with skills to make right choices in their lives, whether it is about their own health or relationship. In her free time, Cooper volunteers with the Omaha Performing Arts, enjoys listening to live music and spending time with her friends and family. She has one son, Mychal Davis, and daughter-in-law, Sierra.
Heidebrecht serves as a Communications Specialist at Metropolitan Utilities District. She has worked in marketing and communications for the past decade, including for Professional Research Consultants and HDR. She has served on the United Way of the Midlands Emerging Leaders steering committee for three years and is the current Chair. She is also vice chairperson for the Family Focus Federal Credit Union marketing committee. Heidebrecht has a B.A. in Communications from Southwestern College in Winfield, KS, and a M.A. in Communications from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She resides in southwest Omaha with her husband, Tyson, and their son.
Henrichs has been in her role as VP of Patient Care Services at CHI Health since 2009. In her role, she is responsible for the clinical practice of staff ensuring consistency in the standard of nursing practice across all clinical settings. Her work includes orientation and competencies; quality metric development and reporting and developing and maintaining a culture of safety. She has over 35 years of clinical and management experience with the organization and plays an integral role in ensuring CHI Health Clinic patients receive the highest quality of care possible. Henrichs received her nursing degree from College of St. Mary’s in Omaha as well as her Master of Science Nursing degree in Management and Organizational Leadership. She is a member of the Metropolitan Community College Medical Assisting Board. Outside of work, Henrichs enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening or playing golf with her family. She lives in Omaha. She has three adult sons and stays busy with 5 grandchildren under the age of 2.
Leathers serves as the Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Werner Enterprises. A Texas native, he was raised in the Houston area. He earned a degree in economics from Princeton University, where he played center for the Princeton Tigers football team. Following graduation, Leathers embarked on a career in the trucking and logistics industry. He served as one of the first foreign members of CANACAR, Mexico’s trucking association, and helped draft the North American Free Trade Agreement. Since joining Werner Enterprises in 1999, Leathers has played an instrumental role in launching Werner’s cross-border operations in Mexico and Canada and served as president of Werner Global Logistics. As of May 2020, he now serves as the Vice Chairman, President and CEO of Werner Enterprises. Derek and his wife, Nicole, reside in Gretna, Nebraska, with their daughter, Olivia, and son, Creed. He enjoys sharing his passion for athletics by coaching softball and football. He is also very active in the local community with a particular focus on early childhood education and at-risk youth.
Paul is the Chief Executive Officer of Scoular, responsible for its worldwide strategic leadership, a role he has held since joining the company in 2016. Paul is also a member of Scoular’s Board of Directors. Prior to joining Scoular, Paul served as President of ConAgra Foods’ (now Conagra Brands) Commercial Foods and Private Brands segments. Paul led the creation of Ardent Mills, ConAgra Foods’ milling focused partnership with Cargill and CHS, and served as Chairman of the Board for Ardent. Paul has a continuous improvement mindset and is passionate about his own leadership journey, as well as supporting the leadership journeys of others. In 2014, Paul wrote the foreword to Rising to Power, a guide for executives desiring to be exceptional leaders as they navigate their ascent to the highest levels of their organization. Paul also participates in the G100 Network, an organization focused on peer-to-peer learning and development. Paul is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural business. He currently serves on the College World Series Board of Directors, Omaha Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Iowa State Executive MBA Advisory Committee, and as a Trustee of The Scoular Foundation. His civic and community commitments as an Omaha citizen are significant and his commitment to his wife, Julie, of 32 years and their three children remains his life’s most important priority.
Sullivan has over 20 years of experience in banking and financial services. He joined U.S. Bank in 2003 as a Relationship Manager in Commercial Banking and was named Omaha Market President in 2013. In 2018, he was named Regional President of Nebraska and Southwestern Iowa. Sullivan graduated from Creighton University with a degree in Finance, University of Nebraska Omaha with a Master’s in Business Administration and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School. Sullivan has served the community through a number of local non-profit organizations. He currently serves on the boards of the Greater Omaha Chamber, Nebraska Bankers Association and Omaha Country Club and is involved with the organizing committee for vinNEBRASKA, which is currently raising funds for the Omaha Public Schools Foundation. He is a graduate of Leadership Omaha Class 32. He lives in Omaha with his wife, Dana, and daughter, Edie.
Wood joined Lindsay Corporation in 2008 as Vice President- North America Irrigation Sales. He has since progressed through various Irrigation leadership roles, expanding to international markets, then serving as President, Global Agricultural Irrigation. In September 2020, Wood was named Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the company’s overall business results. On January 1, 2021, Wood assumed the role of Lindsay’s President and CEO and serves on the company’s board of directors. Prior to joining Lindsay, Wood spent 11 years with Case Corporation/CNH Global. Wood serves on the Board of Directors for the Omaha Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Irrigation Association. He currently resides in West Omaha with his wife of 20 years, Candace, and their two children, Cooper and Tessa.
Bechtel, Cooper, Heidebrecht, Henrichs, Leathers, Maass, Sullivan and Wood join the other 17 returning members of the UWM Board, which is chaired by Tim Burke, retired President and Chief Executive Officer of OPPD.
Avi Atholi Susan Courtney Vice President, Enterprise Data and Management Executive Vice President, Operations and Clinical Effectiveness First National Bank of Omaha Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska
Jerry Crouse Gail DeBoer Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Retired President and Chief Executive Officer Tenaska, Inc. Cobalt Credit Union
Nate Dodge Shawna Forsberg President President and Chief Executive Officer NP Dodge Company United Way of the Midlands
Bob Gunia Jamie Gutierrez Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Group CEO and Owner Physicians Mutual Midwest Maintenance Companies, Inc.
Ia Hagan Steve Kaniewski Women United Board Liaison President and Chief Executive Officer Financial Advisor Valmont Industries Wells Fargo
Dr. Cheryl Logan Clark Ponthier Superintendent Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Continuous Omaha Public Schools Improvement Union Pacific Railroad
Jim Richardson Cory Shaw Partner and Nebraska Audit Leader Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer RSM US LLP Nebraska Medicine
Dan Waters, Board Secretary Brian Woolfolk Partner Head of Institutional Division Lamson, Dugan & Murray LLP Pacific Life
About United Way of the Midlands For the past 98 years, United Way of the Midlands (UWM) has used its community-wide perspective to identify local needs that are going unseen or unmet – and how it can partner with corporate, government organizations, nonprofits and donors to tackle them. Today, UWM remains committed to uniting our community’s caring spirit to build a stronger tomorrow. It invests donor dollars in more than 100 local nonprofit programs that, together, form a circle of support around our community. These programs are addressing pressing social and economic disparities and providing the essentials families need to thrive, such as healthy food, a safe place to go after school and a stable job.
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