Board of Governors
The Willa Cather Foundation's Board of Governors is a passionate group of individuals dedicated to promoting the life, times, and work of Willa Cather. These business professionals and scholars reside from coast to coast and donate their time and talents to provide strategic governance of our mission-driven activities. Regular communication and committee meetings are ongoing, and the Board meets three times a year—one time each in Omaha, Lincoln, and Red Cloud, Nebraska.
Officers
Mark W. Bostock, President
Centennial Lending (Retired)
Malcolm, Nebraska
Peter Cipkowski, Vice President
Adjunct Professor, UCLA
Los Angeles, California
John A (Jay) Yost, Secretary
Deutsche Bank (Retired)
New York, New York
C. Kay Stahly, Treasurer
Dana F. Cole and Company, LLC
Kearney, Nebraska
Robert Thacker, Past President
St. Lawrence University
Canton, New York
Board of Governors
Sarah Baker Hansen
Writer and Marketing Consultant
Omaha, Nebraska
Dan Deffenbaugh
Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Central Community College
Hastings, Nebraska
Marian Fey
Millard Public Schools
Omaha, Nebraska
Thomas Reese (Tom) Gallagher
Communications Consultant
New York, New York
Charmion Gustke Hearn
Associate Professor, Belmont University
Nashville, Tennessee
Melissa Homestead
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
James A. Jaap
Penn State University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ruth H. Keene
Community Service Leader
Omaha, Nebraska
Ana McCracken
Founder, Ames Writers Collective
Ames, Iowa
Dr. Fritz Mountford
Hastings College
Hastings, Nebraska
Glenda J. Pierce
University of Nebraska College of Law (retired)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Ann Romines
The George Washington University, Emeritus
Alexandria, Virginia
Steve Skupa
Skupa Insurance
Campbell, Nebraska
Luis F. Sotelo
Doane College
Lincoln, Nebraska
Amy L. Springer
Webster County Community Hospital
Red Cloud, Nebraska
Mary June Talen
Nonprofit Consultant
Omaha, Nebraska
Robert Thacker
St. Lawrence University
Canton, New York
Board of Governors Members: 1955 to Present
We are deeply indebted to everyone—past and present—who has served on the Board of Governors.
*Indicates past presidents
Keith Albers*
Virgil Albertini
Marion Arneson*
William Thomas Auld M.D.
Bruce P. Baker, II
Jo Bass
Alicia Bennett
Mildred R. Bennett*
W. K. Bennett, M.D.
Ann Billesbach*
Richard Borton
Vi Borton*
Mark Bostock
Laurie Smith Camp
Charles Cather
Peter Cipkowski
Don E. Connors
Carol Cope
Sara Corless
Bess E. Day
George Day
Dan Deffenbaugh
Sally Desmond
Katherine Endacott
Alicia Engstrom
Virginia Faulkner
Marian Fey
James L. Fitzgibbon
Max Frazier
Josephine Frisbee
Thomas Reese Gallagher*
David Garwood*
Susanne George
Joel Geyer
Ramon J. Guerra
Susan Baker Hansen
Richard C. Harris
Robert Harwick
Charmion Gustke Hearn
Melissa Homestead
Jane Renner Hood
Jill Hornady
Ron Hull
James A. Jaap
Dr. L. V. Jacks
Andrew Jewell
Charles Johanningsmeier
Ruth H. Keene
Ted Kennedy
Robert E. Knoll
Betty Kort*
Lynette Krieger*
Douglas Kristensen
Mellanee Kvasnicka*
Ella Cather Lewis
Helen Lengfeld
Lucia Woods Lindley
Darrel Lloyd
Catherine Cather Lowell
Susan Maher*
John March
Ana McCracken
Dale McDole
Dr. Mamie Meredith
Gary L. Meyer
Jo Ann Middleton
Fritz Mountford
Miriam Mountford*
William Mountford
John J. Murphy
Harry Obitz
Helen Obitz
Julie Olin-Ammentorp
Frank O’Rourke
Daryl W. Palmer
Rev. Charles A. (Chuck) Peek*
Nancy S. Picchi
Glenda Pierce*
David Porter
Diane Prenatt
Jennie Miner Reiher
Guy Reynolds
Ann Romines
Ronald W. Roskens
Susan J. Rosowski
Gabriel Scala
Rhonda Seacrest
David E. Scherman
Dr. C. B. Schultz
Marian Schultz
Margaret Cather Shannon
Betty J. Sherwood
Carrie M. Sherwood
Nancy Sherwood
Steven B. Shively
Merrill Skaggs
Bernice Slote
Kate Sommer
Luis F. Sotelo
Helen Cather Southwick
James P. Southwick
Amy Springer
C. Kay Stahly
Sally Stich
John N. Swift*
Mary June Talen
Robert Thacker*
Gary W. Thompson
Steven Trout
Joseph R. Urgo
Marcella Van Meter
Durward B. Varner
Lu Williams
Grace Wolfe
Dee Yost
John A (Jay) Yost*
James H. Zumber