Our Board and Team
Eric Bodenweiser, Founder & Board Chairman
Our prominent location has been in Eric’s family since 1980. Along with Pastor Don Disharoon, Eric opened the Shepherd’s Office in 2014. Jim Martin attended our first meeting and came on as Pastor and Director in September of 2017. That’s when The Shepherd’s Office truly sprouted its wings. Eric leads our Friday night Bible study, runs our board meetings, oversees the free yard sale and maintains the property. Eric grew up in Millsboro. He and his wife Patty have lived in Georgetown since 1993.
Jim Martin, Director
Jim Martin, originally from the Philadelphia area, struggled with homelessness in Wilmington, Delaware and then took the bus to Georgetown in 2009. He reached out to the homeless people around him. He tried to help them as he also worked hard to stabilize and improve his own life. He organized small Christian groups who teamed up to help each other find daily provisions and other resources. He organized the "Festival of Hope" in Georgetown for the homeless community, and it was a successful event in 2011.
In 2011, Jim was awarded the Jefferson Award for Public Service for his volunteerism with the homeless while also working full time at the Department of Labor in Georgetown on a six month assignment to help returning citizens obtain employment. In 2010, Jim moved into the Oxford House Program as a resident and helped to pilot and organize over 10 sober living group homes as a volunteer from 2010, 2011 and 2012. In total, Jim opened 23 sober living group homes under various program names. He assisted the residents of the various houses to form their own organizations and manage the operations. He also served as a live-in house manager of the New Street House for Men in Georgetown from 2013 to 2017.
In 2011, he was asked to open and manage the A.C.E. Peer Resource Drop In Centers in Seaford and Georgetown focusing on homelessness, active addiction and severe mental illness. A.C.E. means Acceptance, Change, Empowerment.
He also served for three years on the GAC-DSAMH (Governor's Advisory Council to the Div. of Substance Abuse and Mental Health) as a Sussex County Member and served for two years as the GAC-DSAMH Chairman. Jim Martin also served for two years as the Sussex County Member of the Behavioral Health Consortium. He served as the Chairman of SCAPC-Seaford Chapter (Anti-drug Coalition) in 2012.
After 7 years with the A.C.E. Drop In Centers, he was invited by Eric Bodenweiser to help develop and manage the Shepherd's Office program further. He was ordained as the Shepherd's Office Pastor and Program Director in 2018. He is a father and grandfather. He is married to his wife Cathy Martin, and they live in Georgetown. He has four daughters, one son and six grandkids.
Greta Browning, Assistant Director
Greta Browning was born and raised in Delaware. She had always wanted to be a teacher and studied Elementary Education from 1991-1994 but decided that she wanted to do more. Years later, Greta went back to college and earned a degree in Human Services in 2013. She completed one of her internships at the Christian Shelter in Salisbury and even stayed as a weekend volunteer and later board member; however, the commute was long, so Greta prayed that God would open a door for her to serve closer to home. She has served at the Shepherd’s Office since 2018, first as a volunteer, then as the Volunteer Coordinator, and now as the Assistant Director. Greta's jobs include overseeing the volunteers, planning meals, scheduling events, and case management for our guests.
She is now about to take a refresher Spanish class to improve her skills and become an additional help to the Shepherd’s Office and the guests who are served there who speak predominantly Spanish. Greta is very active in her church, the community, in serving others, and is passionate about advocating for those who are unable to do so on their own. She resides in Sussex County with family and takes care of her elderly father. Her hobbies include taking nature pictures, listening to Christian music, and writing cards.
Matthew Opaliski, Board Member
Matthew Opaliski, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania escaped the hustle and hastle of "City Life" to make lower Delaware his home in the early 1990s, first in the Laurel area where he started his family and then eventually settling in the Greenwood area in the late 1990s where he currently resides. Having been involved with many organizations over the years and at varying levels, whether community or civic based, being involved with the Shepherd's Office has proven to be much more beneficial from a spiritual standpoint than he could have possibly imagined.