our history and mission
Habitat for Humanity of Boone County was founded in 1984 and has built 62 homes, with three more coming in 2020. We are a community-level Habitat for Humanity office that acts in partnership with and on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International. Our affiliate is designed to serve the residents of Boone County and to meet their particular needs throughout the home ownership process. We also serve as a vital link between donors and beneficiaries, providing a medium through which quality housing can be built by the people of Boone County for the people of Boone County.
Our mission is to partner with low-income, hardworking families in Boone County under the conviction that every person and family deserves a simple, decent, and affordable place to live in safety and dignity. We build homes so that all people can experience home ownership and God’s love through our Habitat for Humanity housing ministry and through our many community volunteers and partners.
Homes built by Habitat for Humanity are simple, decent and affordable to low-income families. Habitat homeowners pay interest-free, no-profit mortgages, which are used to build more Habitat houses. Habitat qualifying families, or partner families, are selected based on their need for housing, ability to repay the no-interest mortgage and willingness to partner with Habitat by earning between 200-400 hours of “sweat equity” or volunteer time. Our affiliate maintains a foreclosure rate well below that of any typical bank and selects partner families based on housing need, ability to repay a mortgage, and willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity. Because our partner families pay mortgages and invest over 200 hours of sweat equity labor into their homes prior to becoming homeowners, the Habitat approach offers a "hand up" and not a "hand out."
our management staff
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Board of Directors
Habitat for Humanity of Boone County is led by a
volunteer Board of Directors that makes strategic and
long-term decisions for our affiliate in order to realize our
vision of a Boone County without substandard housing.
Our Executive Director, Liz Qua, worked with the Habitat
for Humanity Boone County Family Services team before
accepting the Executive Director position. She graduated
from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor’s degree
in Aviation Management and flew for the airlines for several
years before choosing to stay home with her children. Liz
has a heart for volunteering and has a variety of experience,
serving both within HBHBC and additional service and
charitable organizations in the greater Indianapolis area for
the last nine years. She and her husband, Doug, live in
Zionsville and have 3 grown children.
Kevin Schmidt is the President of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Boone County. Kevin has been an active member of the financial industry for 37 years, having performed roles in advisory services, training and senior leadership. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, cum laude, from Greenville College, and has received additional leadership training at the Wharton School Institute. In addition to his work serving clients at Stifel Investment Services and the professional community, Kevin is also on the board of directors of The Villages of Indiana - a statewide organization focused on children’s needs and foster care and the past chairman and current board member of the Indiana Council for Economic Education. Kevin is an active member of the Zionsville Presbyterian Church.
John Burkhardt is the Vice President and Treasurer of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Boone County. John has been an active member of HFHBC since 2011 and has been a volunteer mentor and budget coach on our Family Selection committee all that time.
Stacy Snively, the Secretary of the Board of Directors, is a new board member in 2018. Stacy grew up in Wabash, Indiana and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Industrial Management and Manufacturing. After college, she started her career at Eli Lilly & Company, in Finance and Pharmaceutical Sales. After meeting her now husband, Scott, Stacy moved to Chicago and worked as a National Development Manager for Paul Hemmer Companies, a commercial construction and real estate company. Stacy took some time off to raise her young family while also working for Habitat for Humanity of Boone County along side then Executive Director, Steve Furste. Stacy worked with Steve from 2010 to 2015. She is now a full time real estate broker at Century 21 Scheetz and joined the Habitat for Humanity Boone County Board in January 2018.
Jane Burgess grew up in Covington, Indiana and received a B.A. from Purdue University in Elementary Education and Masters in Education from West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She is now a full-time mother, homemaker and volunteer. In addition to serving on the Habitat for Humanity Board, Jane serves as a deacon at Zionsville Presbyterian Church, and serves on the Zionsville School Board. Jane and her husband Claude have two children, Kristin and Thomas. Jane first began her work with Habitat for Humanity in Greenville, South Carolina over 15 years ago. She helped lead ZPC’s Habitat for Humanity team for 4 years. Jane also served on the Fuller Center for Housing of Central Indiana Board of Directors for 5 years when they did a blitz build in downtown Indianapolis of 10 homes in one week with hundreds of volunteers both locally and from around the country. Jane is looking forward to being a part of Boone County Habitat for Humanity.
Brian Douglas became a Hoosier after graduating from Butler University in 1980. He has been a staff anesthesiologist at St. Vincent Hospital since 1988. Brian did his first Habitat blitz build in Americus Georgia in 2000, the resultant ZPC house was blessed by Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter. He recently joined Habitat Board, currently serves on The House That Beer Built team. He has a special interest in installation of hurricane clips, his clips were tested in a recent tornado in Lebanon, and passed. He and his wife Leigh Ann have three children, currently living in Michigan, Oregon and Texas. Brian hopes to engage in other Habitat missions as retirement arrives.
Glen Jourdan is a graduate of the University of Evansville and worked as an agricultural research chemist for Eli Lilly and Co. and then a laboratory manager for Dow AgroSciences. He is married to Susan and they have 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren. As members of Central Christian Church, Lebanon, they participated in Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge for 9 years with Central Christian young adults. These summer work trips were in collaboration with Habitat affiliates in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. As a family, they have volunteered with Boone Co. Habitat for Humanity [HFHBC] since moving here in 1993. Joining the HFHBC board in the fall of 2017, Glen will champion the Repair/Age in Place program.
Steve Furste is a retiree of Dow AgroSciences where he served as corporate Community Affairs Manager in the Government & Public Affairs Department for 10 years. Furste began his career with Elanco Products, a division of Eli Lilly and Company in 1980 where he held sales and marketing positions. . In 1984, he accepted a position as a clinical research associate in the clinical trials area of Eli Lilly and Company, where he remained until 1990. In 1990 he joined the Lilly-Dow joint venture, DowElanco, and held various management positions until his retirement in August of 2004. Furste has been the Executive Director of the Boone County Habitat for Humanity affiliate since 2005. A native of Fort Wayne Indiana, Furste received a B.S. degree in agronomy from Purdue University in 1967, and received his MBA from the University of Utah in 1972. He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 until 1972, during the Viet Nam conflict and was discharged withthe rank of Captain.
Dan Puck and his wife Jody are both Iowa natives and met while attending Iowa State University. After graduating and getting married they spent time living in Wisconsin, Tennessee and finally Indiana as they moved around with Dan’s employer, Dow AgroSciences. They have 2 grown sons who are both graduated and now happily out on their own. Dan retired from Dow after 32 years of service and as part of post-retirement life has a strong desire to increase the amount of time spent volunteering at great organizations such as Habitat for Humanity Boone County. Dan and Jody also cherish their church life at Zionsville Presbyterian Church where they have been active members for over 10 years.
Rex Cheek moved to Zionsville in 1985 from St. Louis, MO. He and Darlene were married in 1991 and have three wonderful children together (Elliot, Laura, & John). He grew up in Evansville, IN and graduated from Bosse High School. After serving four years in the US Air Force , he graduated from Indiana University with a BS in business management. He worked for Ayr-Way/Target for 28 years, owned his own marketing company for five years, and was the director of retail operations for Kiwanis International for seven years. He worked on my first Habitat for Humanity house in 1993 and have been hooked from that point forward. He was a member of the original Tiger Team for the Greater Indianapolis HFH. He has been part of the Boone County HFH since 2018.
Thirty years ago, Judy Christenson married Tim and began an ordinary life together. After moving back to Indiana to take care of Judy’s mother, Tim had a stroke. Thankfully, he survived. Their family was the support they needed to get through this trying time. On the urging of their daughter, they attended a Habitat prospective homeowner meeting. Judy knew that evening something extraordinary had occurred. The application process began. The evening they received the call, she told Tim, “I think we have a house.” She hadn’t cried since Tim had his stroke six years previous. Volunteering for their sweat equity hours was not only helpful for Tim, it was fun for Judy, even while working her job at the hospital. They love their home and will forever be grateful to Habitat for whatever the volunteers saw in them at the first meeting. As Judy says, “Sometimes all survival takes is the kindness of a stranger offering a hand-up not a hand-out.”
Bob Clark is an environmental and trial lawyer with over 40 years of experience. He has been named an Indiana Super Lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. Once he decided to slow down he turned his attention to his true passion - giving back. He co-founded Nokumbaya, Ltd., a not for profit that runs medical missions to some of the poorest countries in the world. He has served on the Board of Camptown, a local organization that serves disadvantaged youth through outdoor activities. With Habit for Humanity, he has been a budget coach, mentor, and part of the Repair program. Bob has two grown sons and two grandsons. An avid outdoorsman, he lives on 10 acres in rural Zionsville.
Kate McGormley grew up in Carleton, Michigan and received a B.A. in English from the College of Wooster, and an M.A in Education from Michigan State University (MSU). Kate worked in higher education from 2005-2012. She took some years off after moving to Indiana and lead a MOPS group, volunteered in the schools, and got involved in her church, and now Kate is working again doing alumni relations for MSU. Kate's love of Habitat started when she was in high school and her youth group fundraised and built a house in her church's town. When she was in college, she did a public relations campaign for the local Habitat chapter, and when she arrived in Indiana she was thrilled to get involved with the Boone County chapter. Kate has led a women's build team for four years, enjoys fundraising, and has helped with the spring fundraiser for a few years as well. Kate has two sons, two dogs, a cat, and a hamster and has been happily living in Zionsville with her husband, Joel, since 2012.
In addition to our Board of Directors, our Family Services Committee also plays an important role. The Family Services Committee is comprised of the Family Selection Committee and the Family Nurturing Committee. The Family Selection Committee is responsible for new applicant orientation meetings, reviewing applications, and selected a family to be presented to the Board of Directors for final approval for partnership. The Family Nurturing Committee is responsible for helping partner families through the home ownership process, addressing any questions, and making sure these families meet all partnership requirements, including sweat equity hours.
Volunteer Coordinator
financials
Habitat for Humanity of Boone County is a 501(c)(3) organization.
contact us
We welcome your calls and questions. Please contact us by phone, mail or email at your convenience. You may also like us on Facebook to see the latest information.
Orientation is held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 PM at 817 West Pearl Street, Lebanon.. We are located in the back of the Love INC Building in Lebanon. Please attend orientation to learn about our home ownership process and to receive an application.
Orientation Location:
817 West Pearl Street
Lebanon, IN 46052
Habitat Office Location:
10650 Andrade Drive
Zionsville, IN 46077
