BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Kansas Historical Foundation is governed by a board of directors of between 36 and 90 members who represent communities around the state. Board members are volunteers elected to serve three-year terms and may serve multiple times. The Foundation is the non-profit sister organization of the Kansas Historical Society. The board supports the Foundation's fundraising, fund-management, membership, and retail efforts. The board conducts an annual members and board meeting the first Friday in November.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
An 18-member executive committee serves as the working board for the Foundation and meets on a quarterly basis.
Officers 2020-2021
Executive Committee Members 2020-2021
Board of Directors 2020-2021
Jack Alexander
Board: 2001-
Executive committee: 2005-2020
President: 2013-2014
Jack Alexander served as acting state fire marshal in 2004. He worked at the Kansas Corporation Commission from 1991 to 1996, and in the water protection bureau at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Alexander was elected Topeka water commissioner in 1973 and went on to serve as president of the Topeka City Commission for 10 years. He previously worked at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1956 during the Korean War. He attended Washburn University and was a graduate of Topeka High School, where he played on the Ramblers basketball team. He continues to be an avid golfer and enjoys many different sporting events.
Ted Ayres
Board: 2018-
Executive committee: 2020-
Ted Ayres lives in Wichita. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Central Missouri State College and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Missouri. He served as a law clerk to a judge in the Missouri Supreme Court and was a partner in a law firm in Chillicothe, Missouri. He began a career in higher education law as counsel for the University of Missouri in 1976, and then general counsel for the University of Colorado in 1984.
Ayres joined Wichita State University (WSU) as general counsel and associate to the president in 1996, then he was promoted to vice president and general counsel. He also served as director of equal opportunity at Wichita State, and as interim president at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg. He retired from Wichita State in 2018.
His community involvement includes serving on the boards of National Association of College and University Attorneys, the Downtown YMCA in Topeka, the Wichita Technology Corporation, Mizzou alumni Association, the World War II Memorial Inc., KPTS public television, and Kansas African American Museum. His many honors include the University Recognition Award by the WSU Alumni Association.
"Kansas has been good to me and my family. I appreciate the history of Kansas; am proud of and grateful for my career in public higher education in Kansas; and am continually thrilled, energized and amazed by each journey through the Flint Hills."
Carol Bales
Board: 2009-
Executive committee: 2013-
President: 2019-2020
Carol Bales is the president and trustee of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. She worked for 20 years as a professional porcelain doll maker. She is involved in many community organizations including as site coordinator for the Kansas Honors Program in Phillips and Graham counties; board member for Smoky Hills Public Television, and active in her local United Methodist Church.
“Being Kansas born and raised, I am very partial to the people of Kansas. They are honest, hardworking and self-sufficient. We ask very little of others and take care of our own. Our history---colorful as it is---tells our story through the many trials we have survived! Kansas is my home and there is no other place I would rather be.”
Deborah C. Barker
Board: 2004-
Executive committee: 2005-2016
President: 2014-2015
Deborah Barker serves as executive director of the Franklin County Historical Society, where she has served since 1991. Her many successes their included leading efforts for fund raising and planning for new exhibits at the museum. Barker has authored articles and books on a variety of topics including Images of America: Ottawa and The Feast of Franklin County. She has been involved in many cultural community, statewide, and regional organizations. She founded and incorporated the Ottawa Community Arts Council, creating onsite exhibits, traveling exhibits, and program for all ages. She received a bachelor’s degree in American studies and anthropology from the University of Colorado; master’s degree in art history from the University of Kansas; and completed post-graduate work toward a Ph.D. in art history.
"Being a Kansan has always been a point of pride for me. My Quaker ancestors have given my family a determination to be educated, to have a great work ethic, and to have a progressive spirit sorely needed occasionally in the tumult of Kansas politics."
Donita Barone
Board: 2007-
Executive committee: 2011-2018
President: 2016-2017
Donita Barone works for Pittsburg State University as a part-time administrative specialist for The Midwest Quarterly, a journal published worldwide. She previously worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, H&R Block, and as a court clerk for the City of Clarkson Valley, Missouri. She has been active on many boards, is a lifetime member of the Ladies Auxiliary at Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, and an active member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Frontenac. She attended Pittsburg State University.
"My husband, Jim, and I moved all over the Midwest during our working years. No matter where we were, I was always very proud to say I was from Kansas. When Jim retired, we moved back to our roots in southeast Kansas. Kansas is a great place to raise children, and there is so much important history here. Every part of Kansas has wonderful stories that should be shared, and I am proud to be a part of that."
Michael L. Baughn
Board: 1994-
Michael Baughn served as mayor of Brewster, Thomas county commissioner, undersheriff, and sheriff. He has been involved in many community organizations including as president of Brewster Development, Inc., district governor of Lions Club International, secretary of the Thomas County Economic Development Alliance, and he was a Republican precinct committeeman. He received a degree in criminal justice from Colby Community College; a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education from Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky; and a master’s degree in educational administration and secondary education from Fort Hays State University. He has special interest in western Kansas settlement and the history and culture of the Cheyenne people.
Jon Boursaw
Board: 2016-
Executive committee: 2019-
Jon Boursaw served 24 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring as a colonel. He has worked for various corporations, as the executive director of the Prairie Band Potawatomi in Kansas, and as director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center. Well versed in tribal history, Boursaw gives presentations each year to participants of the Potawatomi Leadership Program for students. Born in Kansas, he is a member of the Potawatomi Nation.
Emily Bradbury
Board: 2017-
Emily Bradbury is director for Kids Voting Kansas. She served as assistant director and director of member services for the Kansas Preservation Alliance and as the executive assistant to former Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh. Bradbury was named one of Topeka's 30 under 30 in 2005. She is involved in many community organizations including the Madison Library Board, a member of PEO International, and the William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc., in Emporia. She grew up in Haysville, a suburb of Wichita, and received a bachelor’s degree in history from Washburn University in 2000.
McKenzie Breidenthal
Board: 2020-
McKenzie Breidenthal lives in Kansas City, Kansas. She is a proud member of the Wyandotte community where she was raised. She received bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Kansas. Breidenthal is the co-president of the Breidenthal Foundation where the mission is to give back to the community. She was previously an instructor in the English as a second language program and a pre-kindergarten teacher for USD 500. She had worked for the Kansas City T-Bones baseball organization. She currently serves on the Boys & Girls Club’s advisory board for the Breidenthal Unit in Wyandotte County
Paul M. Buchanan
Board: 1993-
Executive committee: 2004-2013
President: 2011-2012
The Honorable Paul Buchanan served as a district judge for 20 years; and as a chief judge for more than six years. He is a member of the Wichita Bar Association. He has been active in many professional and community organizations including the Wichita Bibliophiles, Wichita State University Library Associates, a member of the Kansas Department of Corrections prison overcrowding committee, and the Presbyterian church. He received his bachelor’s degree from Sterling College and his juris doctorate from the University of Kansas. His interests include the Santa Fe Trail; Lewis and Clark; Kansas and the West; Plains Indian Wars; and collecting guns, maps, photography, and books. Buchanan is a life member of the Kansas Historical Foundation.
Don Chubb
Board: 2001-
Executive committee: 2010
President: 2018-2019
Don Chubb operated Neon Tube Light in Topeka and is a business broker and facilitates commercial real estate with Griffith and Blair, Inc. He enjoys local and state history, is often a source for Topeka history, writes and co-produces weekly announcements for television and radio, and works on the ongoing restoration of his historic home. He is active with many civic and community organizations. He earned with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kansas.
"Being a Kansan for me is not so much living in our beautiful state as it is taking my place at the end of a long list of wonderful people who not only had character, they were characters!"
Shelley Hickman Clark
Board: 2002-
Executive committee: 2018-
Shelley Hickman Clark has served on the faculty of the University of Kansas Law School since 1990, where she serves as associate dean and director of clinical programs. She is an expert in historic preservation law. Clark received the 1999 Immel Award for teaching excellence. She was supervising attorney then director of the Douglas County Legal Aid Clinical Program; she clerked for the Honorable Arthur J. Stanley, Jr., and the Honorable Richard D. Rogers, U. S. District Court; she served as pardon and extradition attorney for Governor John Carlin; and as hearing officer for the Kansas Corporation Commission before entering private practice in 1985. She is a member of the Douglas County Bar Association and Kansas Bar Association. She is involved in many community organizations including the Douglas County Historical Society, Lawrence Preservation Alliance Board, and Historic Mount Oread Fund. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas in 1971, and a juris doctorate in 1976. She was admitted to the Kansas Bar in 1976.
"The more I learn about the territorial history of Kansas, the more I understand and appreciate the personal sacrifices that very ordinary, but very extraordinary people made, to make Kansas free."
D. Cheryl Collins
Board: 1989-
Executive committee: 1996-2000
President: 1998-1999
Cheryl Collins has worked for the Riley County Historical Museum since 1980, serving as director since 1988. Since 1996 she has served as site administrator of Goodnow House State Historic Site, operated through a partnership between the Kansas Historical Society, Riley County, and the Riley County Historical Society. She continues to be active in her community and with history organizations. She received the Kansas Museums Association Presidential Award. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Kansas State University. Collins is a life member of the Kansas Historical Foundation.
"Kansas history is perhaps the most interesting, exciting and vital among all the 50 states. Being a Kansan gives one a direct link and connection to that history. I am grateful to have that tie and to have the opportunity to learn about and help preserve our history through the Kansas Historical Foundation."
Craig S. Crosswhite
Board: 2016-
Craig S. Crosswhite serves as county attorney in Ness County. He has operated a private law practice in Ness City. He has also served on the Historic Sites Board of Review.
Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield
Board: 2015-
Executive committee: 2016-
Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield is director of marketing and membership with Downtown Topeka, Inc. She was vice president of creative services and vice president of partnership engagement at Jones Huyett Partners. She is involved in many community organizations including MANA National and MANA de Topeka, Heartland Visioning, and is a founder and executive board member of Latino Leadership Collaborative of Kansas. She was the state director for Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens from 2013 to 2015; and Leadership Kansas class of 2013. A third generation Kansan, her grandparents immigrated from Mexico. She completed undergraduate work in computer information systems at Friends University and fine arts at Washburn University.
"When you understand the challenges and triumphs of your community, culture and state, you have a strong foundation from which to move opportunities forward. The Kansas Historical Foundation Board helps keep history accessible to everyone.
Crystal L. Walker Ecton
Board: 2007-
Executive committee: 2020-
Crystal L. Walker Ecton operates a farm and ranch in Gridley with her husband, Jarrod Ecton. She teaches social studies at Madison High School and serves as a mentor for new teachers. Previously she taught Kansas history and geography at Shawnee Heights Middle School where she coached basketball and volleyball. She attended Washburn University and was a two-time All-American in basketball. She was inducted into the Washburn Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
J. Eric Engstrom
Board: 1982-
Executive committee: 1982-2002, 2006-2009
Executive committee chair: 1999-2002
President: 1988-1989
J. Eric Engstrom has been an attorney and partner with Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, LLC, in Wichita for more than 34 years, where he has specialized in corporate and transactional work. He has lectured to many bar groups on commercial law, bankruptcy, non-profit entities, and art law subjects. He had been an associate with a large New York firm. He is a member of the American, Kansas, and Wichita Bar Associations. He was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves during the Vietnam War and earned two bronze stars. He has been involved in many professional and community organizations including the Legal Aid Society of Wichita; Wichita Bar Association, and the Historic Sites Board of Review, which approves nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. He received the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation in 1994 and an award from the Kansas Preservation Alliance on whose board he has also served. Engstrom authored two books and numerous articles on numismatics. In 1975 President Gerald Ford appointed him to the U. S. Assay Commission, which supervised components for the U.S. Mint to ensure they met specifications. Born in Wichita, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Dartmouth College in 1965. He was a recognized student of Balliol College, University of Oxford, from 1965 to 1966; earned a master’s degree in history from Wichita State University in 1966; and a juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School in 1969.
Dean Ferrell
Board: 2014-
Executive committee: 2015-
Dean Ferrell is president of Ferrell Construction in Topeka. He previously operated Dahlstrom-Ferrell Construction Company and served as president of Bowers Construction. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Washburn University in 1969, where he was a quarterback for the Washburn Ichabods.
James R. Hanni
Board: 2013-
James R. Hanni is vice president of public affairs for AAA of Kansas. He is an avid historian and has served on the board of the Gettysburg Foundation for many years.
Steve Haught
Board: 2016-
Steve Haught is an orthodontist in Emporia. He served for 16 years in the U.S. Army Dental Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1971. He is involved in professional and community organizations including the Kansas Dental Board, United Way, Granada Theater renovation project, and Boy Scouts.
David J. Heinemann
Board: 2009-
Dave Heinemann has served the 117th and 123rd districts in the Kansas House of Representatives from Garden City; he was first elected in 1968. He was general counsel and executive director for the Kansas Corporation Commission, special assistant to the secretary and head of administrative appeals for the Kansas Department of Revenue. He served by appointment of President Ronald Reagan as a U. S. commissioner and alternate chairman of the Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission. He is involved in numerous community organizations, including the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Kansas Guardianship Program, and the Kansas Oral History Project. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science and German from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1967, attended graduate school in International Relations at the University of Kansas; and received his juris doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in 1973. He is an avid photographer.
Katie Herrick
Board: 2006-
Katie Herrick is director of the Stanton County Museum in Johnson City. She and her husband, Kendall Herrick, operate a farm on his family’s original homestead. She is certified in secondary and elementary education and previously worked as secondary social studies teacher. She has been involved in many organizations including as president of the Kansas Museums’ Association, Girl Scouts leader, board member of the Bear Creek Literary Society, and a member of the Manter Dam Preservation. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Nazarene University and completed graduate work in culture and policy studies at the University at Buffalo.
Nancy E. Holt
Board: 1986-
Executive committee: 1995-2002, 2016-2018
Executive committee chair: 1999-2002
Nancy E. Holt is a community volunteer and retired from a career in health care. She has been involved in numerous community organizations including as president of the Republic County Historical Society, Belleville Main Street Program, on the City of Belleville election board. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and Denver, and Wichita State University.
"Being a Kansan by choice has always been a source of pride for me. I've enjoyed learning more about my state than most people who have spent their entire lives here. I am fascinated by the stories of real people who have made this state what it is; and the history that occurred here is one of importance to the whole United States."
Lidia J. Hook-Gray
Board: 1996-
Executive committee: 2013-
President: 2020-2021
Lidia Hook-Gray is broker/owner of Heritage Real Estate Group, Inc. in Liberal. She is involved in many community organizations including as secretary for Depot Heritage and the Seward County Historical Society, Memorial Library Foundation, Liberal Parks and Recreation board, and as president of the Southwest Kansas Board of Realtors and the Noon Kiwanis. She authored Liberal and Seward County, an Images of American pictorial history book. She is the proud owner of a 1920 tin-clad grain elevator in Kismet and a 1906 downtown building in Liberal that has been restored and re-purposed into her real estate office. She attended Seward County Community College, Liberal Area Vo-Tech, and the Real Estate Institute in Wichita.
"I love this state because of it's fascinating history, and I'm always amazed at the way the Historical Society keeps that great history alive. In turn, I'm flattered and honored to be a part of this wonderful organization."
Gennifer Golden House
Board: 2005, 2017-
Executive committee: 2019-2020
Gennifer Golden House is a senior vice president at the First National Bank of Goodland where she is in charge of electronic banking. She plans take over management of the family farm, formerly Golden Wheat Farms, which she has renamed Ad Astra. He family business includes farms and ranches in several northwest Kansas counties.
James F. Hoy
Board: 1992-
Executive committee: 1998-2001
President: 1999-2000
James F. Hoy has been a professor of English at Emporia State University since 1990. He previously served as chair of the department, taught in the El Dorado schools, and in Idaho. Hoy’s research includes medieval English literature, Western American literature, Australian Outback folklore, Great Plains folklore, and folklife of ranching. He has published several articles and books. Hoy co-founded a cowboy poetry gathering in Strong City in 1989. Born in the Flint Hills, he grew up on a stock ranch near Cassoday. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Kansas State University in 1961; master’s degree from Emporia State University in 1965; and a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1970.
Chris Hutton
Board: 2018-
Linda P. Jeffrey
Board: 2017-
Executive committee: 2019-
Linda P. Jeffrey is retired after serving as an attorney in the Kansas Attorney General’s office. She was previously county counselor in the Shawnee County Legal Department, and Topeka City Attorney. She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Topeka, a member of the Topeka Chapter of the Links, Inc., a silver life member of the NAACP, a trustee for the Church of God in Christ, and has been Sunday school superintendent for 22 years. Jeffrey is involved in many boards in Topeka and Shawnee County including Community Action, Inc., and the Women's Fund, Topeka Community Foundation. She earned bachelor's degree from Washburn University in 1974 and a juris doctorate from the Washburn School of Law in 1977.
William A. Kassebaum
Board: 2009-
Executive committee: 2011-2019
President: 2017-2018
William A. Kassebaum is county counselor and a rancher in Morris County. He served the 68th district in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004; as president of the Council Grove Area Foundation; secretary of KSCB, Inc., a radio broadcasting group in Liberal; and president of Landon Farms, Inc., in Morris County. He received a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 1984. He received a juris doctorate from Kansas University in 1988. The son of Nancy Landon Kassebaum and the grandson of Governor Alfred M. Landon, he grew up in Kansas.
Paula Landoll-Smith
Board: 2016-
Executive committee: 2017-
Paula Landoll-Smith works as marketing director for the Landoll Corporation in Marysville, which manufactures products in industries including transportation and agriculture. She earned a degree from Kansas State University in 1996.
Lyn Lee
Board: 2017-
Lyn Lee is retired from farming. He is originally from Smith County, where he and his wife, Janis, still own the family farm. He attended Fort Hays State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Kansas State University in 1968.
Brad Loveless
Board: 2018-
Executive committee: 2019-2020
Brad Loveless was raised in Ohio. He received a bachelor's degree in zoology from Ohio State University and a master's degree in biology from the University of Kansas. He has worked for Westar Energy for 32 years, spending his first 12 of those years at Wolf Creek Nuclear Station in Burlington. While at Westar Energy he helped plan company actions to address climate change and led the Green Team, a volunteer group of employees and retirees working on habitat improvement, environmental access and education, and enhancement of sensitive species for 29 years. In 2019 he was named secretary of Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
In 2013 he received the Kansas State Forester’s Award for Community Forestry. He was recognized in 2009 by the Kansas Wildlife Federation as Wildlife Conservationist of the Year and by the Kansas Association of Conservation and Environmental Education as the Strickler Award winner for Environmental Education. He serves on the board of the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, the Kansas Water Authority, the Kansas Forest Service Advisory Council, and is chair of the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams.
William Walt Menninger
Board: 1999-, 2015-
Executive committee: 2019-
William Walter Menninger served as chairman of the Menninger Trustees. He was a psychiatrist with the Menninger Foundation from 1964 to 2001, director from 1983 to 1988, chief of staff from 1984 to 1993, and CEO from 1994 to 2001. Early in his career he was associated with Topeka State Hospital. He served with the U.S. Public Health Service corps from 1959 to 1964. He was a clinical professor with the University of Kansas School of Medicine, consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Topeka Police Department, member of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, the National Institute of Corrections, and the Institute of Medicine. He has received honorary doctorates from Dominican University, Middlebury College, Washburn University, Ottawa University, and Heidelberg College, and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Psychiatric Association. His community service involvement includes local and national Boy Scouts of America, First Presbyterian Church, and on advisory board of the University of Kansas Hall Center for the Humanities. He received a degree from Stanford University in 1953, a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, degrees from the Menninger School of Psychiatry in 1961, and the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis in 1978.
"It's important to catalogue our experiences, to be shared with and enhance the lives of those who follow."
Amanda Minton
Board: 2020-
Amanda Minton lives in Pittsburg where she received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Pittsburg State University. She is currently director and curator of the Crawford County Historical Museum, where for five years she had been a volunteer at the museum. She also serves as a substitute teacher at St. Mary's-Colgan High School in Pittsburg when needed. For 10 years Minton taught English, world, and American history at Pittsburg State. Minton has written a series of short historical stories about Crawford County for the Morning Sun in Pittsburg.
Her community leadership includes serving as co-president of the P.E.O. Chapter CJ, president of Fine Arts, Booster Club, co-chair of Our lady of Lourdes all school and church auctions. She volunteered and helped with fund raiding for the chamber of commerce and YMCA and held annual food drives for Wesley House and the Gorilla Campus Pantry. She is a member of the Kiwanis and was advisor for Circle K (college Kiwanis.) She is a volunteer for the Christmas distribution in Crawford County.
“I am so excited to be a part of the team! The opportunity to be on the Kansas Historical Foundation board. We are a family who are proud to say we are Gorillas and love to give back to a community that has given us a wonderful place to raise our family. Just as our motto for Circle K is, Live to Serve, Love to Serve, I look forward to being on the board to help keep history alive and share stories of the Kansans who came before us and those that continue to make a difference in our great state.”
Rita L. Noll
Board: 2013-
Executive committee: 2015-
Rita L. Noll is chief counsel and deputy director of the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund. She served six years as chair of the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund. She was co-chair of Kansas Native Sons and Daughters, treasurer of the Kansas Day Club, and president of the Kansas Women Attorney's Association. Noll received her bachelor's degree in history and political science from Washburn University, and juris doctorate from Washburn School of Law. She grew up on a farm near Effingham.
"Kansas has a unique and vibrant history. It is important that we not only preserve our history but share it with current and future generations."
John D. Pinegar
Board: 2007-
Executive committee: 2009-
John David Pinegar is president of the governmental and public relations firm of Pinegar, Smith & Associates, Inc., which he co-founded in 1991. He has more than 36 years of experience in Kansas politics and governmental relations, including as chief of staff to the Governor of Kansas, deputy director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, research assistant to the Kansas Attorney General, and assistant to the president of the Kansas Senate. He has been involved in a variety of civic and community activities including a trustee with Washburn University Foundation, board member of the Dole Institute of Politics, president of the Washburn Alumni Association, president of Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas, and member of the Regional Council of Children’s Mercy Hospital. He is active in First Presbyterian Church of Topeka and was inducted into the Garden City High School Hall of Fame in 2016. He is engaged in managing and operating farming interests in southwest Kansas. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Washburn University and has completed graduate coursework at both Washburn University and the University of Kansas.
Jay Price
Board: 2018-
A native of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jay M. Price holds a bachelor's degree in history from the University of New Mexico, a master's in government from the College of William and Mary, and a doctoral degree in history from Arizona State University.
Following graduation, Jay went to work for the U.S. Department of the Army at the Presidio of Monterey as part of a team of historians researching the awarding of medals and honors to Asian American World War II veterans. In 1999 he moved to Kansas to direct the public history program at Wichita State University, now the local and community history program. In addition, he has served on the advisory boards of the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology, the Wichita State University museum studies certificate program, and the Pizza Hut Museum.
Since coming to Kansas he has turned his interests to studying the social and cultural history of the Great Plains, particularly as reflected in the built environment. His academic works include Temples for a Modern God: Religious Architecture in Postwar America and Gateways to the Southwest: The Story of Arizona State Parks as well as articles on religious architecture, regionalism, and ethnic communities on the Great Plains. He authored and co-authored a number of photo histories of Wichita area topics, several involving his students. His other projects have covered topics from entrepreneurship to local rock music. He is currently leading a team of students and artists to tell the history of the Wichita history through a trilogy of graphic novels.
He has served on the boards of Humanities Kansas, the Kansas Association of Historians, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Old Cowtown Museum, Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Places, the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review, the University Press of Kansas, and Lone Chimney Films. Jay is currently chair of the department of history at Wichita State University, where he also directs the local and community history program and the Great Plains studies certificate program.
James Reynolds
Board: 1999-
James Reynolds is a 45-year veteran of stage, screen, and television. He has played Abe Carver on NBC’s Days of Our Lives since 1981. He joined Generations, in 1991, playing business tycoon Henry Marshall and earning an Emmy nomination. He operated a film and TV production company in Kansas, toured a one-man show, and with his wife, Lissa, operated Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena, which raises money for South Pasadena High School and the Pasadena chapter of Ronald McDonald's House. He has been involved with the National Preservation and California Preservation groups, as spokesperson for the National Children Asthma Center, PTA, YMCA, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, the National Jewish Hospital, and the Boy Scouts. He established Big Men Stuff, which produces clothing with slogans to fight abuse. He grew up in Oskaloosa and joined the Marines, where he gained experience as a newspaper and battlefield reporter in Viet Nam. After the war he attended Washburn University, majoring in pre-law and journalism, and discovering acting.
He is interested in the history of the West, African American history, and Kansas history.
"It was great growing up in a small town."
Jennie Adams Rose
Board: 2009-
Jennie Adams Rose was the executive assistant for First Lady Linda Graves at Cedar Crest, where she directed renovations of the residence. She has served as a Kansas state legislative lobbyist, for Kansas Children's Service League, for U.S. Senator Sheila Frahm, and State Senate President Bud Burke. She is interested in researching historic topics.
Hal Ross
Board: 1994-
Executive committee: 1998-2019
President: 2004-2005
Hal Ross has been a Wichita attorney in private practice since 1974, who has also focused on milling, farming, real estate, and oil interests. He was previously involved with his family’s milling business. He established a fund at Kansas State University in 1968 to build a modern mill on campus, which was named in his honor. He helped restore Champney's Old Oxford Mill in Sumner County, built in 1874, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. He co-authored Peerless Princess of the Plains with post card views of early Wichita and enjoys collecting Kansas territorial covers and letters. He is a member of the Franklin County Historical Society, Brown County Historical Society, and has been a trustee and treasurer with the Sedgwick County Historical Society. He grew up in Ottawa, working summers in his family’s flour mill. He earned a degree in flour milling administration from Kansas State University in 1949; and law degree from the University of Kansas in 1952.
Baha Safadi
Board: 2017-
Baha Safadi has served as president of Delta Corporation of Kansas since 1991.He is an advisor to the Lawrence city government and law enforcement, and chair of the Lawrence Alliance, an advisory board to the city. He is consultant to the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences on matters of diversity and the celebration of multi ethnicity and was director of the Islamic Center of Lawrence where he still serves as an advisor. He is an alumnus of the University of Kansas.
John Salisbury
Board: 2015-
John Salisbury was director of Merchants National Bank and its successors. He has served on numerous boards including as chair of Stormont Vail Health board, Topeka Community Foundation, Mount Hope Cemetery, Florence Crittenton Services, Topeka and Shawnee County Library Foundation, the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Topeka, Salvation Army, and Brewster Place. He has been a Republican precinct committeeman, delivered Meals on Wheels, and volunteers at the Kansas Museum of History. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He served two years with the U.S. Army counterintelligence in Europe.
Dru J. Sampson
Board: 2001-
Executive committee: 2005-211
President: 2009-2010
Dru Sampson has been involved for more than 30 years in nonprofit management in Nebraska and Kansas, most recently as a professional fundraiser. She has been involved in numerous community organizations including the Women Build 2007 for the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, and Van Go Mobile Arts, Inc., board in Lawrence. She earned a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas.
Olga Smith
Board: 2016-
Olga Smith is a community volunteer. She helped her parents open the restaurant Pepe and Chela’s in Topeka in 1986. The family restaurant specialized in Mexican cuisine, until 2013.
John Stauffer
Board: 2014-
John H. Stauffer served as president, chairman and director for Stauffer Communications from 1955 until his retirement in 1995. He continues to serve on the Topeka Capital-Journal editorial board, He was editor and general manager of the Kansas City Kansan for 15 years, previously he was editor of the Newton Kansan. Stauffer has served in leadership roles in professional and community organizations in Newton, Kansas City, and Topeka, including the Kansas Press Association, the Kansas Press Foundation, Inland Press Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors, American Newspaper Publishers Association, the Kansas/Missouri Press, William Allen White Foundation and School of Journalism, Capper Foundation, Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Topeka, and Kansas City, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce. He has been involved with hospital and health organizations, school, and financial organizations, including the KU Alumni Association, KU Endowment Association, Hall Center for the Humanities, and the Washburn University Foundation. He was inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2011 and named Shriner of the Year. He received Washburn University's President's Award, Topeka Community Foundation's Philanthropist of the Year, Fred Ellsworth Award, and Kappa Tau Alpha Outstanding Publisher, Boy Scout Jayhawk Council Distinguished Citizen, among many others. He began his career as a copy boy at the Topeka State Journal. He served as a lieutenant with the 27th Infantry, 25th Division, during the Korean War. Born in Arkansas City, he graduated from Culver Military Academy. He received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, where he served as managing editor of the University Daily Kansan, and was president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.
“All the outstanding qualities of Kansas and its people make it one of the finest places to grow, to work and to raise a family.”
Herschel L. Stroud
Board: 2002-
Executive committee: 2019-
Herschel L. Stroud operated a Topeka dental practice until his retirement and was dental consultant to Forbes Air Force Base Hospital and the Menninger Psychiatric Hospital. He has received numerous awards for outstanding service in his field. His many interests include being a Civil War reenactor, portraying a brigade surgeon and serving as a lecturer on medicine during the American Civil War. He is a co-partner of the Kings of Swing Big Band Dance Orchestra, where he serves as vocalist and trumpeter. He represented Kansas on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He has been involved in numerous professional and community organizations including Topeka Festival Singers; Kansas Blue Cross Blue Shield; Society for the Preservation of Oral Health; 100th anniversary state meeting of the Kansas State Dental Association; Delta Dental Insurance Company of Kansas. He helped found Blessing of the Animals and the Topeka Jayhawk Club Alumni Pep Band. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, the U.S. Air Force, and is a retired captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He completed undergraduate work at the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, and Phillips University. He received his professional education at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago; Chicago College of Optometry, and University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry. He holds a bachelor’s degree, doctor of optometry, and doctor of dental surgery.
Paul K. Stuewe
Board: 1992-
Executive committee: 1998-, 2020-
President: 2015-2016
Paul K. Stuewe is an advanced placement European history teacher at Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, where he was chosen Master Teacher of the Year in 2008. He is as an adjunct history professor at the University of Kansas. Stuewe edited Kansas Revisited: Historical Images and Perspectives, in its third edition. He conducts historical tours in Lawrence on territorial Kansas and Quantrill’s raid, and has been involved on the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission, Lawrence 150 Commission, and Heritage Committee. He received the Lawrence Mayor’s Excellence in Education Award in 2005. He served on the board of the Lawrence Schools Foundation Board. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Washburn University in 1972; two master’s degrees, one in curriculum and instruction from the University of Kansas in 1976, and one in history, from the University of Kansas in 1979.
Galen Swenson
Board: 2016-
Galen Swenson owns and operates a farm and ranch with 5,000 acres in wheat and sorghum and 200 head of beef cattle in Salina. In 2001 the U.S. Department of Agriculture appointed him to the Farm Service Agency in Kansas. He serves on the board of the Greater Salina Community Foundation and Bethany Home. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Kansas State University.
Loren L. Taylor
Board: 2002-
Loren L. Taylor is an attorney and consults in law enforcement. He is retired as Kansas City, Kansas Police Department legal advisor. He teaches classes for the Kansas City Police Academy and was a part-time instructor at Kansas City Kansas Community College for 25 years. He retired as a colonel from the army. He was admitted to practice before the Kansas Supreme Court, the U.S. Military Court of Appeals, and the U. S. Supreme Court. He has written several books on local history and one on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is the founding editor of The Historical Journal of Wyandotte County, which is published on a quarterly basis. He has been involved with numerous boards including Kansas City Landmarks Commission, Wyandotte County Historical Society, Kansas City Ethnic Council, Bar Na Maidne (Irish Club), Reserve Officers Association, Croatian American Club of Wyandotte County, German American Edelweiss Society, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, life member in the International Association of Police Chiefs, Sons of the American Revolution, Croatian Fraternal Union, St. John’s Club, Emerald Society, St. David Society, Kansas Peace Officers Association, and St. Andrews Society. He received a bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from University of Missouri at Kansas City; completed legal training at the National Law Institute at Quantico, Virginia, and in military and governmental law at various other locations.
Ruth Teichman
Board: 2016-
Ruth Teichman is a farmer and banker in Stafford. She served the 33rd district in the Kansas Senate from 2001 to 2013, and previously on the Stafford board of education for 20 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University.
James A. Thomas
Board: 1998-
James A. Thomas is a senior vice president in commercial loans for Bank of the Prairie in Olathe. He has been involved with numerous community organizations including the Salvation Army Advisory Board of Greater Kansas City; UMKC Alumni Association; Phi Alpha Theta; Omicron Delta Kappa; Ducks Unlimited Art Show; Fox 4 Love Fund for Children; United Way; and President's Club of Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. He has followed the Oregon Trail from Independence to Oregon City three times, enjoys traveling the Santa Fe Trail, visiting the missions of New Mexico and California, and seeing Civil War battlefields. His interests include World War I and World War II history, the Rocky Mountain fur trade, exploration of the West, and Native American culture. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He received a master’s degree from Stonier Graduate School of Banking in Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Mary Ann Thompson
Board: 1998-
Mary Ann Thompson operated the Dorothy D. Richards Kansas Room at Hays Public Library, a special collection about Kansas, the history of the West, and genealogy. She edited the book, George Armstrong Custer’s Winners of the West, and produced, Hays in the 1930s, a photographic history of the community. She has served on numerous boards including the Humane Society of the High Plains, Hays Arts Council, Hays Days Festival, Eisenhower Centennial, Mountain Plains Library Association, and the University of Wyoming Alumni Band Association. She was a historic tour guide for the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, community liaison for Encore, a fine arts series at Fort Hays State University, on the Cottonwood Chamber Music Festival committee. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wyoming, a master’s degree in history from the University of Kansas, and a master’s degree in library science from the University of Denver.
"Kansas is a rare place where I can indulge in two of my favorite historical fields, the Civil War and the Indian wars. Most states can claim one or the other, but Kansas has it all!"
Richard B. Walker
Board: 2000-
Executive committee: 2015-
Richard B. Walker has served as a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals since 2015. For 31 years he was a judge on the Ninth Judicial District. He had been an attorney in private practice in Newton, served four years on the Kansas Adult Authority, the 72nd district in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1973 to 1977. He has been involved in several community organizations including as pack chairman and den leader for Boy Scouts, and with the Newton Rotary Club. He is interested military history and the history of central Kansas. He received a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College in 1970, and a juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1973.
Dave Webb
Board: 1994-
Dave Webb retired from full-time work at the Kansas Heritage Center and is currently working on another book in his series of 999 Kansas Characters. From 1970 to 1992 he taught school in Scott City, Garden City, and his hometown of Protection. For 32 years he authored and designed learning materials published by the Kansas Heritage Center, part of USD 443, Dodge City Public Schools, including 399 Kansas Characters. He has served on numerous local and state boards and enjoys delving into stories of his native state. Webb is a life member of the Kansas Historical Society.
"History is much more than dusty files full of forgotten facts. It is people—intriguing personalities —just waiting to introduce themselves to current Kansas residents of any age."
June S. Windscheffel
Board: 1975-
Executive committee: 1982-
President: 1984-1985
June Stapleton Hill Windscheffel worked as secretary for the Kansas Turnpike Authority, its first female employee. She was secretary for the state legislature and executive director of the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas for 30 years. She has been involved with numerous organizations including Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Kansas Press Women, Topeka Opera Society Concert Association, YWCA, State Board of Mortuary Arts, Kansas Turnpike Authority, Shawnee County Historical Society, Ride Into History, Shawnee Choral Society, the League of Women Voters, PEO Sisterhood, Minerva Study Club, Topeka Woman’s Club, Civic Music Club, Kansas Corral of Westerners, First United Methodist Church, Civil War Roundtable, Topeka Citizens Academy, and as a volunteer at historic Ward-Meade Park. She co-produced videos of Kansas first ladies with WIBW-TV for the Historical Society archives and assisted with KTWU fundraising events. She was named Distinguished Kansan by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas in 2001, Woman of Distinction for the Career Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association in 2013, Zonta Club Woman of the Year, and Kansas Press Women Award. She grew up in Hiawatha, attended Clark School of Business in Topeka, Washburn University in Topeka, and Highland College in Highland.
Jack Wisman
Board: 2015-
Jack Wisman is the third-generation owner of Einstein's Outdoor Outfitters, which has been in business for 106 years, the oldest retail business in Topeka. A native Kansan, he serves on the board of the Topeka Cemetery, and volunteers as a tour guide at the Kansas State Capitol.
"I've always been interested in immigration, and what motivates someone to risk everything to come to a new country. Reading about Kansas history, which was and still is affected by immigration, is part of that process."
