Wood Butter supports the educational and community development goals that leaders from the Nahu villages identify.
Wood Butter’s History
Michael Murphy and Julie Bauch (married) established Wood Butter in 2020. Michael was born and raised in Papua New Guinea. During those formative years, he lived in one of the Nahu villages, Moro, and has maintained his relationships with the community as an adult. In 2019, Michael introduced Julie to the Nahu families, who welcomed her fully. During that visit, Nahu leaders asked Michael and Julie to help them stock the Gumose Community Library with books.
As a first step, Michael and Julie established Wood Butter as a nonprofit with status as a 501(c)(3) public charity. So, your donations to Wood Butter are tax deductible. Recently, the talented Ben Rengstorf, Lauren Kebschull, and Megan Barry joined Wood Butter, and other professionals (Luke Borkenhagen) have lent their skills to this effort. Learn about each of our team members below. We look forward to lending our hands to any number of development initiatives identified by Nahu leaders. For now, we’re ready to dig into our first project: to partner with you, accept your books and donations, and deliver those resources to the Gumose Community Library.
Tax Information for Donors:
Download Wood Butter’s IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter here.
EIN/Tax ID: 85-3703819
Why the name “Wood Butter”?
The Nahu people speak three languages: Iyo (indigenous), Tok Pisin (a trade language), and English (formal). Wood butter (strictly, “butta”) is Tok Pisin slang for “avocado”. We chose this name for three reasons:
While foreign, avocado tress grow in Nahu ground. Like us, avocado trees are not native to Nahu. We are invited guests. With this in mind, Wood Butter’s goal is to support projects the Nahu people ask us to support. Each project belongs to the Nahu people.
One avocado tree produces many avocados. Wood Butter’s goal is to help support Nahu projects bear fruit that the entire community can enjoy, not one person or family line.
Avocado trees grow slowly. From seed to fruit, it can take years for an avocado tree to produce avocados. Similarly, it will take time for Wood Butter to deliver resources, yield successes, and gain trust. It will take time for Wood Butter to bear fruit that’s sustainable.
Wood Butter’s Team
Michael Murphy
Michael is an attorney, mediator, and educator. His practice centers on working with American Indian tribes and their businesses. Michael served the Papua New Guinea National and Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Center as a Fulbright Scholarship Grantee (2012-2013).
Julie Bauch
Julie is a registered nurse with a Master’s of Science in Global Health Sciences from University of California - San Francisco. She has over 16 years of experience in public health, international health, research, and clinical work. Currently, Julie is the Opioid Response Coordinator for Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Ben Rengstorf
Ben has been a public school teacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the past 15 years. He holds an Master’s of Education in Spanish and English as a Learned Language, which he taught for 10 years before transitioning to food education. Ben was born in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and lived there for the first 4 years of his life. Insomuch, he is looking forward to bringing his experience in literacy/language and his background in PNG to this meaningful project.
Lauren Kebschull
Lauren is a marketing and communications specialist, with expertise in brand building, marketing campaign development and strategic partnerships. She brings a balance of creativity and process-focus to the team, with experience in creative direction, collateral development, process creation and project management. She has been a leader in marketing for a variety of industries and for a range of companies, including Whole Foods Market, the American Craft Council, and Virgin Pulse.
Megan Barry
Megan was born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Denver, followed by a Masters of Science in Global Health Sciences from the University of California at San Francisco. Internationally, she has worked for over 10 years with rural communities in South Africa, Rwanda, and Malawi in health care and development. She has lived in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Denver in various positions in global health, international development, health systems strengthening, adventure travel, event planning and program management. She currently lives in Colorado Springs and is the Executive Director at the Quad Innovation Alliance.