Foundation Staff

Allison Rickels, CFRE
Executive Director
E-mail: Allison@FarmHouse.org

     Allison Rickels, CFRE, is executive director/CEO of the FarmHouse Foundation (Kansas City, Mo.), serving as the first woman CEO of a men's fraternity educational foundation. She began this role in June 2007. In the FarmHouse Foundation's 44 years history, Allison is only the second person to fill the position on a full-time basis.
     Allison has been part of the FarmHouse Foundation staff since July 2001, starting as the director of annual fund and communications, and then served as the senior director of the annual fund and assistant secretary to the board of trustees. She also is the design editor for Pearls & Rubies, the Fraternity's quarterly membership magazine, and is a facilitator for many of the FarmHouse leadership programs. She played an integral role in the success of the Foundation's first-ever capital campaign, which raised $750,000 over their $4 million goal.
     A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Allison graduated with honors in 2001 with a public relations major and marketing and journalism minors. She earned the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in the fall of 2006. Allison is a member and leader of the MidAmerica chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, currently serving on the chapter’s board of directors, currently as Vice President of Programs. Allison is active with Alpha Phi Fraternity serving on its Alumnae Strategy Committee and Quarterly magazine Editorial Board, is a former chapter advisor and as an active member of her local alumnae chapter. She also served five years on the Fraternity Communications Association’s board of directors (formerly the College Fraternity Editors Association), which is composed of fraternities and sororities committed to communicating the highest ideals of the fraternity system and its achievements. In 2007 received CFEA's Marilyn Simpson Ford Award for outstanding service to the association. She has also been a facilitator and conference planner for numerous Greek-lettered foundation national fundraising conferences.
     Allison, her husband Nick and their two-year-old daughter Sydney live in Kansas City, Mo. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and had the opportunity in October 2008 to meet tennis legend Billy Jean King while she played in a national co-ed tennis tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., which was a lifetime sports thrill.

 

Bob Off, CRFE
Colorado State '64
Executive Director Emeritus
E-mail: Bob@FarmHouse.org

    Bob Off, CFRE, is Executive Director Emeritus of FarmHouse Foundation and has worked for FarmHouse for over 35 years.
     Bob was an undergraduate member of the Colorado State chapter, initiated in 1964. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1965 and his master's in English Literature in 1967 from Colorado State. After graduation he worked as Assistant Director of Student Housing at South Dakota State University.
     Bob served on staff at SDSU for two years before his career was interrupted with a 3-year stint in the U.S. Army. He was an intelligence officer with rank of captain from 1968 to 1971, serving 12 months in South Korea. When Bob returned from South Korea he resumed his position at SDSU.
     In 1973 he accepted the position of Executive Director of FarmHouse Fraternity and Foundation. In 1997, he began working full-time as Executive Director of FarmHouse Foundation. In the years since that move, annual giving to the Foundation Annual Fund has doubled, and the Foundation has surpassed a $4 million endowment.
     Bob served as the President of the Fraternity Executives Association in 1988-89; as an FEA Advisor to the National Interfraternity Council (NIC) Board; and as President of the College Fraternity Editors Association (CFEA) in 1979-80. In 2007, he was awarded the William D. Jenkins outstanding fundraising professional award from the NIC Foundation and in 2006 received CFEA's prestigious Varner Award for extraordinary fraternal service. He is also a member of several community and philanthropic organizations.
     In August 2007, Bob retired from his position as Executive Director and now serves as Executive Director Emeritus of the Foundation. Linda is a major gifts officer with Futures for Children, headquartered in Albuquerque, which is a non-profit organization that mentors Native American children through high school to college graduation.
     Bob and Linda live in Santa Fe, N.M. Their daughter, Karlene, lives in Phoenix, Ariz.

 

Andrea Ward
Annual Giving & Communications Coordinator
E-mail: Andrea@FarmHouse.org

     Andrea Geist Ward is the Annual Giving and Communications Coordinator for the FarmHouse Foundation.
     Andrea joined the staff in January 2008. She is a native of Plevna, Kan., and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kansas State University in December 2007. She graduated with a major in Marketing and minor in Leadership Studies.
     During college, Andrea interned with GE Environmental Services and Target. She is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, where she served as chapter president, risk management chairperson, and on many other committees within the organization. She was also a member of the K-State Marketing Club, Christian Challenge campus ministry, National Society of Collegiate Scholar's and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She was also on the Dean's List of academic achievement every semester.
     Andrea will be coordinating annual fundraising activities and initiatives including direct mail, phone-a-thons, special events, undergraduate and young alumni giving, the electronic funds transfer program, non-member appeals and electronic solicitation. In addition, she will be responsible for managing internal and external communication materials and publications for the Foundation.
     Andrea was married on April 12, 2008, to Chris Ward and they reside in Shawnee, Kan.

 

Jo Berryman
Administrative Assistant
E-mail: JBerryman@FarmHouse.org

      Nancy "Jo" Berryman joined the FarmHouse staff in May 2002 as part-time secretary for the FarmHouse Foundation. Before coming to FarmHouse, Jo retired from Honeywell in Kansas City where she worked for 31 years. She is a native of Lincoln, Neb.
      Her volunteer activities include the Red Cross, King of Kings Church and tutoring for Laubach Literacy Program.
      She and her husband, Bill, reside in northern Kansas City, Mo. She enjoys walking, hiking and family activities.