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.

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.

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.

First Mennonite Church

Kathy Haake is a member of First Mennonite Church. Originally from Beatrice, she earned a degree in English from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a book publishing certificate from New York University. Kathy worked as a book editor for over twenty years. She was also the associate director of a nonprofit organization, where for over a decade she partnered with faith communities to help keep children safe. She now works as the executive assistant for a philanthropic foundation. Kathy and her husband, Kevin, raised their three children—Kaspar, Kadin, and El—in Lincoln, a city they are happy to call home. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve with Justice in Action to help create positive change across Lincoln and beyond.

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.

South Street Temple

Barb was born and raised in Detroit, and lived in Chicago after college. In her first job there, as a community organizer for a neighborhood advocacy organization,  she learned the principles of people power. She received a master's in social work and worked for forty years in the field of aging. Upon moving to Lincoln in 1986, she worked for 35 years as a social worker at Aging Partners, a department of the City of Lincoln. A member of the South Street Temple, she  chairs the Social Justice committee and serves as the Justice in Action team leader for the congregation. In 2023, she became a mediator with The Mediation Center of Lincoln. She and her husband have two incredible adult children and two fabulous grandsons.

Vine Congregational Church of Christ

Rev. Steven Mitchell was born in Kingman, Kansas, a small community that was almost entirely white. Growing up in the sixties, he couldn’t fully grasp the injustices of racism but was deeply shaped by Jesus’ teaching, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Baptized at fourteen, he found a faith home in the American Baptist Churches, USA. Though ministry wasn’t part of his early plans, he eventually recognized his calling and earned an M.Div. from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in 1987. His journey later led him to the United Church of Christ in 2003.

Rev. Mitchell has served communities across Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Florida, and Nebraska—advocating for health services during the early years of AIDS, serving on state and ecumenical boards, and advocating on behalf of marginalized groups. These different experiences allowed him to be exposed to a wide range of ideas and values.

As an openly gay pastor, he has faced and challenged injustice throughout his ministry. Rooted in his lifelong call to serve others, he feels privileged to call Lincoln home and to stand with all who work for Justice in Action.