Linda Gettert Kallhoff is Sandhills prairie dweller, daily paying homage to this land, its sky, & their inhabitants through photography, poetry, & prayer. She journeyed here from other careers to care giving & then a recent widowhood. She is now sole proprietor of a ranch in those Sandhills, hoping to foster its existence for the next generation.
She is a Larksong Board member, looking forward to expanding her contributions to Larksong’s mission of supporting writers, & readers & teachers of this fine art.
That's Linda's humble version of her life and her role in Larksong. The truth is, there would be no Larksong Writers Place if it weren't for her. If she had not dedicated the first several years of her well-earned retirement to mentoring, researching, and planning with me, Larksong would still be a dream I was polishing in my mind, imagining instead of doing. The structure that holds this organization together was first constructed by her. The courage and conviction I needed at a time I needed it came from her. Her decision to help build a writers place was the single most important event in Larksong's history. And dang, she can write poetry too!
She was no slouch in her career years either! Linda Kallhoff received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Medical Social Services from Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. Linda served as the Social Services Director for Saint Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill, Nebraska, where she developed the hospital’s first Social Service Department. She worked for 35 years as an Area Director for an organization serving individuals who experienced Intellectual Disabilities. She focused her leadership efforts on transitioning from congregate, segregated services to community-based services designed around each customer’s goals, preferences, and support needs. In addition to area program administration involving budget oversight of 1.5 million dollars, human resource & facilities management, Linda developed curriculum and taught Person-Centered thinking and practices to new employees in the 22-county agency.
Linda served as the first Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Office of Public Guardian which came in to being in 2014. Linda coordinated statewide Guardianship Education classes for 1300 -1500 new private guardians annually. She developed the Court Visitor program designed to help determine eligibility for public guardianship. Linda also developed with Nebraska colleges & universities an internship program to support the work of the OPG & Associate Public Guardians across the state. Linda served as the OPG representative on the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition, & the New Americans Task force.