Staff & Board
Duane Toews
Chief Executive Officer
Duane received a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education and a master’s degree in Secondary Education, both from Kansas State University. He was previously the Washington County Extension Agent in 1992, and then moved to the extension office in Beloit. From there, Duane accepted a position with a pair of radio stations in Clay Center, KS, where he has been Farm Director over the last few decades. He is married to his wife Angie, with whom he has three children and eight grandchildren.
email: dtoews@ksds.org
Sandy Nutsch
Client Relations/Office Manager
Sandy began working at KSDS in September of 2020. Having grown up in Washington, she knew of the KSDS business and programs. In 2006, she spent a year working in the KSDS office as a member of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. That experience showed her the importance and benefit the service dogs can have in a person’s life.
Sandy has an Associate Degree in Medical Records Technology and worked in that field at various hospitals or clinics for almost twenty years. Her work as an Administrative Assistant/Secretary led her to other opportunities such as The Rocky Mountain Conservancy in Estes Park. The mountains are something she loves, so Colorado is a favorite spot.
Helping people, volunteering, traveling, spending time with her family, and reading are ways she likes to enjoy her free time.
email: snutsch@ksds.org
Jenny Pachta
Donor Manager
Jenny is a Republic County native. She has an Associates of Applied Science Degree. She has volunteered and worked with non-profit organizations for over 25 years. She is married to Garry Pachta, with whom she has four children, three grandchildren, and many four-legged furry family members. She is very involved in the family’s hay and cattle business.
She started volunteered with non-profit organizations when her children were young, hoping to be an example to them. She served as the Treasurer of The Blair Center for the Arts Board for 8 years. After serving as Treasurer, she became the Executive Director for another 10 years. She has also served on the Board of Directors for NCK CASA and Hope’s Place CAC, Belleville Public Library, USD 109 CARES. She also volunteers at St. Edward’s Catholic Church and River Valley District 4-H as Jr. Leader Sponsor for Republic County.
email: jpachta@ksds.org
Annette Kohlmeyer
Service Dog Trainer/Instructor & Breeding Technician
Annette is an ADI Certified Service Dog Trainer and has an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science, with a Major in Photography and a Minor in Graphic Design. Photography is a hobby that she still enjoys, along with spending long weekends at the lake, golfing, and off road trips.
She has had a love for animals from a very young age. When growing up, there weren’t too many animals she hadn’t encountered on her parent’s family farm. She always wanted to be a Veterinarian, but decided she didn’t want to attend several years of college.
She has two children, a son, Taylor, who attended Kansas State University and a daughter, McKenzie, who attends the University of Kansas. McKenzie has also puppy raised for KSDS. The family adopted a Career Change yellow lab, Kenai, who is keeper of the house, even over the two felines who rule the block they live on.
email: akohlmeyer@ksds.org
Debbie Tegethoff
Guide Dog Trainer/Instructor
Debbie has been with KSDS since 1999. She feels she has the best of both worlds because she loves working with people from all walks of life, as well as the KSDS dogs in training. She enjoys giving programs about KSDS to Lions Clubs and other organizations.
Deb’s activities outside of KSDS include spending time with her husband Don, three married children, and eight grandchildren. She loves attending the grandchildren’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, and baseball games, as well as other school functions. The family enjoys camping and Deb loves to cook and read.
email: dtegethoff@ksds.org
Tulene Farwell
Apprentice Trainer
Tulene has always had a passion for animals of all sizes. Growing up in Orlando, Florida, she had mostly small animal experience, but loved large animals just as much. In middle school she began to volunteer at Freedom Ride, a local non-profit that offers therapeutic horseback riding for individuals with disabilities. While working on her bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences at the University of Florida, Tulene learned about Southeastern Guide Dogs. She began to puppy raise for them during her junior year of college and has helped raise more than seven dogs. When her second dog was placed as a guide, she attended their on-campus celebration where she watched her dog work and spoke with her new handler. Tulene knew that training guide and service dogs was her passion. She loves being able to help someone achieve a newfound level of confidence with an assistance dog at their side. She is excited to continue helping others achieve that independence as a member of the KSDS family, which she joined in August 2021.
In her spare time, Tulene runs an Etsy shop, making handmade leather and bio thane dog gear. She is always ready to spend a rainy-day reading, baking, quilting, or crafting. Tulene also enjoys training for competitive dog sports, like Dock Diving, AKC Scent work, and FAST-CAT with her Golden Retriever, Vera.
email: tfarwell@ksds.org
Brooke Pfizenmaier
Facility Dog Trainer
Growing up on a farm outside of Linn, Kansas, Brooke found a love for animals at an early age. She enjoyed having several pets around the farm and showing some in 4-H. Currently, her parents have three dogs that she loves to spend time with: Lacey, Mya, and Chief. Brooke received an Associates of Science degree at Cloud County Community College. While going to Cloud, she also started working at a mixed animal vet clinic. Brooke then went on to get a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Sciences & Industry from Kansas State University. At K-State, she started working at a small animal vet clinic where she enjoyed seeing the animals and learning a lot.
Brooke and her husband now enjoy living in the country outside of Clay Center with their red heeler, Mercury. In her free time, Brooke enjoys spending time with friends, attending K-State football games, going to coed softball tournaments, or doing any outdoor activity. She has loved being back around her hometown and working in the community. Growing up, she always knew of the great things KSDS did for people, and she is excited to now be a part of that.
email: bpfizenmaier@ksds.org
Eliza Benteman
Canine Housing Unit Coordinator
Eliza grew up just outside of Waterville, Kansas. She attended the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture where she double majored in Veterinary Technology and Equine Health. She went on to become a certified veterinary technician in Kansas and Nebraska. Prior to joining the KSDS team in December of 2020, Eliza had worked as a vet tech in several mixed animal vet clinics.
Growing up on a farm, Eliza has always had a passion for animals of all shapes and sizes. She loves to combine her passion for animals with her desire to help people become more independent. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her furry friends, Junior and Roper, who are Australian Shepherds, and her cat, Princess. She also enjoys riding her horses, Lacey and Sage, kayaking, and spending time with family and friends.
email: ebenteman@ksds.org
Kenneth Cook
Maintenance
Kenneth Cook has spent most of his life as a resident of Washington County. He graduated from North Central High School and went on to earn an Associate of Arts degree in Ag Business from Cloud County Community College.
After dedicating 37 years to working for USD 221 and USD 108, he retired in January 2024.
During his free time, Kenneth enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Kris. They bond over activities like fishing, kayaking, grilling in their yard while listening to music, and going out on weekends. Their family includes 4 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
email: kcook@ksds.org
Anita Martin
Housekeeping
Anita Martin received her Cosmetology license in 1966 and owned and operated her own beauty shop in Washington from 1973 to 2012. At that point, she took a part-time position with KSDS in the housekeeping department primarily cleaning the sixplex and the duplex. Anita also works part-time at Friendly Corners Senior Meal site in Washington. Outside of work, Anita and her husband Gene enjoy following their grandchildren’s games and activities. Anita also likes to volunteer for many of her church’s activities.
McKenzie Metz
Puppy Raiser Coordinator – Interim
McKenzie works as the Interim Puppy Raiser Coordinator while attending college at Kansas State University majoring in Animal Science and Industry with a minor in business. She loves interacting with all the dogs and people involved with KSDS. She has been involved with KSDS for numerous years as a Puppy Raiser and worked as a Kennel Assistant during high school. Although she is not actively puppy raising, McKenzie has raised two puppies for KSDS in the past – a yellow Labrador Retriever, Eowyn, and a black Labrador Retriever named Donkey Kong “Kong”.
email: ksdspuppyraisers@gmail.com
Board of Directors
President
Bill Slater
Treasurer
Lesley Fiser
Member
Brandon Vering
Vice President
Bob Bartkoski
Member
Glenda Keller
Secretary
Sandy Bartkoski
Member
Bill Stenfors
Member
Pete Sherlock, DVM