FACULTY & STAFF
Mr. Curtis Wudtke
Mr. Wudtke is in his third year at HLHS, serving as the Executive Director / Principal.
Curtis grew up in Collinsville, Illinois (just east of St. Louis) to parents who are life-long Lutherans and devout Christians. Curtis is the middle child of three boys for Jerry and Marie Wudtke. He attended Holy Cross Lutheran School, Good Shepherd Lutheran School, and graduated as the salutatorian from Metro-East Lutheran High School in 1989. During his school years he played soccer, enjoyed music, especially singing and playing piano, and advanced his music skills by playing guitar and starting a Christian Band with some of his high school classmates. He was very involved in a LCMS youth group called Ongoing Ambassadors For Christ while serving on the national board of directors for the group. His teachers at Lutheran High and his pastor, Rev. Dennis Kastens, had a huge impact on him and led him into full-time church work.
Curtis attended Concordia University Wisconsin majoring in secondary education in choral and general music. It was at Concordia where Curtis met his wife Jenny and they were married on August 7, 1993. Jenny is from Slinger, Wisconsin. While at Concordia, he was mentored by his main music professor, Dr. Kenneth T. Kosche, and Rev. Dr. Timothy Maschke.
After graduating from Concordia, his first call to teach music was to a Lutheran High School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. During his tenure there he became Dean of Students and interim head administrator, while Jenny completed her educations at Concordia and became principal at St. John’s Lutheran School in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Then the Lord led them to Florida and Illinois and along the way they adopted Samantha and Bohdan.
Curtis and Jenny enjoy spending time with Samantha, Bohdan, and their miniature Schnauzer Sophie. They also like to travel and no house project is too big for them to tackle!
Contact Mr. Wudtke at principal@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Chemistry, Christian Leadership, Intro to Business
Mr. Tim Leech
Mr. Leech joined our staff at the start of the 2012-13 school year. He continues to serve here at Heartland Lutheran as our Assistant Principal and Activities Director.
Timothy was born in Davenport, Iowa but claims North Platte, Nebraska as home. The oldest child of William and Debra Leech, both Lutheran educators, William a Lutheran Administrator for over 30 years, Timothy saw the life of Lutheran educational ministry modeled every day. During his high school years he was involved in baseball, football, basketball, and track, as well as being actively involved in his church youth group and an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America. Promising to not enter church work Timothy signed with the University of Nebraska at Kearney to play football and major in pre-law.
God had other plans for him and after a knee injury and some time off, Timothy enrolled at his father’s alma mater, The Concordia University (Nebraska). Playing two more years of college football as a Bulldog, Timothy found mentors in Dr. Jerry Pfabe and Dr. Matt Phillips and eventually graduated in 2007 with degrees in Secondary Education and Geography, as well as his Lutheran Teachers Diploma.
After graduating from Concordia University Nebraska in 2007, he accepted his first call to teach Theology Social Studies at the Orlando Lutheran Academy where he served until the school closed its doors in 2010. During his time there, he became the assistant head baseball coach, middle school athletic director, assistant athletic director, and even planned a prom and took the eighth grade class on their class trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Before the school closed, Mr. Leech made out with the best Orlando, Florida had to offer, he met and married his wife, Beth while teaching in Florida and upon moving back to Nebraska they welcomed their daughter Lorelei.
While Beth served as a called English teacher at Lincoln Lutheran from 2010-2012, Timothy served as a substitute teacher, assistant football coach, strength and conditioning coach, and earned his Masters Degree in Education from Concordia University Seward in 2012. In 2012 the Lord led Timothy, Beth, Lorelei, and their dog Ruby to Grand Island. Since accepting the call to Heartland Lutheran they have welcomed their son Landon and cat Willy Kitty to the family.
Timothy is known to love C.S. Lewis, the St. Louis Cardinals, dissecting the sport of football, and spending time with his wife and children. He also loves spending time outdoors (fishing, camping, hiking, and hunting) and traveling when time allows.
Contact Mr. Leech at ad@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Theology 3, Theology 4, Journalism, Weight Training
Mr. Josh Holden
Mr. Holden joined our staff at the startof the 2012/2013 school year.
Mr. Holden was born in Santa Clarita, California and attended Cocordia University Nebraska in Seward. He graduated with a B.A. in History and a B.S. in Secondary Education. After his time at Concordia, Mr. Holden took a call to Heartland Lutheran and is our Social Studies teacher as well as an assistant football coach. He is married to Kimberlee Holden, elementary teacher for GIPS.
Contact Mr. Holden at jholden@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Geography, History, Government
Mrs. Kathryn Langrehr
Mrs. Langrehr joined our staff in 2012/2013. Mrs. Langrehr is our biology and PE teacher.
Her mission as a Lutheran-Christian educator is to serve with integrity, honesty, and honor. She wants to help lead your child (her students) to the love of Christ as well as help them to grow and mature with the growth of faith through action, word, and deed.
Kathryn was born and raised in Jefferson City, Missouri. She attended Trinity Lutheran School K-8 and then moved onto Jefferson City Public High. She has lived in Jefferson City most all of her life until college. Mrs. Langrehr has her LTD and Bachelor of Science in Education K-12 Health and Physical Education and Secondary Science/Biology from Concordia University-Nebraska.
Currently she is serving as the Science Coordinator, Head Volleyball and Basketball Coach and has also become a member at Peace Lutheran Church in Grand Island where she met her husband. In her free time, Kathryn and husband Harvey serve in High School and Middle School youth at Peace.
Contact Mrs. Langrehr at klangrehr@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught:Earth Science, Biology, Earth Science, Environmental Science and PE
Mrs. Beth Leech
Mrs. Beth Leech joined our staff in January 2013 and teaches English.
Mrs. Leech attended Concordia University Nebraska and graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Secondary Education, Language Arts and a Lutheran Teaching Diploma. She earned a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia in the fall of 2013. Her first call to teach was at The Orlando Lutheran Academy in Florida in 2003, where she remained until OLA closed its doors in 2010. She then moved to Lincoln Lutheran High School until 2012, at which time Mr. and Mrs. Leech moved to Grand Island.
Mrs. Leech additionally serves HLHS as the Student Council Advisor and Speech Team Coach.
Contact Mrs. Leech at bleech@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: English and Journalism
Mrs. Tami Johnson
Contact Mrs. Tami Johnson at guidance@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Spanish
Mr. Chris Olsen
Mr. Olsen joined our staff at the beginning of the 2013 school year
Mr. Olsen grew up on a small farm outside the village of Cordova, NE. He graduated from Friend Public School in Friend, NE and went on to attend Concordia University in Seward, NE. He graduated with a BA in 1999 and worked in Lincoln at a local music store before returning to CUNE to earn his teaching credential and LTD in 2001.
His first call was to Seattle Lutheran High School in Seattle, WA, where he taught music, religion, math, chemistry and physics. After three years in Seattle he accepted a call back to Nebraska to teach at Concordia Jr./Sr. High School in Omaha, where he taught vocal and instrumental music for grades 5-12.
In 2006 Mr. Olsen answered a new call, this time to serve the nation as a member of the United States Army. He served in the Army as an Infantryman on active duty for nearly six years, including two yearlong deployments to Iraq. After leaving active duty at the end of 2011, Mr. Olsen served two years in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Mortuary Affairs Specialist. He is also working on a master’s degree in information technology.
Mr. Olsen married his wife Bethany in November 2010. They have a cat named Millie, a two-year-old son, Jacob, and a baby girl due in March 2016.
Contact Mr. Olsen at colsen@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Physics, Algebra, Computers and Religion
Miss Robin Seim
Robin Seim started with the 2009/2010 school year at Heartland Lutheran High School and is our music teacher. Miss Seim graduated from Concordia University, Nebraska in 2008 with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. In the spring of 2013, she began work on her master's degree and will be completing a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction in the spring of 2015.
In Miss Seim's spare time she likes to spend time in Seward with friends, serving on Concordia's Alumni Council, participating in church music, cooking/baking, renovating houses and spending time traveling with family and friends.
Contact Miss Seim: rseim@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Choir, Band and Family & Consumer Sciences
Mr. Doug Whitman
Mr. Whitman joined our staff for the 2011/2012 school year. He is a part time teacher and will be teaching Art.
Mr. Whitman attended Doane College and graduated with a BA in Education with emphasis in Visual Arts. He earned a Masters degree in curriculum and assessment from Doane. He started teaching in 1973 in Oshkosh before moving to Grand Island in 1976. He has taught art and coached for 35 years before retiring from public education.
Mr. Whitman is married to Susan, who is an RN at St. Francis Medical Center. They have two daughters. Mr. Whitman enjoys cycling, fly fishing, and golf.
Contact Mr. Whitman: dwhitman@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught: Art
Mrs. Jacqulyn Zehendner
B.A. ed. LTD, Mathematics and History endorsements, Concordia College—Seward, 1995
Mrs. Zehendner has been teaching at HLHS since the very FIRST day! In that time, she has served many roles, including yearbook advisor, history teacher, and volleyball coach. She currently serves as our National Honor Society Sponsor in addition to her teaching duties. Prior to teaching at HLHS, Mrs. Zehendner taught at Sheboygan Lutheran High School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Her family includes her husband Chuck, who served as the Principal/Head Teacher at Zion Lutheran School in Worms, and her three children: Taylor, Jessica, and Colton.
Contact Mrs. Zehendner: jzehendner@heartlandlutheran.org
Classes taught:Algebra I and II, Geometry, Advanced Math
Mrs. Tina Dibbern
Mrs. Dibbern is our Advancement & Financial Associate, having joined our staff in 2014.
Mrs. Dibbern was born in Fremont, Nebraska. She has lived in many places including, Salem and Jefferson, Oregon; Bellflower, California; Fremont, Cedar Bluffs and now Grand Island, Nebraska.
Mrs. Dibbern and husband Adam have 7 children (blended family) as well as 7 grandchildren (one whom they are adopting). They currently are foster parents.
In her spare time, Mrs. Dibbern likes to be in her scrapbook room! She also enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her family and friends, as well as traveling.
Contact Mrs. Dibbern at advancement@heartlandlutheran.org
Mrs. Milensey Furley
Mrs. Furley is our Operations Assistant. She joined our staff in 2015.
Mrs. Furley was born and raised in Grand Island, attended Grand Island Public Schools where she met her husband John. Mrs. Furley and her husband have been blessed with a son, Everett whom is 5 and attends Trinity Lutheran School as a Kindergartner and a daughter, Olivia whom is 3.
In her spare time, Mrs. Furley like to read, bake and spend time with her husband, children, friends and family. She has also recently taken a liking to quilting.
Concat Mrs. Furley at office@heartlandlutheran.org
