Our Leadership

Tim Poepsel
CEO

Empac Group Inc., which employs around 270 Franklin County residents, appointed Tim Poepsel as the new Chief Executive Officer In December, 2020.

“From day one, he came onto the board involved,” Executive Director Colleen Himmelberg said. “He visited and educated himself and was invested in everything we do from legislative to advocacy to financial work.”

Tim has worked for national manufacturing companies and managed large sales divisions.  He joined the board of directors of Empac Group in 2018 and accepted the CEO role in 2021.  In addition to a long range of professional career experience, Tim has served in high leadership positions in many non-profit organizations.

Tim is a visionary leader with an extreme focus on the mission of providing employment and employment services to people with disabilities.  He strives to create access to these services through marketing and community relations.

Christa Mohesky
Director of Operations

Prior to coming to Empac, Christa worked in the healthcare field in clinical research, development, and process auditing.  She brought the talent and expertise to Empac as the Director of Quality and Customer Service and has since been promoted to Director of Operations..

In this position, Christa is responsible for all operations at the Washington and Sullivan plants including staffing assignments, job costing, quality assurance, customer service, logistics, and warehousing.  

Christa is consistently looking for ways to improve quality and increase customer satisfaction.  She strives to bring in new business for the growth and development of our employees.

John Walsh
Plant Manager

John has been with Empac Group, formerly called Sheltered Workshops Inc., since 1994 where he guided the development of the fabrication department that makes custom wood pallets, shipping crates and other custom built wood products. Prior to being promoted to plant manager, John managed the company’s safety program, including OSHA compliance.  In addition, John managed logistics and helped oversee many aspects of customer service and quoting. 

John is highly dedicated to the fulfillment of all customer needs and to making a great workplace and experience for all our employees.

Sara Gratzer
Director of Employment Services

As the Director of Employment Services, my role is to manage all Employment Services for Empac Group. I also get to work directly with the individuals we serve and lead the continued expansion and development of employment services for Franklin and surrounding counties. I love getting to know each and every individual I work with and see them achieve their goals.

Specialized Training: Positive Behavior Supports, Non-violent crisis intervention, CPR/First-Aid, Certified Inclusion Coalition for Employment Mentor, and Autism specific training.

Nate Tate
Director of Information Technology
and Corporate Compliance

As the Director of Information Technology Nate has the responsibility for providing strategic oversight of information technology resources and for developing the company’s long-term technology vision. His role as Corporate Compliance Officer is to work with all departments to facilitate compliance with policies, laws, regulations, risk management, and government relations matters.

Nate has a background in corporate cyber security and serves as a state representative in Missouri.

Rachel Shaffer
Director of Human Resources

Rachael has been with Empac Group, Inc. since 2014 and brings years of management experience to her work here. She previously held roles in Safety and HR Coordination as well as our community employment program, where she developed pilot programs for individuals impacted by disabilities that are annual programs still active today.

She became the Director of Human Resources in 2021. Rachael has been a passionate advocate for the individuals she serves within our organization, but also for Empac Group by speaking in various businesses throughout the community about the importance of our mission and developing relationships that will serve us well into the future.