We have always loved a good map, the kind that gets a little torn at the edges because we have actually gone somewhere worth finding. For years, Greg Ebeling was busy navigating the complex world of school administration, serving for 15 years as the superintendent at Pella Community Schools. He spent over three decades helping kids figure out who they were supposed to be in the world, operating under the firm belief that education serves as the great equalizer in life. He was a math teacher once, too, which means he deeply appreciates how things add up and how structured environments impact long-term development.
Now, Greg is trading his traditional retirement for a front-row seat to global transformation, officially joining Many Hands as our new Chief Operating Officer.
It turns out that numbers look a lot different when viewed through the lens of global impact. Greg used to see this from a seat on our Board of Directors, but his analytical framework shifted when he transitioned to ground-level observation. Having traveled to the red dirt roads of Haiti and the coastlines of Abaco , he approached our programs not just with a pastor’s heart, but with a superintendent’s critical eye for systems, accountability, and metric tracking.
During his recent site evaluations, Greg focused heavily on program integrity and leadership health. He didn’t just look at the immediate relief being provided; he analyzed the structures driving long-term sustainability. In our First 1000 Days program, he evaluated the rigorous record-keeping and strict enrollment protocols that maintain organizational accountability. When inspecting our School of Light, his educational background led him to collaborate directly with Principal Micul, strategically pushing the curriculum away from traditional Haitian rote memorization toward critical problem-solving and entrepreneurial trade skills. For Greg, a classroom is only as effective as the measurable outcome it creates for the child’s future.
As a finance and data-driven leader, Greg also recognized a compelling mathematical truth about the economy of heaven. He noted that a standard financial gift toward a local building project here at home makes a modest, supplemental difference within a resource-rich environment. However, that exact same amount of money in a place like Pignon possesses immense buying power. It can build an entire concrete classroom, secure a localized food supply chain, or establish a permanent health network for families. The return on investment for donor generosity multiplies exponentially when resources are funneled into these high-need regions.
We know that true development requires generational change, a reality that takes decades of consistent execution. Greg is stepping into our global operations to ensure our processes are future-proofed, our local leaders are fully equipped, and our systems are scalable. He is applying his lifetime of administrative oversight to clear the path so that your monthly giving goes further and accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do. We are honored to have his steady, strategic hand on the wheel as we move forward.
About Many Hands:
Many Hands is an Iowa-based nonprofit dedicated to transforming together, to be in action, in a broken world. We desire to walk alongside the community and empower individuals and families by focusing on education, agriculture, leadership, safe structures, youth programs, and early childhood development. Together, we can rebuild lives and restore hope, one person, one family, one community, at a time.
