Rev. Otto B. Schultz, MDiv. is the Executive Director and an ex-officio board member. He has been a Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADC) for over 40 years.  He has been a congregational Pastor, treatment Chaplain, intervention and prevention educator, entrepreneur, grant writer, and program developer. He also appears to be a failure at retirement.

Pastor/Chaplain

From 1970-1978 he served congregations in Ohio, Missouri and Kansas as both a sole Pastor and as assistant. As his recovery took hold, he completed 15 months of Clinical Pastoral Education and began working as a treatment chaplain, serving two agencies between 1975 and 1992. He returned to that role from 2010 to 2016. 

Educator

His driving desire was to educate clergy, other professionals, and business leaders in working with people who have substance use disorders. In several hundred one and two-day seminars, he has trained over 5,000 managers and human service professionals.  In hundreds of speaking engagements, he’s addressed over 25,000 people in business, church, school, professional, and civic groups about practical approaches to alcohol and drug-related problems. 

Entrepreneur/ Grant Writer

Trained by an expert through 2 years of tutoring, he has worked with multiple agencies over many years both in both behavioral health issues and in grant writing.  He also counseled with families on how to intervene with compassion while holding the individual accountable.    

Program Developer

From 1997 – 2001 Schultz developed a peer-oriented, research-based, high-risk drinking intervention strategy for colleges called Flashing Your Brights.  A coalition of 5 schools and Lincoln Medical Education Foundation utilized $350,000 in grants from the U. S. Department of Education and others to develop the concept into a complete curriculum.  

From 2003 to 2006 Schultz was the Coordinator for the Lancaster County Substance Abuse Action Coalition, consisting of over 300 individual members and 70 agencies from the treatment, prevention, and criminal justice fields.  He was instrumental in developing the strategic plan and acquiring $750,000 of grant-based funding for the coalition.  

Working with Region 5 Prevention Systems, he helped adapt the Faith Partners program for 15 congregations in Southeast Nebraska from  2017-2022.  This project trained and supported volunteer teams within congregations that address substance use and mental health issues.