George Troutfetter, Chair
Jeff Norris, Vice Chair
Byron Norris, Secretary
Bill Sturges, Treasurer

Valerie Andrews
Roxanne Bell 
Kate Bycroft
Bret Cooper
Gary Denning 
Katy Ebert 
Melinda Eitel 
Nedra Elbl
Pam Evans 
James Lambert                                                   Mary Shaffer, Kate Bycroft, Nedra Elbl, and Pam Evans
Kristy Rodriguez                                              attend a Greater Salina Community Foundation workshop.
Amy Stonebraker
Jeanie Warner 

Pam McIntyre, Executive Director
Dr. James R. Hardy, Ex-officio 

 

Board of Trustees Bios

Valerie Andrews and husband Geoff, lead teacher at Coronado Elementary, have a son, Reid Andrews.  Valerie is a graduate of Ellis High School and Kansas State University.  She has been a resident of the Salina community since 2006.  She is an Advisor Assistant at an investment firm in Salina. Valerie will serve on the Finance and Investment Committee.




Roxanne Bell moved to Salina in 1999 with husband Tom, who was Editor/Publisher of the Salina Journal.  Tom currently is employed with SRHC as Executive Director of Governmental and Public Relations.  They have two children, Austin and Jennifer.  Austin graduated from KSU and Park University, earning a Master’s in Education.  He currently teaches journalism in the Kansas City area, works at the Majestic Steak House, and plays bass guitar for the band “Solid Gold Easy.”  Jennifer graduated from Central High in 2000, works at Kansas Wesleyan University and enjoys working with special needs children. Roxanne retired from USD 305 in August of 2013 as Registered Dietitian with Heartland Head Start Programs.  She continues to teach online as Adjunct Instructor for Allen Community College and has taught at Kansas Wesleyan University’s School of Nursing, and Cloud Community College, as well as serving as a Cadre Trainer for the Kansas Department of Education.  Community service includes: CAPS board, St. Mary’s Pastoral Council, Meadowlark Elementary volunteer, MLK childcare center, and St. John’s Preschool (Beloit) as a mentor.  She and Tom and have become foster parents for River and Lillian whom they love and adore.  She volunteers her dietetic services at the Flint Hills Community Clinic in Manhattan for underprivileged families. “My position at Heartland Programs allowed me to apply for and receive grants from SEF to teach cooking schools to Heartland families.  I learned firsthand how great deeds can be made possible with grants from Salina Education Foundation.”

Kate Bycroft and husband Bart have lived in Salina for 20 years.  They have two children:   Jonathan at K-State and Alex at KU.  Jonathan and Alex attended Coronado, South Middle and South High Schools. She has been an active volunteer in the schools since her sons started at Coronado.  She currently volunteers in Mrs. Radiel’s 3rd grade classroom at Stewart Elementary.




Gary Denning is past-chair of the SEF and spearheaded the efforts for our very successful 305 LIVE project. Gary has served as a USD 305 board member, as president, and on the Smoky Hill Educational Service Center, Heartland Programs, Salina Area Technical School, and Central Kansas Cooperative Boards. He and his wife Jan (Central High foreign language teacher) have two children, Cathy and David, both of whom graduated from Salina High School Central. Son David graduated from Johnson County Community College and works for the University of Kansas and daughter Cathy is completing a Master's Degree at the University of Oregon. Gary is an attorney with Kennedy, Berkley, Yarnevich and Williamson. Gary serves on the Executive, Finance and Investment, and Activities and Public Relations Committees of the Salina Education Foundation.

Katy Ebert and husband, Justin, both graduated from Salina South, where Justin is now a social studies teacher and coach. They have an 18 month old daughter, Harper, and twins, Logan and Isaac.  After graduating from Southwestern College, Katy attended the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed residency with the Baltimore VA system. She returned to Salina in 2011 and joined the practice of Drs. Cooper and Banninger, LLC, where she is currently practicing.



Melinda Eitel is a teacher representative to the Board of Trustees.  She and her husband, Dave, are lifetime residents of Salina.  Melinda graduated from Salina South High School, received a BS in Education from Fort Hays State University, a Master’s Degree from Kansas State University, and has her ESL endorsement.   She and her husband have 3 children, 2 whom have recently married.  Melinda is a kindergarten teacher at Stewart Elementary.  She has taught for 25 years in Salina Public Schools and has been the recipient of SEF grants.  Her community activities include being a member of Stewart’s Site Council and PTA and being a member and volunteer of Children’s Activities at Salina First United Methodist Church.  She serves on the Allocations Committee.  Melinda was selected by NEA Salina as 2017 Master Teacher of the Year and is one of seven teachers across Kansas to receive an Emporia State University Master Teacher Award.

Nedra Elbl is the BOE representative to the Salina Education Foundation.  She is a graduate of Goodland High School and received  three degrees from Kansas State University: BS Family and Child Development, BS Elementary Education and a Masters Degree in Curriculum Development/Reading Specialist.  She retired from teaching in 2000, after having taught first and second grades for 24 years.  Nedra was active in NEA Salina, serving as President, Vice-President, Secretary, Delegate to KNEA and to NEA Conventions.  In 2003 she was selected  Elementary Teacher of the Year and was Region I Kansas Teacher of the Year Runner-up Recipient. She served as Co-Chair for Kansas State Department of Education/ Kansas Teacher of the Year Program for 10 years.  In 2007 Nedra selected Master Teacher for NEA-Salina. 

Nedra has two children who graduated from Salina High School South.  John is the Senior Vice President of At Risk Management for American Integrity Insurance in Tampa, Florida. They have four children.  Daughter, Tara, has a degree in Wildlife Biology and has worked as the Education Director in Grand Rapids, MI and Syracuse NY Zoos. They have three children.   Both are also KSU graduates. 
A Salina resident since 1972, Nedra has been involved in many church and community activities.  In 2007, she received the Woman of Achievement Award in Education.

Pam Evans and her husband Tom have lived in Salina since 1979.  Pam retired in 2011 from teaching in Salina School District.  She taught for 23 years in a variety of grade levels including second through fifth grades and K-2 in ESL.  Pam served as KNEA President and Vice President and was a delegate to KNEA and NEA Conventions.  She continues to support public education through her involvement with SEF. Pam and Tom, a recent retiree from Great Plains Manufacturing, have two sons, both graduates of Southeast of Saline High School.  Ryan is a graduate of KSU with a Mechanical Engineering degree and an MBA.  He is employed by Henderson Engineers in Kansas City.  He and his wife have two children.  Jason, also a graduate of KSU has a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy and is employed by Great Plains Manufacturing.  He and his wife have two children.
Pam has been active in Vacation Bible School and the Puppet Ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church. Pam sits on the Executive Board of SEF as past co-chair.

Dr. James R. Hardy was born in Ft. Benning, Georgia, Dr. Jim Hardy grew up in a military family which included a move to Kansas when his father was assigned to Fort Riley. Dr. Hardy received a bachelor’s degree in education from Kansas State University (KSU), a master’s degree from Fort Hays State University, and a doctorate in education leadership from KSU.  He has 36 years of serving Kansas students as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, superintendent, and mentor to first year school superintendents and assistant superintendents.  Dr. Hardy and his wife Jo of 36 years have three grown children.  He accepted the position of interim superintendent in April of 2017 and began his tenure July 1st.

Pam McIntyre has been the executive director of the SEF since 1996.  Daughter Kate graduated from Central High in 2000. Kate is the Managing Editor of The Missouri Review, a literary magazine (http://www.missourireview.com).  She and husband Joe both earned PhD’s from the University of Missouri and teach fiction and nonfiction writing there.   Growing up with a father who was a teacher and eventually superintendent of schools, Pam has deep roots in public education. She taught English, Speech and Debate for 9 years and enjoyed owning "My Mother's Garden," a dried-flower business, before returning "home" to public education. Working with teachers and staff has been inspiring: "I have tremendous admiration for Salina's public school employees and am honored to have a job that supports their work."

Byron Norris is a lifelong resident of Salina, graduating from Salina Central, Kansas Wesleyan University and Wichita State University. Byron and his wife Sandy have raised two sons, also Salina Central graduates.  Ryan earned his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and his medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He practices cardiology in Oklahoma City.  He has a granddaughter, Payton.  Jeff earned his undergraduate and Masters degree from Kansas State University.  He earned his law degree from Washburn University School of Law and is an attorney with Clark, Mize & Linville.  Byron retired in 2015 after 36 years working at McShares, Inc. as VP of Human Resources/Risk Management.  His community involvement includes being past president and board member of Project Salina, board member of Salina Baseball Enterprises and Kansas Wesleyan Board of Trustees.  Byron serves as the Secretary of the SEF Board and on the Executive Committee and Allocations Committee.

Jeff Norris is a graduate of Salina Central High School and is an attorney with Clark, Mize, and Linville. His wife, Laine (Graham) Norris, is the Food Service Director for USD 305.  Jeff serves as Vice-Chair of the board as well as serving on the Finance and Investment Committee and Executive Committee.






Dr. Kristy Rodriguez is the Director of Teacher Education at Kansas Wesleyan University. She is a Salina area native and a graduate of Southeast of Saline schools. She and husband Matt have 5 children ranging in age from 17 to 9.






Bill Sturges and wife Jennifer have had illustrious careers in public education. Jennifer recently retired after 40 years in the classroom, and Bill retired from USD 305 as the district accountant. He has worked for 33 years in both public and private accounting. Bill and Jennifer have two children: Megan, who is President and CEO of Junior Achievement in Kansas and Brian, who is principal at Wakefield K-12
schools. Bill will serve as treasurer of the board and chair the Finance and Investment Committee.

George Troutfetter retired after 41 years in education, all in Salina.  He taught for 14 years, was a counselor for 2 years and Assistant Principal at South High for 25 years.  Since retiring he has served as Counselor at South High School for one year and filled in as counselor at Salina West Alternative Program the second semester of the 2015/16 school year. This year, Geoerge is the ESL teacher at Cottonwood Elementary.  He is also University Supervisor through Ft Hays State University working with student teachers and T2T teachers in the Salina area.   His wife Marcia is a PE and special ed teacher at South Middle School.  George and Marcia have three children, Mark, Megan, and Mandi and four grandchildren.  His community activities include serving on the teacher advisory committee at KWU, Salina Area United Way Priority Council, and the Truancy Review Board for the District Court.  George serves as the Chair of the SEF and serves on the Activities and PR Committee and the Executive Committee of the SEF.

Jeanie Warner and husband, John, have been married 20 years. Although they are Nebraska natives and “die hard” Husker fans, they have lived in Kansas 20+ years – the last 12 in Salina. Jeanie has worked at Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas for the past five years as the marketing, media and data coordinator.  Prior to that, she spent 11 years as the Newspaper in Education Coordinator for Harris Enterprises including the Salina Journal, The Hutchinson News, The Garden City Telegram, The Ottawa Herald and The Hays Daily News.  Her husband John works for the USDA/NRCS state office in Salina as a soil quality data specialist. They have two children, Jaycie and Josh. Jaycie is a freshman at the University of Nebraska and Josh is a 8th grader at Lakewood Middle School.  Jeanie and her family love Salina and are involved in many USD 305 and community activities.

Amy Stonebraker and her husband Ken have lived in Salina 25 years.                 Amy is a partner in Woods and Durham, and Ken, having taught and                   coached for 25 years, is currently the athletic director at South High. 
They have two children, Jessica and Justin, both South High graduates. 
Justin attends KCKCC, and Jessica graduated with a Master’s degree in occupational therapy from Rockhurst University.  She works at Salina Regional Health Center.  Amy has served on several boards, including Salina Child Care and Women Helping Women.  Amy was treasurer of the SEF for six years, and we welcome her back as a member of the LIFT committee.

Brett Cooper is one of two Board of Education members to serve as a trustee of the Salina Education Foundation.  Brett and his wife, Michelle, have been married for five years and have a daughter, Lilly.  The Cooper family will welcome a new baby to their family in February.  Brett graduated from Ell-Saline High School and K-State with three degrees:  BS in Technology Management, AS of Technology, and AS of Business Marketing.  Brett currently works for First Bank Kansas as a Network Administrator and will serve on the Executive Committee and the Finance and Investment Committee of the SEF.