Kauffman Museum Staff

Andi Schmidt Andres, Director

About Andi: Andi has worked at Kauffman Museum since 1993. In her role as Director, she is responsible for special events such as fundraising dinners and receptions, educational programs for children and families including Uncle Carl’s Camps and Celebrate Kansas Day!, managing the museum store, coordinating the volunteer program, supervision of student employees and Kauffman Museum administrative duties.

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After graduating from Bethel College with degrees in German (1984) and Environmental Studies with an emphasis in education (1985), Andi worked for six years for the City of Colorado Springs. Through the Parks and Recreation Department, she supervised interpretive programs at Garden of the Gods Park, at North Cheyenne Canon Park and on the summit of Pikes Peak. Andi lives outside Newton on a farm with her husband, daughter, a few goats and many barn cats.

Email: asa@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

Chuck Regier, Curator of Exhibits

About Chuck: Chuck began work at Kauffman Museum in 1985 as an exhibit builder and craftsmen. Working closely with Robert Regier, Bethel College art instructor and Kauffman Museum exhibit designer, Chuck gradually took on a larger roll in exhibit design. Chuck has led Kauffman Museum’s consulting work for a number of other museums, including permanent exhibits at the Stauth Memorial Museum in Montezuma, KS and the Penrose Heritage Museum in Colorado Springs.

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Chuck grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his parents worked with the Mennonite Church in agricultural development and public health. He graduated from Bethel College in 1981 with Industrial Arts and Bible and Religion degrees and has lived in Newton ever since. Married to Cindy Bertsche Regier (’82), their children all graduated from Bethel. Chuck is passionate about cooking, biking and raises chickens and rabbits at their in-town farm.

Email: crregier@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

Coralee Shenk, Administrative Manager

About Coralee: Coralee Shenk joined Kauffman Museum in mid-November 2022 in the Museum Assistant position. In her position she will handle bookkeeping, museum membership and management of the Museum Store. She has previously worked in many retail management positions, most recently as a visual showroom designer for American Furniture Warehouse in Colorado. She also brings non-profit experience as she worked with several organizations in Denver, CO including Habitat for Humanity and Opera Colorado.

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Being a Kansas native and a graduate of Bethel College, she returns home after more than 25 years in Colorado. The chance to relocate closer to family and work for her alma mater was a rare opportunity, and she is excited to utilize her Fine Arts degree, retail and nonprofit experience to build upon Kauffman Museum’s legacy. She and her feline tribe live in North Newton. She loves to garden and is known to always grow too much. She enjoys PBS Masterpiece, yoga and the Sand Creek Trail.

Email: cshenk@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

David Kreider, Museum Technician

About David: David began work at Kauffman Museum in 1985 as an exhibit builder and craftsman working together with Chuck Regier to fabricate and install the permanent exhibit, Of Land and People. Dave left Kansas in the fall 1988 and returned to KM in the summer of 2000.

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During the time away he worked at other museums – as preparator for the Anthropology Division of Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, Connecticut; assistant preparator at Harn Museum of Art at University of Florida; and as a naturalist instructor at Morningside Nature Center, Gainesville, Florida.

In his current role Dave prepares the temporary exhibits, maintains the permanent exhibit, travels with and installs traveling exhibits, and coordinates incoming donations and care for our collections. Since 2006 he has coordinated for Humanities Kansas the shipping and installation of Smithsonian Museum on Main Street exhibits around Kansas. Depending on the season you may see him swinging a broad axe or riding the high-wheel bicycle for a school group.

Email: dkreider@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

John Fast, Visitor Services Coordinator

About John: John joined Kauffman Museum at the beginning of 2022 as the Visitors Services Coordinator. John brings 38 years of experience in education as a Teacher, Curriculum Director, Principal and Superintendent to Kauffman Museum. After completing his doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2005 from WSU he served as superintendent at Goessel, USD 411 until taking early retirement. Over the years he has served as a volunteer at Kauffman Museum helping with Kansas Day, fundraising projects and served two terms on the Board of Directors.

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If you don’t find John in his garden, woodworking shop, or making barn quilts you will find him on his bicycle, exploring back roads and trails in Kansas. He has ridden Bike Across Kansas 11 times and enjoys exploring small town museums and historical markers. He and his wife live on a small farm near Goessel where they enjoy walks through their pasture and reclaimed prairie planted by his father. One of his favorite memories of the Kauffman Museum occurred when he was a teenager and his grandmother’s house was moved to North Newton to be a part of the farmstead and he got to be the flag man as the house traveled down K-15.

Email:

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

Julie Robinson, Traveling Exhibits Coordinator

About Julie: Julie Robinson joined the Kauffman Museum team as the Traveling Exhibit Coordinator in late July, 2024. She brings a breadth and depth of experience ranging from museum collections education development, warehouse logistics, retail store design and management, and cooperative and volunteer coordination. She is currently completing the Museum Studies graduate program at Wichita State University to compliment her BFA in Art History from Syracuse University and degrees in Business Management and Accounting.

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Julie loves food in all of its stages. From seed to plate to compost. As an avid gardener she builds soil health and a complimentary ecosystem for native species. She enjoys both the simplicity of eating from the backyard and farmers market offerings to exploring culinary delights.

Julie is also be happy to chat with you about the latest board game she’s played, books she reading, or community event she attended, as well as the day to day minutia, local history, and layman-level theoretical musings. Tips for places to hike or kayak are always welcome!

Email: jrobinson@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum

Nathan Bartel, Curator of Design

About Nathan: Nathan began work at Kauffman Museum in the fall of 2022 as Curator of Design. Previous to his work at the museum, Nathan was a professor of literary studies at Bethel College, an exhibit designer at Flint Hills Design (now Upland Exhibits) and director of marketing and communication at Hesston College. In his time in the museum field Nathan curated and designed the permanent exhibit for the National Willa Cather Center, the Pizza Hut Museum, and designed multiple traveling exhibits for Overland Traveling Exhibits, a division of Flint Hills Design.

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Nathan grew up at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp in Divide, Colo., where his father was executive director and his mother worked in the community as a graphic designer and librarian. He graduated from Bethel College in 2002 with a degree in English, earned an MFA in creative writing-poetry from the University of Montana, and was a writing fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Mass. Nathan is married to Kendra Burkey, and plays the role of taste tester for Kendra’s business, Salted Creamery ice cream.

Email: nbartel@bethelks.edu

Office Phone: (316) 283-1612

Office Location: Kauffman Museum