Staff
Connie Spellman
director
Connie Spellman is the founding director of Omaha by Design. Prior to her arrival at ObD, Spellman served as vice president of education, leadership and workforce development for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. She is also a past director of Leadership Omaha and the Omaha Executive Institute. In addition to her professional duties, Spellman has been active as a volunteer with numerous community organizations. She helped launch the Omaha Job Clearinghouse, Omaha 2000, the Applied Information Management (AIM) Institute, the Greater Omaha Women’s Fund and INROADS Nebraska. She holds a B.S. in secondary education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2009, she was elected to honorary membership in the American Society of Landscape Architects, one of the highest honors the organization confers.
Teresa Gleason
program manager
Teresa Gleason began her duties as program manager at Omaha by Design in October 2006. She previously served as director of communications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is a former southwest Iowa newspaper reporter and editor. Gleason serves on the leadership team of Activate Omaha and is a member of the advisory board for the Neighborhood Center. She holds a B.A. in English and a minor in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University.
Chris Hall
executive assistant
Chris Hall began her duties as executive assistant at Omaha by Design in May 2008. A native of Missouri Valley, Iowa, Hall received her bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Iowa State University. She has extensive experience in the landscaping industry, having worked as a landscape designer at Lanoha Nurseries and as a member of the nursery staff at Moore’s Nursery and Landscaping, both in Omaha. She also served as a landscape architect assistant for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Council Bluffs.