Our speaker at Lincoln South Rotary Club on August 8, 2025 will be one of the leaders of Justice in Action.
Either Beth or Olivia will be our speaker. 
Rev. Beth Graverholt 
Olivia Butts
Justice in Action - the Organization
Justice in Action has approximately 20 member faith communities. Each year, member communities host a series of Listening Sessions to collect information about the concerns of persons living in Lincoln and Lancaster County. Themes emerge from the stories shared and members gather to democratically select priorities for the coming year. Last year the concerns about access to mental health services and use of diversion programs for persons convicted of non-violent crimes were the focus of Justice in Action.
Rev. Beth GraverholtLead Organizer - Justice in Action
Beth was raised in rural Kansas where she was active in 4-H and her local church. While attending the University of Nebraska—Lincoln to study Nutrition and Dietetics, she worked as an AmeriCorps member providing fitness and nutrition education to under-resourced areas in Lincoln. Beth became involved in campus ministry during her senior year, where she experienced a call to ministry that led her to start a new ministry center near campus in an abandoned church building, now called ConnectioN Point. From 2016 to 2022 she served as the director of ConnectioN Point running a food pantry, community center, and poverty alleviation programs while also working as the Associate Pastor at Christ United Methodist Church. She graduated in June of 2021 from lliff School of Theology with a master’s in divinity and joined the staff of Justice In Action in December 2022.
Olivia ButtsAssociate Organizer - Justice in Action
Olivia was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and a master’s degree in Recreation Administration from Illinois State University. She served as an Instructional Assistant Professor at Illinois State University for seven years, with a one-year hiatus to teach at Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, Thailand. While in Illinois, she dedicated her time to community organizing around local justice issues. She planned and organized issue campaigns around policing and police accountability, ending for-profit systems in the local county jail, court-watching, and cash bail. She served as a representative on the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice for more than four years, working with communities across the state of Illinois to end money bond. She joined the staff of Justice in Action in January 2023.