Lisa Lackovic serves as board chairman of College Possible Omaha.  She is the Omaha architectural representative for Endicott Clay Products based out of Fairbury, Nebraska.

She earned a BS degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication which she uses during many of her public speaking opportunities.

Lisa grew up in the masonry industry and has over 35 years’ experience promoting clay brick to architects, interior designers and contractors.  She developed landscape contractor contest, “The Ultimate Backyard Challenge” and founded and trademarked Divas of the Dirt™, a networking organization for women in hardscape.  She often refers to herself as “The Brick Chick.”

Lisa is past president of CREW Omaha Metro and Habitat for Humanity Omaha and currently serves board of the Nebraska Masonry Alliance and the American Institute of Architects Omaha.  She is married to Bob and has 2 grown children and 5 grandchildren.  Some of Lisa’s favorite pastimes are traveling, golf, spinning, yoga, gardening and mentoring young professional women.

Mark grew up in a rural Nebraska town called Utica. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015 with a degree in political science. Following his undergraduate, Mark attended Creighton Law. Upon passing the Bar exam, Mark became a Deputy Sarpy County Attorney in 2019. He sits on the Executive Board for the Nebraska State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section. He also is an Executive Board member of the Nebraska Child Support Enforcement Association. In his spare time, Mark enjoys reading and watching sports.

Aaron G. Evans is senior director of Economic Development for Union Pacific Railroad. In this position, he is responsible for providing guidance and rail project management for businesses wanting to build, expand or find rail-served sites across 23 states on Union Pacific.

Previously, Evans served as general director of Talent Acquisition where he was responsible for recruiting qualified diverse talent. Since joining Union Pacific in 1995, he has held positions in areas such as Information Technology, Marketing & Sales, and Human Resources.

Evans graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Informational Processing from Southern Illinois University. He currently serves as a board member of Nelson Mandela Elementary School in Omaha, NE. In addition, he previously served as President of the Union Pacific’s Black Employee Network (BEN), an employee resource group focused on recruiting, retaining, and advancing African Americans within Union Pacific Corporation.

He and his wife, Taina, have two daughters, two sons and 3 grandchildren.

Hao joined the FNBO in 2004 and his team is responsible for leveraging data to make data-driven decisions and identifying analytical solutions to improve the value of the relationship to customer and bank, prior to his current role, he was the vice president of enterprise data management.

Hao grew up in China and came to the United States in 2000 as a graduate student. He obtained his Ph.D. in Applied Economics and MS in Statistics from the University of Kentucky. Hao is passionate about education, and he has been an adjunct professor at the College of Business, Bellevue University since 2009. Currently, he is teaching two graduate level courses at Bellevue University: Microeconomics and Economics for Human Capital Valuation.

Aimee is on the senior leadership team at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum.

She earned a BA from Peru State College in Social Science.

Aimee has spent over 22 years dedicated to the success of non-profits and loves the challenges that come with that! She began her career at the Air and Space Museum after college and developed the passion for non-profits. The Lincoln Children’s was the next step and successfully celebrated 13 years growing the Zoo and Team alike. Amazing experiences ranged from extensive travel to volunteer in third world countries every year to training cheetahs and doubling the size of the Zoo! Today, she is fortunate to have returned to the Museum and is looking forward to making a positive impact!

Aimee grew up on a farm outside of Nebraska City where she found her passion for nature and animals. She has two wonderful boys, Addison and Hudson, ages 15 and 13. They are very active in sports, community, church, and the family farm. Aimee is very active in the community as well as with church. A few of her favorite things are lifting, running, Muay Thai, sports, working on the farm, volunteering, traveling and coaching friends and family in fitness and nutrition.

Originally from Argentina, Emiliano Lerda was drawn to America's Midwest because its agricultural environment reminded him of his native Cordoba province. Emiliano currently serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Elevator, a co-warehousing company.

Formerly, Emiliano served as President at Paul G Smith Associates (PGSA). PGSA is a family investment and real estate development firm that oversees the development and management of The Capitol District and Millwork Commons innovation district in Omaha, NE, with assets exceeding $300 million. Prior to joining PGSA, he was the Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Center (ILC) from 2011 to 2019. His collaborative and innovative leadership style guided ILC through a period of rapid growth, increasing the annual operating budget from $250,000 to $4,000,000; growing staff from 3 to 48 full time employees, and expanding the organization's physical footprint from a single office in 1 state to 9 locations in 2 states.

Emiliano graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication studies at the University of Northern Iowa, becoming the first international student elected student body president. An Iowa licensed attorney, he earned his J.D. from Drake University Law School with certificates in Public Service Law, Food & Agriculture Law, and International Comparative and Human Rights Law. He earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Arkansas.

He has always been passionate about public service and has worked with nonprofit organizations both as a staff member and as a board member since 2002. Emiliano participated in the Nonprofit Executive Institute and Leadership Omaha Class 36 and also completed the Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. He was an honoree in Omaha Jaycee's "Ten Outstanding Young Omahans of 2017," and named the Recent Alumnus of the Year at Drake University Law School in 2019. A respected community leader, Emiliano currently serves as Chairman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Board of Counselors, and Chairman of the Douglas County Visitor Promotion Council. Emiliano loves building profitable, sustainable, and dynamic organizations that make a positive impact in our community.

Sham Odeh is Field Sales Market Manager – Nebraska/Iowa for Cox Communications. In his current role he is leading the acquisition teams for his areas. Sham is responsible for managing vendor sales relationships, the execution and strategy of big box retail partnerships and direct sales team. He prides himself on being part of the community and giving back as often as he can, and highly encourages his teams do the same.

Sham has worked for Cox Communications since 2009. During his tenure at Cox, he has worked in several areas of the business such as retail, third party retail, direct sales and field sales.  He has led several different areas in the Midwest, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and now Nebraska and Iowa for these parts of the business. His current role focuses on acquisition sales for the residential customers, expansion areas in Cox’s footprint, and supporting the community with his team.

As a resident of Omaha for over 20 years, he enjoys being active and hanging out with his amazing wife Jessica and his three beautiful girls, Amria, Ava and Alivia.

Dr. Andrew Rikli has served as the Superintendent of the Papillion La Vista Schools since July 2013. Prior to his work in Papillion La Vista, Dr. Rikli worked 10 years with the Westside Community Schools in Omaha as an elementary principal, central office director, and assistant superintendent. Rikli previously worked as a consultant with the Nebraska Department of Education and has served as a classroom teacher, coach, activities director, and curriculum and assessment writer. In addition to his work with PK-12 public schools, Dr. Rikli is an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and serves as a governor-appointed executive team member of the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission.

Rikli is a member of the American Association of School Administrators, ASCD, PDK International, the Horace Mann League, and the Beta Theta Pi alumni association. Rikli is the past Chairman of the Board for the University of Nebraska-Omaha Alumni Association, a current member of the Teammates Mentoring Board of Directors, and an Executive Team member of the Concord Mediation Center Board of Directors. Rikli is also a member of the College Possible Advisory Board and a member of the Offutt Advisory Council where he serves as the honorary commander of the 338^th Combat Training Squadron. Dr. Rikli is a graduate of Leadership Sarpy, Leadership Omaha, the Midlands Superintendent Academy, and a member of the Papillion Lions’ Club. Dr. Rikli is also a member of the Urban School Superintendents Association of America (USAA), the Educational Research and Development Institute (ERDI), and Omaha Zoological Society Advisory Council. Andy was named a PDK Emerging Leader, UNO Hollie Bethel Distinguished Alumni Award winner, UNO Outstanding Service Award winner, and CHI “Friend of Midlands” community leader award in 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2019 respectively.

Dr. Rikli holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed his doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Andy is a fourth-generation Nebraskan who graduated from Auburn High School in Auburn, Nebraska. Dr. Rikli and his wife Amy reside in Papillion with their three children, Adrianna, Meredith, and Sam. They are members of Calvary Shadow Lake Church.

Gennean Scott is an experienced equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) specialist who currently serves as the Chief Inclusion Officer at Meow Wolf, an immersive art company based in Santa Fe. Previously, she was the Chief Diversity Officer at The Broadway League. Scott plays a vital role in creating an inclusive culture within Meow Wolf's diverse range of installations across the country. She is based in the company's New York office.

Scott is committed to nurturing inclusivity both professionally and personally. She is a co-founder of both the Black Arts Leadership Alliance and the Nebraska Association of African American Human Resources Professionals. Through her consultancy work and community engagement, Scott serves as a keynote speaker and facilitator, utilizing her expertise to cultivate inclusive environments and effect positive change.

Scott's influence extends beyond her organizations and communities. Her advocacy for EDI as a fundamental value essential to any successful business drives advancements in EDI within the arts community and beyond.

Meaghan Milburn is the Senior Director of Student Services for the College of Engineering. In this role, she oversees the college's undergraduate academic advising, retention and student success, student development, career services, scholars programs and recruitment and outreach.  Prior to joining the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Meaghan spent over eight years working in student services at Iowa Western Community College.  Meaghan received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed her Master of Science in Education for student affairs through the University of Nebraska Kearney.  She has been a resident of the Omaha area since 2011, and in her free time, Meaghan enjoys supporting local restaurants, exploring farmers' markets and traveling.

Marco Ortiz is part of the Supply Chain Management team at Conagra Brands. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in finance, banking and investment portfolio and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He has previously worked at American National Bank, Yahoo/Verizon, and Union Pacific in Finance & Accounting. Marco was born in Cerano, Guanajuato, Mexico but grew up in Crete, Nebraska, and has been a resident of Omaha since August 2011. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, reading financial/economic news, exploring new restaurants, and traveling. He also volunteers at the Heartland Food Bank, Open Door Mission and the United Way.

Annabelle is a first generation and two-time UNO graduate, having completed her undergraduate degree in International Studies and Spanish Language as well as her Master's in Public Administration. Annabelle is a 2022 Fulbright Scholar, having completed her grant in Chaco, Argentina as an English Teaching Assistant. She has extensive experience in nonprofits in Omaha and is currently a Partnerships Coordinator at the Kiewit Luminarium, Omaha’s new science discovery center located downtown on the riverfront. Annabelle plays violin in Orchestra Omaha and regularly volunteers as an interpreter and translator between English and Spanish.

Beth Kalal, a member of Champions for College Possible, works as a People Ops Lead for Mulhalls. She received her bachelor's in mathematics with a minor in chemistry from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In March 2021, Beth received her Master's of business administration from Bellevue University. She loves to dance, read, and give back to the community. She is an active member of the Junior League of Omaha, where she is currently the first chair of a new fundraiser. She has a passion for children and when she is not busy, her 3 nephews keep her active.

Juan Padilla is the Community Development Manager at Canopy South which is a newer nonprofit in Omaha helping revitalize neighborhoods in South Omaha. Prior to working at Canopy South, Juan worked at the Omaha Community Foundation for two and a half years on their Donor Services team. Before joining the nonprofit sector, he worked for nearly six years at Union Pacific on the operations team. Originally from Guatemala, Juan grew up in Omaha and attended Doane College where he played soccer there, and then had the opportunity to be a graduate assistant for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams. Currently, he is on the board of MENTOR Nebraska and Future Kids.

Alex is an MBA candidate at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with plans to graduate in the fall of 2023. She is the Assistant Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Franchising through the College of Business at UNO. She volunteers and gives back to the community through serving on various boards and committees such as the Joslyn Young Art Patrons, Suburban Rotary, and Startup Champions Network. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, anything artistic or musical, attending community startup events, and spending time with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and chi-weenie.

Mari is a proud Omaha native. She has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha and earned her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from College of Saint Mary. She is currently the Manager of HR Operations for CHI Health, the Midwest Division of CommonSpirit Health. She is passionate about supporting teams in accomplishing their goals by focusing on communication, relationship management, and collaboration.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, reading, and exploring Omaha restaurants with family and friends.