Staff

Jason Marsden

Executive Director

Jason Marsden has served as executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation since July 1, 2009. He was born in St. James, Minnesota, a small farming town, and moved with his family to Sheridan, Wyoming during elementary school, graduating from Sheridan High in 1990 and Harvard College, with a degree in English, in 1994. He served as field director for the Wyoming Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in 1994 before starting a seven-year career as a Casper Star-Tribune reporter, covering government, the environment, the energy industry and the state’s congressional delegation both from Casper and later from Washington, D.C. Jason won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Environmental Achievement Award in 1998 for his coverage of the litigation and eventual cleanup of Casper’s former Amoco Refinery site, and was twice honored by the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. During the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a personal friend, Jason came out publicly in the newspaper’s pages and spoke frequently to journalism conferences and schools nationwide about coverage of hate crimes in local communities. In 2001, he became the founding executive director of Wyoming Conservation Voters and the WCV Education Fund, Wyoming’s leading political and lobbying organization for wildlife and environmental conservation. He is a former member of the boards of directors of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming, the Equality State Policy Center, the Wyoming Wilderness Association and the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, and continues to lobby the Wyoming Legislature against ending the Equality State’s recognition of valid same-sex marriages from other states and countries. Jason and his partner of 13 years, former Casper Mayor Guy Padgett, live in Glendale, Colorado.

Greg Greenhalge

Development Director

Greg Greenhalge joined the Matthew Shepard Foundation as the Development Director in July 2010. A Colorado native, Greg was born in Longmont, is a third-generation Longmont High School graduate, and holds an M.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado-Denver, which included work on launch, startup, and fundraising for nonprofits, and involvement in grant applications. Greg has extensive marketing experience, having worked for the Children’s Hospital of Colorado and Out Front Colorado, a statewide GLBT newsmagazine. He previously supervised onsite volunteers for the Foundation’s “Bear To Make A Difference” annual gala for several years and was a member of the gala’s dinner committee. Greg continues to maintain a strong relationship in his church since participating in its youth ministry program as a teenager. His involvement has now led to his current role as director of children, youth, and family ministries as well as serving on the Rocky Mountain Conference’s “Conference Council on Youth Ministries” for the United Methodist Church in planning its youth leadership events, including assisting with a 400-student ministry charity program in South Carolina repairing low-income families’ homes. As Development Director, Greg ensures that adequate financial resources are raised for the Foundation’s programs, through individual donations, grants, corporate partnerships, gifts and bequests, and earned income such as e-commerce, events, and speaking engagements. Greg serves as the Foundation’s point of contact in working with third-party event sponsors, acknowledging gifts, and overseeing key fundraising activities such as Bear to Make a Difference, Bear on the Road, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week in Crested Butte, CO.

Susan Burk

Laramie Project Specialist

Susan Burk joined the Foundation as its first-ever Laramie Project Specialist in June 2011. A former radio and television news anchor and theatre professional, Susan works to lead and strengthen the Foundation’s support system for school and community productions of The Laramie Project, an award-winning play by the Tectonic Theater Project which relates the actual spoken stories of Laramie, Wyoming residents in response to the 1998 anti-gay hate-crime murder of Matthew Shepard. MSF’s support work includes educational materials, audience/cast “talk-back” sessions, production advice, and historical context. She also works in collaboration with Tectonic Theater Project, which created the show and its Epilogue, The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, to expand educational opportunities associated with The Laramie Project, help theatre companies navigate issues that may surround their productions,  and create and strengthen ties within the online presence and forums of both organizations. Susan attended the Graduate Acting Program at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago (now The Theatre School at DePaul), and has strong backgrounds in theatre, journalism, and Matthew’s story. At the time of Matthew Shepard’s murder, his funeral, and the trials of his killers, she was the Executive Producer/Senior Anchor for the evening news at KTWO Television. Based in Casper, KTWO-TV was the statewide NBC affiliate, and it was Ms. Burk’s primary responsibility to arrange and implement coverage for all of these events, including community reaction and response. She produced a series on the making of The Laramie Project film that won the top news awards from both the Wyoming Associated Press and the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters that year. She is based in Casper, Wyo.

Robert House

Programs and Outreach Manager

Robert House joined the Matthew Shepard Foundation as the Programs and Outreach Manager in September 2011. A Spokane, Washington native, Robert originally came to the Mile High City to attend Regis University where he received a BA in Politics while minoring in Peace and Justice Studies. He also spent a year in Italy studying the effects of history, culture and religion on the political process. Upon graduating, he was awarded the Regis Diversity Award, presented annually to the person or organization that best exemplified the promotion of diversity on campus that academic year. Robert has extensive grassroots organizing experience: During his year of volunteer service in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Seattle, Washington, he worked as a policy advocate at Lifelong AIDS Alliance. The Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a year-long service experience focused on simplicity, social justice, community and spirituality, solidified in him the need to make a positive impact in the world through his work.

Robert previously worked with the Foundation as an Intern in the spring of 2009 and as Program support staff on early 2011 for the MatthewsPlace.com youth summit. As Programs and Outreach Manager, Robert oversees the Foundation’s online and in-person programs, working with school, community groups and companies to make speakers available across the nation to spread the message of Erasing Hate.

Warren Greene

Operations Director

Warren Greene oversees the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s day-to-day business operations including its financial accounting, bookkeeping, and legal compliance; its facilities and equipment; vendor relationships; and other management responsibilities.

 

 

Logan Shepard

Communications Associate

Logan Shepard is Matthew Shepard’s brother and a longtime Foundation staff member. He manages MSF’s e-commerce and product lines and provides customer support and other administration for the “Erase Hate” product line. He also assists with media and interview requests for Judy and Dennis Shepard.