Board Log In
Grantee Log In

setting ideas in motion

Board Log In
Grantee Log In

Who We Are

Board of Directors & Officers

Nelle Woods Jamison

Board Member – Chair
Community Volunteer

Suk Wortman

Board Member - Vice Chair
Senior Director, Membership,
National Audubon Society

Hank Woods

Board Member – Treasurer
VP Development, LINE Partners

Michael J. Tavlin

Assistant Treasurer
Managing Director,
Pacific Asset Management, LLC

Charlie Foster

Board Member
Counselor and Trainer,
Employee Assistance Program,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Kevin Abourezk

Board Member
Deputy Managing Editor,
ICTNews.org

Peter Ferguson

Peter Ferguson
Board Member
Coordinator of Culture, Inclusion, and Scholar Development,
Assistant Supervisor of Recruiting
Lincoln Public Schools

Sue Quambusch

Sue Quambusch
Board Member
Community Volunteer

Staff

Thomas C. Woods IV

President & Board Secretary

Kathy Steinauer Smith

Senior Community Investment Director

Nicole Juranek

Community Investment Director

Former Board Members

Donna W. Woods

Chair Emerita

  • 2001-2019
  • Chair, 2007-2019

Michael J. Tavlin

  • 2000-2006
  • Chair, 2005-2006

Stephen Sands

  • 1999-2004
  • Chair, 2003-2004

Thomas D. Potter

  • 1997-2002
  • Chair, 2000-2002

Thomas C. Woods III

  • 1994-2000
  • Chair, 1994-2000

Jay Conrad

  • 2020-2025

Pablo Cervantes

  • 2019-2024

Michelle Suarez

  • 2018-2023

Ed Wimes

  • 2017-2022

Candice Howell

  • 2015-2020

Carl Eskridge

  • 2013-2018

Ernesto Castillo Jr.

  • 2012-2017

Orville Jones III

  • 2011-2016

Kathleen Rutledge

  • 2009-2014

Tyre (TJ) McDowell

  • 2007-2012

Jose J. Soto

  • 2006-2011

Ann Chang

  • 2005-2010

Lynn Roper

  • 2003-2008

Eugene Crump

  • 2000-2005

Susan Ugai

  • 1999-2004

Avery L. Woods

  • 1998-2005

Marjorie J. Woods

  • 1995-2000

Joel Gajardo

  • 1994-1998

Marilyn Johnson-Farr

  • 1994-1998

Marie Fischer

  • 1992-1996

Sydney Beane

  • 1991-1994

Sheila Griffin

  • 1987-1991

Sue Quambusch

Sue Quambusch
Board Member
Community Volunteer

Sue was elected to the board in 2025.

She owns and operates Sue Quambusch Consulting, which offers nonprofit project management. She previously was owner and CEO of A to Z Printing.

Quambusch is active in a variety of community, nonprofit and leadership roles, most recently as chair of the Civic Nebraska board of advisers and past president of the board of the Museum of Nebraska Art. She volunteers with the Food Bank of Lincoln at a school food market, is a classroom co-sponsor for Head Start with Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties, and has been a member of the Guerrilla Gardeners women’s social activist group for 30 years. Previously she has served as chairwoman of the boards of the Lincoln Community Foundation, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, Community Services Fund of Nebraska (now Give Nebraska), Child Advocacy Center (now BraveBe Child Advocacy) and the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. She’s also been a member of the boards of the Capital Humane Society, Lincoln Parks Foundation and the Sheldon Art Association.

Peter Ferguson

Peter Ferguson

Board Member

Coordinator of Culture, Inclusion, and Scholar Development,
Assistant Supervisor of Recruiting
Lincoln Public Schools

Peter was elected to the board in 2024.

He is the Coordinator of Culture, Inclusion, and Scholar Development and Assistant Supervisor of Recruiting for Lincoln Public Schools and founder of Peter Ferguson B.H.S., LLC, providing organizational and individual leadership facilitation, public speaking, workshops and consulting. Peter is a recognized educational specialist in adult and youth development, leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. His career has spanned K-12 and post-secondary education, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters Lincoln and Leadership Lincoln, Inc.

Peter is the weekly host of “Bigger Than the Score” on 93.7 The Ticket radio and has been the lead adult adviser for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Rally for 28 years. He’s received numerous community honors and serves on the Bryan College of Health Science Board of Trustees and board of directors for MENTOR Nebraska. He continues to honor his late mother, a 40-year educator, through service and championing the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Kevin Abourezk

Board Member
Deputy Managing Editor,
ICTNews.org

Kevin was elected to the board in 2023.

A citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, he is a journalist and Deputy Managing Editor of ICTNews.org, which features Native American news and information. In his nearly 25-year career, he has written about Native American people and stories, and he has been an editor and reporter at the Lincoln Journal Star. He has received many national awards and been a mentor with several Native journalism and leadership organizations.

Kevin received a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of South Dakota. He has served on several community and national boards, including Lincoln’s Indian Center, Intertribal Spiritual Lodges, Lincoln Public Schools’ Native American Advisory Committee, and as a commissioner for the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights.

Charlie Foster

Board Member
Counselor and Trainer
Employee Assistance Program
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Charlie was elected to the board in 2022.

She is a counselor and trainer for the Employee Assistance Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She previously served in other roles at UNL such as the Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion and as Director of the University’s Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center and Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services.

Charlie received master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Alabama in clinical psychology. She currently serves on the Community Impact Committee of the United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County and participates on the Black Philanthropy Committee with the United Way and Lincoln Community Foundation. She co-founded the Big 10 Multicultural Student Affairs Network and is the adviser for the Afrikan People’s Union and two mental-health recognized student organizations at UNL. She is also active in her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

Nicole Juranek

Community Investment Director

Nicole began working at WCF in 2017 and handles program review, grants management and public relations.

Before joining WCF, Nicole worked for Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters developing, managing and monitoring grants, coordinating events and drafting agency communications. She has worked and volunteered at several local nonprofit organizations in varying roles since 2001.

She received a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan

University in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science.

Kathy Steinauer Smith

Senior Community Investment Director

Kathy has worked at WCF since 2012 and handles program review, grants management and public relations.

Before joining WCF, Kathy worked at the Lincoln Journal Star in several editing roles beginning in 2005. She also has worked in public relations for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has been an editor at newspapers in Iowa, California and Nevada. She has volunteered with several Lincoln nonprofit organizations in varying roles since 2001, including as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters Lincoln and a previous board member of the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table.

She received a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Joan Stolle

Operations Manager

Joan began working for WCF in 1990 and currently directs office management, information processing, systems development and business operations.

Previously, Joan taught in the public education system and just before joining WCF worked for the E.A. Mellinger Educational Foundation, a private scholarship foundation in Monmouth, Illinois. She has volunteered with several local nonprofit, neighborhood and community organizations.

She received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with an emphasis in Vocational Education.

Thomas C. Woods, IV

President & Board Secretary

Tom began working for Woods Charitable Fund in 1999 and served as Senior Program Officer prior to his promotion to President in 2012.

Before joining WCF, Tom served as Program Associate at the Community Foundation Serving Coastal South Carolina (Charleston). He received both a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Certificate of Non-Profit Management from the University of Pittsburgh. He has volunteered with several local nonprofit and community organizations.

Tom is the great-great grandson of Frank and Nelle Woods, who in 1941 established WCF as a philanthropic organization.

Suk Wortman

Board Member

Senior Director, Membership
National Audubon Society

Suk was elected to the board in 2020. 

Wortman is Senior Director, Membership at the National Audubon Society. Her diverse background encompasses marketing and revenue-generating leadership roles across nonprofit, financial technology, and farming industries.

She received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, in business communication management and legal studies in business. She is a member of the capital campaign committee of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and volunteers with the Food Bank of Lincoln.

Jay Conrad

Board Member

Community Volunteer

Jay was elected to the board in 2019.

From 1991 to 2021, he was Executive Director of Houses of Hope, which provides residential and support services for individuals impacted by substance use and related mental-health issues.

Jay served on local and state boards including St. Monica’s, CenterPointe, Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, DHHS Board of Alcohol and Drug Licensure, Cause Collective, Give Nebraska, Nebraska Aids Project, and Gathering Place. At the national level, he served on the boards of State Associations of Addiction Services, and International Certification Reciprocity Consortium.
 
Jay has served on the Lincoln Community Foundation Board of Trustees since 2021.

Pablo Cervantes

Board Member

Affordable Housing Investor

Community Volunteer

Pablo was elected to the board in 2018.

He is a consultant for affordable housing in Lincoln. Pablo has served on the Board of Directors of the South of Downtown Community Development Organization, Center for Legal Immigration Assistance and El Centro de las Américas. He is a freelance instructor of traditional Mexican folkloric dance.

Pablo is a licensed Realtor and currently serves as a board member on the Bryan Medical Center Board of Trustees.

Michelle Suarez

Board Member

Community Volunteer

Michelle was elected to the board in 2017.

Michelle served children and families in the Lincoln Public Schools as an elementary school principal and teacher for 34 years. Until her retirement in December 2019, she was the Early Childhood Developer for the Prosper Lincoln initiative, which works to increase cross-sector initiatives and resources to advocate for and improve early-childhood development. She has served on several local and state boards including Nebraska Appleseed, Nebraska State College System and the Food Bank of Lincoln. In addition, she served on the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission and the South of Downtown Coalition Steering Committee. In January 2023, Michelle was appointed to the Lincoln City Council to fulfill an open position to represent the city’s southwest region, District 3.

She received a Master’s of Educational Administration degree and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Michael J. Tavlin

Assistant Treasurer

Managing Director
Pacific Asset Management, LLC

Mike served on the WCF Board from 2000 to 2006, but his service to WCF began long before then. When Woods Charitable Fund divided its endowment and management between offices in Lincoln and Chicago in 1993, Mike was instrumental in guiding WCF’s Lincoln office as it chose investment managers and established an investment policy. He served as Chair of the WCF Board from 2005 to 2006, and he has served WCF as Assistant Treasurer since 2007.

Mike is the Managing Director for Pacific Asset Management, LLC. He was the Chief Financial Officer for Speedway Motors and Speedway Properties in Lincoln from 2001 through the end of 2022. Before that, Mike was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and General

Counsel for Interactive Intelligence, Inc., in Indianapolis as well as Vice President-Treasurer and Secretary for Aliant Communications, Inc. (formerly The Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Company). Prior to that, Mike had a career in public accounting and the private practice of law.

Mike is a Trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation, a board member of the UNF Charitable Gift Fund, and is a former member of the UNF Investment Committee. He is also a member of the Board and Chair of the Investment Committee of the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools. From 1998 to 2013, Mike volunteered with the Community Health Endowment of Lincoln serving as a Trustee, Treasurer, Vice Chairman and finally as its Chairman from 2011 to 2013. Today he serves as an adviser to the CHE.

Hank Woods

Board Member – Treasurer

VP Development LINE Partners

Hank was elected to the WCF Board in 2005.

Hank earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1995. He is Vice President of Development at LINE Partners, a local commercial real estate firm. 

Hank serves on the board of trustees for the Madonna Foundation, Lighthouse and Mourning Hope. Hank also serves on the board of directors for Sahara Enterprises, Inc., a privately held company in Chicago.

Hank is the great-great grandson of Frank and Nelle Woods, who in 1941 established WCF as a philanthropic organization.

Ed Wimes

Board Member – Vice Chair

Community Volunteer

Ed was elected to the WCF Board in 2016.

Wimes is owner of E&S Consulting, providing leadership coaching, human resources management and diversity/inclusion strategies to firms and institutions. Prior to retirement, Wimes served as Special Assistant to the President of the University of Nebraska and for 14 years as the University’s Assistant Vice President/Director of Human Resources.

A retired Army Officer, Ed has served on boards for the Malone Community Center, the Community Health Endowment, the NAACP

and CASA for Lancaster County. He was a former commissioner for the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and has been a member of the Mayor’s Multicultural Advisory Committee, the Mayor’s Community Cabinet and the City of Lincoln’s Personnel Board. He is a current member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Freedom Breakfast” Committee.

Nelle Woods Jamison

Board Member – Chair

Community Volunteer

Nelle was elected to the WCF Board in 2005 and Board Chair in 2019.

Nelle earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the past, she worked as the Director of Membership for the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul and as an Art Assistant for Creating Pride, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to supporting schools facing reduced art programs.

She serves on the boards of the Woods Tennis Educational Foundation and the Nebraska Art Association.

Nelle is the great-great granddaughter of Frank and Nelle Woods, who in 1941 established WCF as a philanthropic organization.