The Ruth Bruha-Mettner Award is named after the first female director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay, last year’s inaugural recipient
By Rachel Kettner | For On Mission
GREEN BAY, WI — Ruth Bruha-Mettner always knew she wanted to be a social worker. But she never imagined her 40-plus-year career would have such a lasting impact on the lives of others.
Born and raised in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Bruha-Mettner volunteered at the local orphanage, run by Catholic Social Services, during her final year of college in her hometown.
“I worked with a lot of children at the orphanage there, and that just made me more interested in becoming a social worker because the children were separated completely from their parents,” she said. “I enjoyed the fact that I might be able to do something to help them.”
Following graduation and her time helping at the orphanage, Bruha-Mettner asked the Catholic Social Services office for a list of Catholic Charities offices outside of the La Crosse area.
“I wanted to stay in Wisconsin, but I didn’t want to stay in La Crosse, because I was always there,” she said. “They gave me a booklet, and I went home that night with the booklet, closed my eyes, opened it up, and it landed on Green Bay. It was the Lord’s message, I think. I contacted them, and they said they were just happening to look for a new worker.”
Bruha-Mettner moved to Green Bay in 1959 without looking back and stayed with Catholic Charities until her retirement in 1990. As a social worker, she worked with a variety of programs including adoption, marriage counseling, individual counseling and more. She took on various roles throughout the years, eventually becoming the first female executive director.
“It was just a wonderful, wonderful career to have,” she said. “I met a lot of wonderful people and a lot of troubled people. It was so good to know that you could maybe be an instrument of helping somebody. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
One person significantly impacted by Bruha-Mettner’s work was Ellen Mommaerts.
Mommaerts, who was born nine years after Bruha-Mettner started her career in Green Bay, had been hearing about “Ms. Bruha” her entire life.
She was placed for adoption as a newborn and experienced care in several foster homes during her early infancy. She eventually made her way to her forever home with Serena and Louis Mommaerts when she was six months old.
“My entire growing up, (my adoptive parents) would talk about Ruth Bruha,” Mommaerts said. “She obviously had this big influence on my parents, and it just always intrigued me because she was a social worker, and I was contemplating being a social worker as I was getting into college. I thought she did a good job hooking me up with my parents. And if I had ever had the chance to meet her, my goal was just to thank her.”
Many years later, Mommaerts was working at the Norbertine Center for Spirituality and helping host a retreat that Bruha-Mettner just so happened to be attending. Curious if this could be the “Ruth” she had been hearing about for decades, she introduced herself.
“You wouldn’t happen to be Ruth Bruha, would you?” Mommaerts asked. After hearing an affirmative “yes,” she said, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to meet you because my parents talked about you all the time.”
Since their initial meeting, the two have caught up, with Mommaerts sharing her post-adoption journey.
At 18, Mommaerts petitioned the court to open her file so she could learn about her birth family. She went on to meet her birth mother and birth sister, both of whom she now has a relationship with. She met her birth father, but respected his wishes to discontinue any further relationship. She even set up a meeting for Bruha-Mettner to meet her birth mother and sister.
Mommaerts isn’t the only one to recognize the impact Bruha-Mettner has had on the lives of others. In 2025, while attending the 11th Annual Inspired to Act Gala hosted by Catholic Charities, Bruha-Mettner was the recipient of an inaugural award, originally called the Finding the Face of Jesus Award.
“We presented it last year for the first time to an individual who has helped shape Catholic Charities and who we are today, whether it’s been through past volunteerism, advocacy or donation,” said Karmen Lemke, the current executive director of Catholic Charities. “(Bruha Mettner) was the perfect person to receive that inaugural award because she was a trailblazer for Catholic Charities. She was the first female executive director. She was the first woman to, or the first director to, really help start shaping what true social work and case management was going to look like as it does today.”
This year’s Inspired to Act event took place on Thursday, May 7, at Stadium View in Green Bay.
“This is a wonderful gathering of the community to celebrate Catholic Charities,” Lemke said. “We call it a fundraiser, but it’s also a friendraiser. Goals are simply to gather the community in celebration, to create awareness for our mission and what we do, and the impact that we are having on individuals and families. And of course, it does raise important funds to fund our mission.”
The award Bruha Mettner received last year was given again, this time with a new name: The Ruth Bruha-Mettner Award. This year’s recipient was Mary Braband. It is given to an individual for their dedication and loyalty to advancing the Catholic Charities vision and mission.
Bruha-Mettner said she was honored to receive the award last year and humbled by the change in name for future recipients. She loved her time with Catholic Charities and is grateful to witness the continued work it does in the lives of others.
“Some people work for years and don’t like their job at all,” she said. “I never was sorry that I was going to wake up tomorrow morning and go into the office. I looked forward to my work; I really did. I recommend people go into social work. It’s wonderful.”
“The social workers never get credit for the hard work that they do, and they’re just always kind of behind the scenes,” Mommaerts said. “I want to tell this incredible story of how this woman placed me in the right spot with the right people.”