Our Staff

Jeanie Hau joined PRI in 2023.  As the coordinator for the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway and Iowa Valley Scenic Byway, she works with communities across the state to preserve their historic landmarks and natural beauty and promote their unique businesses and attractions.  A favorite part of the job is travelling the byways and seeing the reactions on Facebook to the treasures she encounters along the way!

Jeanie has a background in landscape architecture, with experience writing cultural landscape histories for the National Parks Service and facilities planning at Iowa State University.  Before joining PRI, she raised children Arabella, Audrey and Joshua and volunteered in her community (Madrid).  In her spare time, she applies her landscape design skills to her flower garden and also enjoys reading and thrift shopping.

Dan Haug joined PRI in 2017.  Part of his job involves analysis: using GIS to map conservation opportunities and R programming to make sense of water quality data.  Part of his job involves environmental education: giving presentations, organizing volunteer water monitoring and trash cleanup events, and a project to install watershed and creek signs.  His favorite project was creating a series of short videos for the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, which combined water and policy facts with a good dose of fun, including an office-wide disco flash mob!

Dan returned to his home town of Ames after studying Water Resources Management at the University of Wisconsin and working on wetlands and groundwater at the Wisconsin DNR.  In his spare time he enjoys making music (choir, oboe, accordion) and the outdoors.  He has two kids and three cats.

Daniel Huber joined PRI in 2020.  In addition to keeping our computers running and reporting on social media and website analytics, he has worked on video editing and marketing projects. 

Daniel graduated this spring from Iowa State University in Management Information Systems, and is now working as a consultant in cyber security, but stops in now and then to troubleshoot issues that arise and recently helped us with a major server upgrade.

Shellie Orngard joined the staff in 2021 after serving on the Board.  She currently works to inventory properties near the Lincoln Highway in Iowa that are on the National Register of Historic Places.  She is especially proud of the multimedia travelling exhibit about the Lincoln Highway that she created while serving as the interim byway coordinator, which (so far) has been seen by hundreds of people in eight counties.

Shellie is a retired English professor with skills in writing, editing and non-profit management.  In her spare time she enjoys travel and listening to all kinds of live music, including the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Katelyn Rinicker is our newest member of the staff, joining us in July of 2024.  She will be working on a grant project to restore monarch butterfly habitat on agricultural land, and will continue working with the City of Ames and other partners to implement the Pollinator-Friendly Community Plan.  She is excited to educate the public on how every individual can be active in conservation!

Katelyn graduated from Bemidji State University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with an emphasis in ecosystems. Following college, Katelyn joined the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, collecting data on Monarch butterflies, collecting seed from prairie plants, and restoring habitat. In her free time, Katelyn likes to visit breweries, go for nature walks, and work on home improvements with her boyfriend—including restoring his backyard to prairie!

Carman Rosburg is our longest-serving employee, having filled various roles in volunteer, part-time, and full-time capacities since 2005.  As the office administrator, Carman manages the organization’s accounts and payroll, answers the phone, and does dozens of other tasks to keep us running.  Her experience has given her an appreciation for the long-term partnerships and dedication to mission that goes into the work of an environmental non-profit, and the difference we can make for the places we live and work.

Along with her husband Tom, Carman is active in many organizations that preserve and restore prairies.  They live on a 32-acre farm near Colo, raising free range Berkshire hogs in the summer, a few laying hens, and a large garden, along with cats, a dog, and a rabbit.  In her spare time, she enjoys visiting her grown children and grandkids and cheering on the Cyclones and Packers.