Mission
We know that the Good Life in Nebraska is all about the great outdoors and we want leaders who make the right choices so that our children and grandchildren can inherit the same rich and healthy environment we enjoy today.
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About Us
Mission
We are Nebraskans from all walks of life. Rural, suburban & urban. Republican, Democrat & Independent. We care about clean and abundant water, fresh air and wide open spaces. We know that the Good Life in Nebraska is all about the great outdoors — and we want leaders who make the right choices so that our children and grandchildren can inherit the same rich and healthy environment we enjoy today.
Vision
Nebraskans are a people deeply attached to the land. We love the great rolling hills and open spaces of this state, the wide blue sky, the river woods and pine bluff hills, and the rivers and streams which define our boundaries and paths east and west.
Our natural resources are the basis for our economy and our recreation. Our history is rooted in the prairies and the fields of grain. We believe the greatest gift we will leave our children is our fresh air, clean water, and fertile soils.
We see a future for Nebraska where our communities hum with the power of clean, renewable energy; where water sustains our agriculture and wildlife through prudent and thrifty planning; where children can drink from the tap in every town without risk; where landfills are virtually a thing of the past and everyone who wants can access wide open spaces for sport and recreation.
We see a state working hand in hand with citizens to plan for this future, to guarantee this legacy for our children and grandchildren.
History
The Nebraska League of Conservation Voters was created in 2002 by volunteers to work for the passage of laws that would protect wildlife, water quality, clean air and promote recycling. In 2006, we published our first voter guides and opened an office with staff in 2007.
NLCV works at the state, county and local levels across Nebraska. The Nebraska League is a member of a federation of state organizations, coordinated through the National League of Conservation Voters. We are guided by a board of directors who all reside in the state, and our legislative policy is decided by Nebraskans working for Nebraska interests.
Our Staff
Mary A. Harding, Executive Director
Mary is a seventh generation Nebraskan who has worked in voter engagement and resources conservation for more than 20 years. She began her organizing career working for the right to vote for 18 year olds, and conducting voter registration drives. She was the first director of Citizen Action in Nebraska championing energy efficiency programs, a cause which she continues to promote through her service on the Nebraska Public Power District board of directors. Harding served as Executive Director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust for 12 years, overseeing the distribution of more than $100 million to conservation and resource projects across the state. She and her husband have four grown children, and expect their first grandchild this fall.
Julie Diegel, Development and Operations Manager
Julie has several years’ experience in managing a variety of nonprofit organizations and small businesses. She has been owner of a landscaping business, administrator of a retirement community, office manager for nonprofit electronics testing facility, and more recently executive director of Lux Center for the Arts. She currently serves as treasurer on the Haydon Art Center board of directors. An organic gardener and artist, Julie aspires to build a sustainable, energy efficient house with her husband. They have three grown children and one grandchild.
Eva Sohl, Program Coordinator for Renewable Energy
Having graduated from the University of Nebraska this August, Ms. Sohl earned a BA in Political Science with minors in Ethnic Studies and History. While at the University, in addition to her studies, Ms. Sohl worked as a research assistant to faculty. In 2004 she was accepted into the National Equity Center’s Summer Civil Rights and Social Justice Training Institute at UCLA. Her work experience includes coordinating leadership development programs for Leadership Lincoln Inc., reporting on the legislature, and community organizing on ballot issues. Ms. Sohl has demonstrated a strong commitment to servant leadership by working as a participant, mentor and advisor in youth-led organizations.
Board of Directors
Dale Gubbels, President of the Board
Mr. Gubbels has devoted his professional career to recycling, beginning in the early 1980’s with the Nebraska State Recycling Association. He served on the National Recycling Coalition board for ten years, serving two terms as its president. Gubbels is now CEO and Chairman of Firstar Fiber, Inc., a commercial recycling operation in its 10th year in Omaha. Dale and his wife Mary are graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and reside in Papillion.
Duane Hovorka, Vice-President/Secretary
Duane Hovorka is a lifelong Nebraska, living on a small farm near Murdock with his wife and sons. Hovorka earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science, with minors in history and business administration. He served as a legislative aide in the Nebraska Unicameral, and then spent 12 years at Union Pacific Railroad as a public policy analyst. He is currently a consultant to the National Wildlife Federation, and a member of the Governance Committee of the Platte River Cooperative Agreement.
Wes Sheets, Treasurer
Wes Sheets is a founding member of the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters. He grew up on a farm in Kansas. After studying at Kansas State, he came to Nebraska for a career in natural resource management as a Fisheries Scientist working for the Nebraska Game and Parks Comm. Sheets rose to Assistant Director for Wildlife of the Commission before retiring. He is active in many wildlife organizations serving in various capacities such as the national board of directors for the Izaak Walton League. His primary interests are the future of our renewable natural resources and education of succeeding generations.
Steve Oltmans
A native of Nuckolls County, Oltmans earned his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was general manager of the Papio-Missouri River NRD for 20 years, and spearheaded the development of public-private partnerships for multi-million dollar stormwater management projects during that time. He is reknowned as a presenter and community educator. Oltmans is currently Director of Government Relations for Olsson Associates in Omaha.
John M. Cunningham
John Cunningham is a native of Omaha. He graduated from Creighton University in 1973, and was awarded a J. D. from Creighton in 1983. He is a resident of Grand Island where he practices law. He and his wife Sara have one daughter.
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