Executive Committee Leadership
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Co-President: Rev. Tobi White
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Pastor Tobi White grew up in western Kansas. She attended Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Religion. After a brief stint as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in Lincoln, she attended Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA to earn her MDiv. She was called to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Lincoln as Associate Pastor and has served there since 2009 as Associate, Interim, and finally Senior Pastor. She is passionate about justice issues, and her congregation is a leader in prison ministry. Last year Rev. Tobi served as Justice in Action’s Secretary.
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Co-President: Rev. Kirstie Engel
First United Methodist Church of Lincoln
Rev. Kirstie Jeanette Engel is an ordained Elder in the Great Plains Conference, wife of Stephen Robert Engel, mother of Shaya and Keera Garnes and stepmother of Ella and Ashton Engel. Shew was raised in Brooklyn NY and later received her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University. She then earned her Masters of Divinity at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa Oklahoma and is pursuing her Doctorate of Ministry in Homiletics at Phillips Theological Seminary. Recently, Kirstie served as the associate pastor at St. Mark UMC in Wichita Kansas and St. Paul UMC in Lincoln, NE. She is ecstatic to be the Spiritual Leader of First UMC Lincoln located on the steps of Nebraska Wesleyan University Campus. She will strive to empower everyone to know how much they are loved and to become their best selves!
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Vice President: Rev. Thomas Dummermuth
Eastridge Presbyterian Church
Rev. Thomas Dummermuth is originally from Switzerland, where he earned a Master of Theology from the University of Bern. After two years in West Virginia, he joined Eastridge Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, as Associate Pastor in 2013. Thomas has a deep passion for fostering understanding and community across faiths and cultures. His migrant story enriches his commitment to building bridges in “the in-between spaces” of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. Thomas and his wife, Jenn, a Nebraska native, have three children—Micah, Jonah, and Vienna—and a lively yellow lab named Leo.
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Treasurer: Dick Vautravers
St. Marks United Methodist Church
Born and raised in Grand Island, I am a 1969 graduate of the actuarial science program at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, with my degree in Economics. Following graduation, I worked at Ameritas for nearly 37 years. I worked in a variety of actuarial and marketing positions. I have been married for 52 years to my wife, Eileen, a retired Lincoln pediatrician. Since retiring, I have been active taking OLLI life-long learning classes at UNL. I was the Treasurer of Wellington Greens Homeowners Association for a number of years. My wife and I are lay representatives for St. Mark’s United Methodist Church and are both on the Board of KidZone, a childcare center affiliated with St. Mark’s. I have been involved with Justice in Action since the fall of 2022, and have served on the Finance Committee.
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Judy Hart: Secretary
Unitarian Church of Lincoln
Judy Hart is a member of the Unitarian Church of Lincoln. Ms. Hart founded and managed two non-profit organizations in Lincoln - in 1993, Angels Theatre Company which continues to inspire and connect theatre and the community, and in 2014, Camp Summergold, which did not survive the pandemic years. Judy is an adjunct faculty member at UNL in the Theatre department, a Teammate, and a proud Justice in Action Team Leader who serves on the Mental Health research team.
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Member At Large: Rev. Andy Frazier
Christ United Methodist Church
Andy will try anything once:
-waxing his head (long before he'd go bald the old fashioned way)
-skydiving (he'd highly recommend)
In this pursuit of life experience and meaning, Andy stumbled into some things he'd try more than once:
-dating his wife, Katherine (amazingly, one very awkward first date over a McDonald's breakfast 17 years ago wasn't a dealbreaker for her)
-having kids with her (they're up to 3 beautiful, squirrely kids so far)
-working on pursuing his lifelong calling to be a pastor (he started saying "I want to be a pastor when I grow up" when he was 4 or 5)
13 years into full time pastoral ministry, he's still pursuing that call daily, and a big part of that pursuit is his work with Justice in Action.
Interestingly, Andy's initial involvement in justice work started more out of his commitment to try anything once (so he thought), but it soon became clear that this was among the most important, faithful works he'd been invited to join.
Andy is honored to serve as an At Large Member of Justice in Action's Executive Committee.
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Member At Large: John Andrews
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
John Andrews is a cradle Episcopalian having been baptized at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Lincoln in 1954. He has been passionate about social justice since encountering racism directed at his friends when he was a student at Lincoln High School. John graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1983 with a bachelor’s in secondary education after serving four years in the U.S. Navy. He also received a master’s in educational administration from Grand Canyon University. As the owner of Apartment Movers of Lincoln, he received the Presidential Service Award from the Points of Light Foundation for moving women and children who were victims of domestic violence away from their abusers at no cost. President Clinton presented the award to John in the Rose Garden of the White House. John also taught middle and high school on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. There he was privileged to learn about a culture much different than his own and learn about the racism toward Native Americans. After moving back to Nebraska from the Navajo Nation, John taught English to international students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before retiring. Through Justice in Action, he has found away to live out his faith by seeking justice for people on the margins of society.