Meet our current board members!
Elizabeth Umshler - President
Eagle resident, Elizabeth has been a member of KCCB for 5 years and is the proud mother of a daughter and fur babies. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and likes to golf in her free time. Elizabeth decided to become a member of KCCB after doing several litter cleanups in Eagle coordinated by KCCB as she wanted to get more involved. She is very passionate about beautification in the county and doing what she can to support environmental education and betterment for the community. Her dream for KCCB is to continue to engage and educate younger generations so they can have a better understanding of the importance of recycling, composting and creating litter free environments.
Lois Froistad - Vice President
Lois has served on the KCCB board for 5 years and has served the role of treasurer and is currently serving as Vice President. Lois has helped with litter cleanups, electronic recycling events, the Cass County Fair, projects for school eco-clubs and has taught repurpose classes on numerous occasions. Lois is a tree hugger and loves the outdoors, she loves to garden, bike, kayak, hike and take long walks. She has planted over 500 trees and has picked up over 500lbs of litter over the years! She also enjoys camping trips in her minivan, on one occasion, she camped for 11 days on a trip to the Atlantic coast with a friend. Lois joined KCCB because she said from a young age, she has cared deeply about protecting the environment. She was a member of SEHA (student environmental health organization) in college. She has always felt a need to protect mother earth and all her creatures. “With KCCB, it’s on a more personal level than other environmental endeavors as it’s contributing locally.” Lois would like to inspire board members and the community to get more involved with KCCB to grow the organization and believes that volunteers and participation are the keys to success.
Debbie Vidlak - Secretary
Debbie, a resident of Union, has been a member of KCCB for 7 years and has served in several different roles over the years. Debbie has a masters in pathology and microbiology and currently works at UNMC as the project coordinator for the Buffet Cancer Research Center Clinical Trials Office. In her spare time, Debbie volunteers with several nonprofits focusing on community improvement, sustainability and animal rescue. Her passion is community cat welfare, and she volunteers as a TNR (trap, neuter, release) coordinator for a local rescue group. Debbie learned about KCCB through a mutual acquaintance who was very passionate about the programs with KCCB. The values of KCCB aligned well with Debbie’s and she feels engaged and invested in making positive change in her community serving on the KCCB board. Debbie’s goals for KCCB are to work towards long-term sustainability such as waste reduction and recycling. In addition, to have the core goal to continue beautifying the community.
Rachel Brandenburg – Treasurer
Rachel has served on the KCCB board for 4 years and has lived in Cass County for 9 years with her husband, three kids and two beloved dogs, they reside in Beaver Lake. Originally from Rural Nebraska, her passion for environmental health began early on a memorable 3rd grade litter cleanup field day. Rachel said, “despite an unfortunate incident with broken glass that required stitches, she felt a strong pride in contributing to our community’s cleanliness.” Outside of KCCB, Rachel enjoys the outdoors-walking the dogs, exploring the county or going to events with her kids. She also enjoys crocheting and crafting. She especially loves KCCB’s annual “Trash to Treasure” event where kids use recycled materials often thrown away to make a new treasured item. Rachel became a board member as she was drawn to an organization that prioritizes environmental education and advocacy for a cleaner and greener future. She is grateful for the practices of reduce- reuse-recycle and admires KCCB’s Director, Dana Stahl whose passion and commitment drives our mission and vision forward. Rachel’s dreams for KCCB are to continue to grow our youth engagement within the organization and encourage young minds to take an active role in environmental stewardship which is crucial for sustainability. She also hopes that KCCB continues to grow a stronger volunteer network throughout Cass County, fostering a community-driven approach to environmental conservation.
Steve Dodd
Retired U.S. Navy, Plattsmouth resident, Steve is a former president of KCCB since 2021. Steve and his wife Julie are both active members of the county recycling and composting communities and are constantly searching for new ways to reduce their footprint on the planet. Steve’s hobbies include motorcycling and volunteering for many organizations such as KCCB and veterans’ organizations. Steve decided to get involved with KCCB when he discovered that Cass County doesn’t have a landfill and exports all its waste to Iowa and parts of Nebraska. With this discovery, Steve felt it a duty to work towards a more sustainable future by working towards a circular economy where everything gets reused, recycled or composted. One large project that Steve assists with is the Environmental Fair and the St. Johns Fish Fry’s in which a new pilot program using compostables and recyclables diverting over 1,000lbs of landfill waste.