About GHGA

Wendy Petschauer Walters, President

A GHGA member since 2007 and a Director since 2012. Wendy has served as editor of The Gottscheer Connection since 2012 and Treasurer since 2016.  Wendy was a member of the 2008 GHGA Discover Gottschee Tour and was thrilled to visit the village of her great-grandparents, Johann Petschauer (Mitterdorf #10) and Josefa Sterbenz (Untertappelwerch #13), who immigrated to Iowa in 1899.

A native Minnesotan, Wendy is a founding member of the Gottscheers of the Upper Midwest and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.  She enjoys playing the piano, biking, cheering on the Minnesota Twins, being at lake, and researching family history. She and her husband, Alan Gale now divide their time between Florida and Minnesota.

Jennifer Machgan, Vice President

A member of GHGA since 2013, Jennifer joined the board as an Associate Director in 2020 and also served as secretary of the board from 2022-2026. Jennifer is a 2nd generation American whose mother is an immigrant born in the refugee camp Lager 5, near Kapfenberg, Austria.  Jennifer’s other relatives on her mother’s side came from Gottschee, Slovenia including her Aunt Mary Rees who is the current Director on the GHGA board. 

Jennifer remembers growing up listening to stories that Oma and Opa would tell from the old country and fondly remembers the Gottschee language, songs/music (especially the accordion) and food.  Jennifer has been to Slovenia twice with the GHGA tour of Gottschee and Slovenia (2014 & 2017) where she fell in love with the country and wants to learn more.  Jennifer’s hope is to continue to carry on the stories, food and song of her heritage to the younger generation to keep the traditions alive.

Brigitte Hutter Schmidt, Secretary

– A GHGA member since 2013, Brigitte co-chaired the committee for the organization of the GHGA conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in June 2015. She participated in the 2017 GHGA tour of Gottschee and Slovenia which allowed her to visit her mother’s birthplace, Merleinsrauth, and her father’s, Hinterberg. Her maternal grandfather was from Mittergras and immigrated to Canada in 1927 to work as a lumberjack and in the gold mines of Ontario. Through his sponsorship, her parents were able to immigrate to Timmins, Ontario shortly after Brigitte was born in Klagenfurt, Austria in 1948. For over five decades both parents were active members and leaders of the Toronto Gottscheer Club.

With an honours degree in German and English Literature from the University of Toronto, Brigitte pursued a career in education as a secondary school teacher. She retired in June 2012.  Brigitte is married to Larry Schmidt, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto who shares her interest in Gottscheer history and helped her to organize the Toronto conference. Together they have raised four children whose questions about their ancestry led Brigitte to join the GHGA.  She and Larry are also the proud grandparents of six grandchildren

John Schulte , Treasurer

John is a retired U.S. Navy Desert Storm veteran and recently retired Vice President of Finance & Technology with more than 28 years of finance and IT experience. While completing his military reserve service and building a long career in financial and technology management, he turned his attention to preserving family history — a passion that began in the 1990s when he started researching genealogy to help his children understand their roots.

Over the years, John has become an active contributor to the genealogy community. He volunteers with multiple USGenWeb counties across the Midwest, serves in board roles with the Germanic Genealogy Society of Minnesota and formally with the International German Genealogy Partnership, and currently serves as Treasurer of the Gottscheer Heritage & Genealogy Association. In addition to his financial stewardship, he supports GHGA with technology and website management, combining his professional expertise with his commitment to preserving heritage.

Thom Tramposch

Bio to come.

Mary Krische Rees

Mary is currently the Membership Chair.  She was appointed Director in the year 2000.  Mary was born in Wretzen, Gottschee in 1939. The family of five moved to the Rann Resettlement area in 1941. Four years later they ended up as refugees in Lager 5, near Kapfenberg, Austria. In 1952, now a family of seven they immigrated to the United States. For 24 years, she was an accounting manager for Berlitz GlobalNet, retiring in December 2002. She is an artist, and has donated a number of her paintings to GHGA for fundraising. She created a songbook of Gottscheer songs, printed in Gottscheerisch, German, and English. Mary has transcribed the recorded oral histories of Gottscheers and has written several articles for The Gottschee Tree. She and her husband, Bob Rees, hosted several tours to Gottschee and live in Chatsworth, California. They are the proud parents of three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.        

Cynthia Hiris

Bio to come.

Sebastien Ruppe

Sebastien has been a member of the GHGA for many, many years.  He was appointed Associate Director in 2024. Sebastien’s paternal grandfather, Emil Ruppe was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1913 to Peter Ruppe (b.1884) of Unterpockstein, and Aloisia Schager (b.1883) of Reintal. Aloisia immigrated to the U.S. in 1900 to join her father in Cleveland. Peter arrived in 1901 to join his brother, also in Cleveland. The family left Ohio in the 1940s for Los Angeles, California, which is where Sebastien was born and raised. Having worked in the same industry since 2015, Sebastien has been Production Manager at a thriving medical device startup outside of Sacramento since 2021.

Marc Richards

Bio to come.

Ellie Stonitsch, President Emeritus

A charter member of GHGA and Secretary from 2000 to 2015 and served as President of the GHGA until 2025. Ellie led the 2008 Gottschee Tour to Slovenia and was also on the 1999 tour. She co-edited History of the Parish of Mösel. Ellie compiled a Gottscheer Bibliography containing over 400 entries that is now on the updated GHGA website.  Ellie was born in Dreml (near Rann) in the Resettlement area and in 1950 immigrated to Glendale, NY.  Ellie and her husband, Lou Stonitsch, lived in the house her father built at the Gottscheer Country Club in Walden, New York. Ellie’s parents were Heinrich Stiene of Doblitschberg and Anna Banowetz of Jelsevnik. Lou’s parents were Ludwig Stonitsch of Unterdeutschau and Anna Verderber of Otterbach. Ellie and Lou live in the Atlanta, Georgia area and are the parents of two married children and have three grandchildren.