Founding Board:
The Lane Thomas Foundation

Mr. Graves is currently the CEO of the Lane Thomas Foundation. Previously, he was employed by data and marketing company Infogroup for 9 years and served as Infogroup’s Chief Data Officer. Prior to Infogroup, he led Project and Operations teams for PayPal, Comcast and Fujitsu. He is involved in his community through St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Elkhorn, Nebraska, and also sits on the Board of Directors at the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Graves has a bachelor's degree in Advertising from the University of Nebraska and an MBA from Regis University in Denver Colorado.

Mrs. Graves worked at Union Pacific Railroad for 14 years in various finance, sales and marketing roles. She resigned from Union Pacific to become a stay at home mom after her second child (Lane Thomas Graves) was born. She has a bachelor’s degree in finance and banking from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Dr. Gold is a nationally recognized leader and tireless advocate for transforming academic medicine and health care delivery. He became chancellor of one of the nation’s rising academic medical centers, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, on Feb. 1, 2014. He also chairs the board of UNMC’s principal clinical care partner, Nebraska Medicine. Prior to joining UNMC, Dr. Gold served as chancellor of the University of Toledo’s health science campus.

Dr. Gold graduated from the Cornell University College of Engineering, where he majored in theoretical and applied mechanics. He earned his M.D. from the Weill Cornell College of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at The New York Hospital and Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Gold is a board-certified thoracic surgeon and specializes in adult and pediatric cardiac surgery.

As a Partner at Moneta Group, Mark finds his daily work assisting individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners to be tremendously rewarding. In 2018, for the second consecutive year, Mark was included on Forbes magazine’s annual list of America’s Top Next-Gen Advisors.  Chosen from more than 20,000 nominations, the list recognized 1,000 advisers born after 1980 who are considered future industry leaders. Mark was the top-ranking advisor among the 15 millennial advisors selected from Missouri and ranked in the top 200 overall.  In addition, Mark was recently named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list in 2018.

Outside of the office Mark enjoys spending time with his family — wife, Cristal and their daughters, Claire and Avery — traveling, professional and college sporting events, and golf.

Dr. Schaefer is Executive Vice President at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. She oversees the company’s Risk Adjustment, Health Network Services, Case Management, Reimbursement Strategy, Utilization, Quality, Pharmacy, Medical Policy and Wellness areas. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Dr. Schaefer served in a dual role as chief medical officer and director of the Division of Public Health for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services from 2005 to 2013.

Before that, she practiced family medicine and served as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Creighton University Medical School. In her role as the state’s chief medical officer, she oversaw policy development and the regulation of the health care and public health system. She led a team of more than 500 employees to ensure the proper regulation of all health care facilities and professionals.

Dr. Schaefer is a respected health care and public health leader throughout the state and nationally. During her tenure at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, she has worked with her team on developing the necessary tools to help transform health care into a more patient-focused system. She also serves on community boards that share a similar purpose. Dr. Schaefer leads by example and believes a healthy lifestyle, along with a positive attitude, can make a difference in life and longevity. She is a liver transplant patient and has completed more than 25 half and full marathons and one 50k.

Dr. Schaefer graduated from Creighton University Medical School and is board-certified in family medicine. She has been recognized by both Creighton University Medical School and California State University-Fullerton, where she received her undergraduate degree, for her service and as a distinguished alumnus.

Mr. Gottsch is Founder & President of Rural Media Group, Inc., the nation's first and only media company devoted to serving the needs and interests of rural America. RMG owns RFD-TV, the company's flagship channel, along with FamilyNet and RURAL RADIO on SiriusXM channel 147. Launched in December/2000, RFD-TV is now distributed into over fifty million homes on cable and satellite.

Mr. Gottsch grew up on the family's farming and cattle feeding operation outside of Elkhorn, Nebraska, where he has been a life-long resident of the community, graduating from Elkhorn High School before attending Sam Houston State University on a baseball scholarship. Mr. Gottsch is the proud father of three daughters, Raquel, Gatsby, and Rose Marie, who are active in the family's media operations.

As Vice President of Herschend Entertainment Studios, Julie is responsible for building new growth opportunities for the company through expansion into television, film, publishing, digital media, licensing and more.  This diversification strategy includes the development and execution of projects based on existing IP, as well as new IP through partnerships and strategic acquisitions.  Julie began her career at Herschend in high school, when she developed the entertainment department at Stone Mountain Park.  Prior to returning to Herschend, she held business and creative roles with Miramax, NBC, Raytheon, and SeaWorld.  Julie also has consulted for multiple non-profits with regard to strategy. 

Organ donation is of personal importance to her as her sister has suffered from kidney failure since childhood and received multiple organ transplants.  Julie received her BS in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and her MBA from Harvard Business School.  She and her husband, Jake, live in Atlanta, GA with their two children, two dogs, and two cats.

Greg Oswald is currently the Sr. VP of Global Operational Excellence at Astec Industries in Chattanooga TN. Greg is currently responsible for safety, quality, and cost for the entire organization.

Prior to Astec, Greg was at Lindsay Corporation. Greg has had responsibility for facilities in Europe, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, Brazil, and China. In his role with Lindsay, Greg has been successful and instrumental in transforming manufacturing operations and becoming a world-class organization.

Prior to Lindsay Corporation, Greg worked his way up the ladder, from the shop floor to the Global Lean Manager for Dana Corporation Light Axle division.

In addition to being a Lean Six-Sigma Master Blackbelt, Greg attended the University of Missouri and Graduated from Grand River Technical school in welding.

Greg and his wife Lori reside in Chattanooga TN and have two sons, Nathan and Justin. They are also blessed with three Grandchildren Cora, Audrey and William.