Greg Herrle, right, visits Rwanda as part of his service as a board member of the Milwaukee-based American Friends of Journey House Actions Rwanda. (Submitted photo)

Greg Herrle

St. John Vianney, Brookfield
Quote: “Go forth and set the world aflame.” — St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Family: Wife, Ruth, daughter and son.
Summer favorite: Impromptu gatherings, barbecues, kids-versus-dads kickball games.
Dream for the future: “Getting more people to have that mindset of being thankful for what they have and recognizing that they have so much to give others.”
Work world: Principal and consulting actuary at Milliman.

The blessing of abundance — and extreme gratitude for it — exudes from Greg Herrle.

Watching and hearing Herrle, you sense abundant positive energy that seems hard to contain. It’s clear that God is the source of that abundance and the driving force behind infectiously sharing it with the world.

The Brookfield resident wants to help more people to be thankful for what they have and recognize that they have so much to give others.

“From a faith perspective, whether it’s giving to the Church or dedicating time to spreading the Word, just realizing this attitude of thankfulness and recognizing that for all the differences we have, we’re meeting at a similar first spot. Then, just saying instead of, ‘What do you think about this? What do you believe?’ let’s ask, ‘How can I present Christ in my life today to you before I ask for anything?’ I think that would just transform how we interact as a society.”

From early on, Herrle’s family life fostered a belief in spiritual abundance, Catholic education and unity with people across diverse relationships and experiences.

“We had friends from different backgrounds, different beliefs and all that. You’re encountering yourself with another human, so you ask, ‘How can you help first and foremost?’” the Boston College graduate says. “I’ve been very, very blessed to have grade school, high school and then college, and all Catholic education.”

He admits that a decade ago, he might not have had the perspective about the deep importance of Catholic education. Becoming a parent has illuminated that for him — particularly his own experience.

“Marquette High was where I really learned to have a faith life beyond the prayers and the basics. It’s where I learned to have genuine friendships and be able to share good times and bad times, and work through stuff. It taught me about that personal relationship. It taught me about taking time for the Examen, and every day taking time to step back. It was truly foundational, transformative,” says Herrle, a member of the class of 2004.

“All of those pieces kind of from grade school, high school and college, that faith formation that has given me this perspective of, you know, openness and thankfulness and gratefulness.”

Herrle was blessed to receive that abundance of Christ in education, so perhaps it’s why he feels that beyond his work in the health care finance field, his vocation is to open doors of Catholic education for others.

He serves on the Marquette University High School Marketing and Communications Committee, the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Milwaukee Advancement Committee, the St. John Vianney Parish Finance Council and the Notre Dame School of Milwaukee Board of Directors.

“I’m Catholic, and who’s going to support Catholic organizations if it’s not Catholics? We’re benefiting from the generations that came before us. How can we keep it alive and pay it forward to the next generation?” he says.

But education is not the only place where Herrle’s faith, energy and enthusiasm find a canvas. He also is a board member of the Milwaukee-based American Friends of Journey House Actions Rwanda.

“It’s ‘feed the hungry, clothe the poor, shelter the homeless.’ We had the opportunity to go over there and see the destruction and poverty that was created following the genocide in 1994. It made this connection on a person-to-person level with some of the folks we were serving over there, and just the basic level of need that exists,’” he says.

The American Friends of Journey House Actions Rwanda supports and funds education, women’s empowerment, workforce development and health improvement programs designed and led by local leaders in Rwanda.

It’s yet another example of Herrle’s infectious expression of abundance, one with God as the center, one that spreads to his children at home, one that spreads across an ocean, one that has spread within and brought a peace in the midst of high-energy giving.

“Love God and try to do what you can, small things for him,” he says, “and everything will be good.”