Staff
Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, Executive Director
A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Stephanie graduated from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt Divinity School. As a pastor she served Lincoln
Trinity, St. James, and Heartland United Methodist Churches before being appointed
to Dietz United Methodist Church in 2002. Her community activities include serving
on the Board of the Metropolitan Continuum of Care for the Homeless, chairing the
Jackson school committee for the Leavenworth Neighborhood Association, and membership
in the Old Market Business Association. She is the secretary of the South Central
Jurisdiction's Women's Leadership Team, a member of the Nebraska Annual Conference
Jurisdictional delegation, and co-chair of the Community Food Security Coalition's
national Food and Faith committee. Stephanie's love of gardening began as a 4-H
member in Lancaster County, during which time she won an award at the State Fair
for "best potted plant." Stephanie has served as UMM Executive Director since 2004.
Keith Hart, Education and Development Director
Originally from a farm near Shenandoah, Iowa, Keith holds a Bachelor’s degree in
education and an M.F.A. in theatre from the University of Missouri—Kansas City.
In his life he has been a public school teacher, a scene designer for the theatre,
and a professional musician. He was Education Coordinator at the Omaha Community
Playhouse before joining UMM. His job includes writing and managing grants and developing
educational programs for UMM and The Big Garden. Keith plays the piano every Sunday
morning at Dietz United Methodist Church, where there is likely to be at least one
show tune per service.
Lisa Maupin, Communications and Volunteer Coordinator
In addition to her work coordinating UMM communications and volunteers, Lisa is
the Nebraska Annual Conference Volunteers in Mission Coordinator. She promotes various
mission and justice opportunities to local churches as well as recruiting, scheduling
and hosting VIM teams at United Methodist Ministries. She has presented workshops
on volunteer recruitment and retention at regional and national conferences for
the American Community Gardening Association, Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission
and Youth Service America. She serves on the Nebraska Annual Conference Leadership
Development team and is on the Missouri River District Strategy Team. A Nebraska
native, Lisa is a graduate of Hastings College and has a BA in Communications Arts
with emphasis in Public Relations and History.
Jessica Mews, Big Garden Coordinator
Jessica is originally from Atwood, Kansas. She graduated from the University of
Nebraska at Kearney with majors in Sociology and Women’s Studies. In 2003-2004 she
completed a year of service with Lutheran Service Corps working with Nebraska AIDS
Project in Omaha. Her career path since then includes work with local foundations,
grant management, and area nonprofits. As Big Garden Coordinator, Jessica cultivates
the many relationships with garden partners in the community and supervises the
intern staff. Ask Jessica why she likes working with The Big Garden and she is likely
to say, “Who doesn’t love a homegrown tomato?”
Irene Perez, Health Promotora
Irene is from Mexico City, where she chose Nursing School because she thought it
would not involve mathematics—she was wrong about that! She moved to Omaha with
her family in 1995, and received further training at Nebraska Methodist College.
Irene has worked as an outreach worker for Hope Medical Outreach Coalition and is
now a health advocate for United Methodist Ministries. She does extensive work in
health education and advocacy with families in the Leavenworth Neighborhood Association
and Jackson Elementary School. She is also a trained Spanish/English interpreter,
lending her skills to a variety of community events. Ask Irene about her 6 children
and 2 grandchildren!
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