Quotes
"I felt good helping make a blanket for abused kids."
- Sarah, 10
"To be who you are and not try to be someone else." - Red Wing parent
"I felt good helping make a blanket for abused kids."
- Sarah, 10
"To be who you are and not try to be someone else." - Red Wing parent
About Us
Elaine O'Keefe - Executive Director
Elaine was introduced to the idea of Girls on the Run® in 1999, when she and Debra Betterley (Red Wing program founder) were on the staff of the Red Wing Family YWCA. Betterley read about Molly Barker and her vision for Girls on the Run in Runners World magazine. It sounded like a great idea then and continues to inspire her today. Elaine has been involved in Girls on the Run® since 2000 as a 5 K event volunteer, running buddy, bin builder, coach, trainer, and program director. In 2009, she became the Executive Director of the Girls on the Run of Bluff Country.
Elaine is a Licensed Social Worker in Minnesota, and additionally holds her MN School Social Workers License. She earned her BA in Social Work from the College of St. Benedict, a small liberal arts college for women, in St. Joseph MN. Her professional experience includes work in the areas of residential juvenile treatment, juvenile county corrections, wellness, education and health care. Elaine and her husband, Stephen, moved to Red Wing in 1994, and enjoy raising their three chldren, Connor, Daniel & Sarah in this historical river town.
According to Elaine, “Girls on the Run® is, without a doubt, one of the best programs that I have seen available to girls, their families and the women who volunteer. Data shows that Girls on the Run® is an effective prevention program, meeting the needs of girls in a fun, non-threatening, memorable way. Girls on the Run® has had a ripple effect that is tremendously powerful for any community."
Contact information: 651.380.3113
Email:seokeefe@msn.com
Elaine O'Keefe - Executive Director
Elaine was introduced to the idea of Girls on the Run® in 1999, when she and Debra Betterley (Red Wing program founder) were on the staff of the Red Wing Family YWCA. Betterley read about Molly Barker and her vision for Girls on the Run in Runners World magazine. It sounded like a great idea then and continues to inspire her today. Elaine has been involved in Girls on the Run® since 2000 as a 5 K event volunteer, running buddy, bin builder, coach, trainer, and program director. In 2009, she became the Executive Director of the Girls on the Run of Bluff Country.
Elaine is a Licensed Social Worker in Minnesota, and additionally holds her MN School Social Workers License. She earned her BA in Social Work from the College of St. Benedict, a small liberal arts college for women, in St. Joseph MN. Her professional experience includes work in the areas of residential juvenile treatment, juvenile county corrections, wellness, education and health care. Elaine and her husband, Stephen, moved to Red Wing in 1994, and enjoy raising their three chldren, Connor, Daniel & Sarah in this historical river town.
According to Elaine, “Girls on the Run® is, without a doubt, one of the best programs that I have seen available to girls, their families and the women who volunteer. Data shows that Girls on the Run® is an effective prevention program, meeting the needs of girls in a fun, non-threatening, memorable way. Girls on the Run® has had a ripple effect that is tremendously powerful for any community."
Contact information: 651.380.3113
Email:seokeefe@msn.com
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Staff and Board of Directors
Martha Harris - Program Director
Martha moved to Red Wing in 1994 from Black Mountain, NC. While in Minnesota she has worked as a guide for Wilderness Inquiry, a non-profit organization that helps people from all walks of life to personally experience the natural world, as an Outdoor Education Instructor for the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center, and currently teaches Silver Sneakers fitness programs for the Red Wing YMCA. She has developed and coordinates an annual Spring Nature Days program for the Kindergarten Students in the Red Wing School District.
Martha started working with the Girls on the Run® Program as a volunteer Coach in 2004. “After working with Adolescents at Children’s Psychiatric Institute and the N.C. Department of Corrections Therapeutic Wilderness Program, Camp Woodson, I saw the importance and need for early intervention and life skills education. "Girls on the Run® was the program I was looking for!” She graduated with a B. A. degree in Recreation Administration with a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Certification from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Martha enjoys reading, cross country skiing, growing garlic, raising chickens, and most of all the everyday adventure of raising two incredible daughters, Emily and Willa with her husband Brad.
Contact information: 651.528.3166
Email: runnergirl@redwing.net
Tia Schimek - Goodhue Liaison
Tia helped to bring the girls of Goodhue both the Girls on the Run and Girls on Track programs. She has been a liaison since 2006. She works for the Goodhue School District.
Email: tschimek@goodhue.k12.mn.us
Margaret Huber - Northfield Liaison
A resident of Northfield for sixteen years, Margaret received an undergraduate degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Upon graduation she worked for Opportunity Workshop, an organization that instructs mentally handicapped adults in the areas of academic, vocational and living skills. Margaret’s focus shifted when she and her husband began a family. Through those years she was actively involved in her children’s school, Church and various clubs.
Margaret returned to college during fall ’06 to attain additional education for a Minnesota licensure. She was introduced to the Girls on the Run program through a visiting friend. This friend enthusiastically spoke about her involvement in The Girls on the Run program that she initiated in Idaho. Having two teenage girls of her own, Margaret saw the relevance of the program in her own community. She contacted the neighboring community of Red Wing for information and later support. In spring '08, the first Girls on the Run program began in Northfield with a group of 17 girls meeting at Greenvale Park Elementary School. Margaret has since earned an additional degree in Elementary Education from The College of St. Catherine. Her plans include a teaching position and the growth and continuance of Girls on the Run in her community.
Contact information: 612.414.5782
Email: mmhuber4@gmail.com
Board of Directors
Martha moved to Red Wing in 1994 from Black Mountain, NC. While in Minnesota she has worked as a guide for Wilderness Inquiry, a non-profit organization that helps people from all walks of life to personally experience the natural world, as an Outdoor Education Instructor for the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center, and currently teaches Silver Sneakers fitness programs for the Red Wing YMCA. She has developed and coordinates an annual Spring Nature Days program for the Kindergarten Students in the Red Wing School District.
Martha started working with the Girls on the Run® Program as a volunteer Coach in 2004. “After working with Adolescents at Children’s Psychiatric Institute and the N.C. Department of Corrections Therapeutic Wilderness Program, Camp Woodson, I saw the importance and need for early intervention and life skills education. "Girls on the Run® was the program I was looking for!” She graduated with a B. A. degree in Recreation Administration with a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Certification from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Martha enjoys reading, cross country skiing, growing garlic, raising chickens, and most of all the everyday adventure of raising two incredible daughters, Emily and Willa with her husband Brad.
Contact information: 651.528.3166
Email: runnergirl@redwing.net
Tia Schimek - Goodhue Liaison
Tia helped to bring the girls of Goodhue both the Girls on the Run and Girls on Track programs. She has been a liaison since 2006. She works for the Goodhue School District.
Email: tschimek@goodhue.k12.mn.us
Margaret Huber - Northfield Liaison
A resident of Northfield for sixteen years, Margaret received an undergraduate degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Upon graduation she worked for Opportunity Workshop, an organization that instructs mentally handicapped adults in the areas of academic, vocational and living skills. Margaret’s focus shifted when she and her husband began a family. Through those years she was actively involved in her children’s school, Church and various clubs.
Margaret returned to college during fall ’06 to attain additional education for a Minnesota licensure. She was introduced to the Girls on the Run program through a visiting friend. This friend enthusiastically spoke about her involvement in The Girls on the Run program that she initiated in Idaho. Having two teenage girls of her own, Margaret saw the relevance of the program in her own community. She contacted the neighboring community of Red Wing for information and later support. In spring '08, the first Girls on the Run program began in Northfield with a group of 17 girls meeting at Greenvale Park Elementary School. Margaret has since earned an additional degree in Elementary Education from The College of St. Catherine. Her plans include a teaching position and the growth and continuance of Girls on the Run in her community.
Contact information: 612.414.5782
Email: mmhuber4@gmail.com
Board of Directors
Laurie Andrews [Secretary] lives in Hager City WI with her husband of 25 years. Currently President of the Ellsworth Community School Board, she has a deep interest in education. Laurie feels that Girls on the Run is the right way to help girls become confident enough in themselves to be open to learning all they can to achieve great things in their life. My daughter will soon graduate from the University of Minnesota in finance and will go into the world confident that she can achieve all her goals. My son is a freshman at the U of M and is also confident that he can achieve his goal of becoming a mechanical engineer. Growing up is tough, but giving children and especially girls the tools to know themselves and be confident in themselves - we all win.
Deb Gerads-Brodie has been interested in a healthy lifestyle for children for many years. The chance to serve on the board of GOTR was too intriguing to let pass. She has been a teacher for the Red Wing Public Schools for over 30 years, and has served on the District's Health and Wellness Committee. Deb is married and has two adult children.
Debbie Knowlton [Treasurer] graduated from Red Wing High School and earned a business degree from Red Wing Vo-Tech. She has worked in the banking profession for 23 years - as a bank officer for 10 years - and currently as a consumer loan officer at White Rock Bank. She has been a member of Noontime Kiwanis, recently accepting a position on their board. Debbie and her husband Rick, who works for the city of Red Wing, have two children, Lucas who is in the 8th grade at the middle school and Ashley who is in the 5th grade at Burnside and a participant in the GOTR program. "I think it's a wonderful program that makes a difference in the lives of girls, teaches them self respect and respect for others and to know they are wonderful people, " said Debbie. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family, read and do quilting.
Betty Nosbisch is a retired registered nurse who worked in Hospital Administration for the last 16 years. She loves to travel and visit her children in Iowa, North Carolina, and Michigan and enjoys spending time with her 5 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. She and her husband Gary will be spending the winter months of 2010 in Arizona. As a newcomer to the Board of Directors of Girls on the Run of Bluff Country, Betty looks forward to using her organizational skills to further the work of GOTR.
Sharon Schroeder [President] discovered Girls on the Run shortly after retiring from seven years of employment at the Goodhue County Historical Society. Having worked for several non-profit organizations (museums) over a period of 25 years, she thought she might have some skills that would be useful to other nonprofits. And she was interested in becoming involved with an organization that helped young girls grow up into strong, independent women. After performing a variety of volunteer jobs for GOTR for about a year, she took on a big project - designing and constructing a web site for Girls on the Run of Bluff Country. Recently, she accepted an invitation to become a Board member and she looks forward to working with this group of talented, resourceful people.
Lisa Walker is the owner of Feldenkrais Minnesota, a private Feldenkrais practice serving over 400 clients in Red Wing, Rochester, the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. She is certified in Feldenkrais, a technique many now consider state-of-the-art in improving movement & posture. Lisa works with a variety of clients and conditions including special needs children, seniors, chronic pain syndromes, neuromuscular and brain pathologies (cerebral palsy, MS, stroke), structural orthopedic disorders (whiplash, RSI, scoliosis), soft tissue and joint trauma, and even professional athletes (to improve performance and reduce injury). She has extensive experience leading group workshops and lectures, including at the Mayo Clinic, Fairview Red Wing and Holden Village in Washington. Lisa especially loves working with children - in her work and as a volunteer. She has been an active volunteer with Girls on the Run, serving on the board since 2003.
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