Six members added to Wisconsin Alumni Association Board of Directors

Six accomplished graduates of the University of Wisconsin–Madison have been named new members of the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) Board of Directors.

“This is a diverse group of exceptional alumni who care deeply about helping WAA connect UW graduates to their alma mater and to each other,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA President and CEO.

New WAA board members include:

• Farrah Flanagan ’98, editor and producer at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta;
• Curt Fuszard ’76, President and CEO of Associated Investment Services, Inc., an affiliate of Green Bay, Wis.-based Associated Bank;
• Jean Towell Gebhard ’78, assistant director of media relations for Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee;
• Diana Haugen ’05, a public relations specialist with the Chandler Chicco Agency in Santa Monica, Calif.;
• Pete Kappelman ’85, co-owner of Meadow Brook Dairy Farms, LLC, in Manitowoc, Wis.; and
• Stephanie Swartz ’74, chief nursing officer of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis.

Board member Reed Hall of Marshfield, Wis., executive director of the Marshfield Clinic, has been named chair of the board of directors. Hall is a native of Tomah, Wis. and earned his bachelor’s degree in American institutions from UW–Madison in 1970.

Hall has been active in WAA’s Marshfield Chapter and Founders’ Days for more than 20 years and is a Bascom Hill Society benefactor. Hall, who has served two previous terms on the WAA Board, succeeds Douglas K. Griese ’75 of Troy, Mich., as the board’s chair.

As members of the WAA board, these alumni partner with the association’s executive leadership and staff to drive the strategic thinking and direction of the independently financed, nonprofit organization, serving more than 376,000 living alumni.

WAA board members review and approve policy, oversee WAA finances and serve as ambassadors for UW–Madison and WAA by strengthening relationships with campus and community leaders in Wisconsin and around the world.

Current board members also include:

• Hilton Augustine, Jr. ’82, chairman and chief executive officer, Global Management Services, Inc., Washington, D.C.;
• Valarie King Bailey ’82, chief executive officer, OnShore Technology Group, Inc., Chicago;
• Nancy Ballsrud MBA’82, vice president of administrative division and regional treasurer for Latin America, Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis;
• Theodore (Ted) Beck MBA’76, president and CEO, National Endowment for Financial Education, Denver;
• Donna Beestman MA’68, president and founder of Career Success Strategies, LLC, Madison;
• Sharon Chamberlain ’65, president and founder of Chamberlain Research Consultants, Madison;
• William Chapman ’82, director of investor relations and external relations, W.W. Grainger Inc., Chicago;
• Brian Christensen ’84, managing director for Phoenix-based consulting service Protiviti, Inc.;
• Peter Christianson ’71, JD’77 (1st Vice Chair), partner, Quarles & Brady, Madison;
• Kunyoung Chung, MBA’85, PhD’88, visiting scholar at UW–Madison’s School of Business and former dean of Keimyung University in Korea;
• Paul J. Collins ’58, retired vice chairman of Citigroup and chair of the UW Foundation Board of Directors (ex-officio);
• H. Margo Edl, member of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine’s board of directors;
• David Florin ’92, president of Hiebing, a Madison-based marketing communications firm;
• Douglas K. Griese ’75, sales manager, Donaldson Company, Inc., Brighton, Mich.;
• Camille Haney ’69, president of the Haney Group, a public affairs firm in Madison;
• Jack Kaiser JD’76, practicing partner at Schrage & Kaiser Law, Eau Claire, Wis.;
• D. Cecil Martin ’99, co-captain of the 1999 Rose Bowl team, former NFL player, and public speaker, New York;
• Bill McCoshen ’87, vice president of Madison-based Capitol Consultants, Inc.;
• Casey Nagy MA’89, special assistant to the Chancellor, UW–Madison (ex-officio);
• William Raaths ’69, chief executive officer, Great Northern Corporation, Appleton, Wis.;
• Vasudevan Rajaram PhD’78, environmental engineer at Techknow Engineering LLC, Chicago;
• Renee Ramirez ’83, (2nd Vice Chair) executive director of the Waukesha Community Dental Clinic;
• Judi Roller, associate dean of UW–Madison’s College of Letters and Science (ex-officio);
• Jay Sekelsky ’81, MBA’87, principal and senior portfolio manager, Madison Investment Advisors, Middleton;
• Jeff Wiesner ’83, a Waukesha resident retired from Accenture;
• Andrew (Sandy) Wilcox, president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation (ex-officio); and
• Jeanan Yasiri MS’85, executive director of the UW Center for Nonprofits, Madison.

Founded in 1861, WAA offers UW alumni and friends a wide variety of services, including the award-winning On Wisconsin Magazine, Badger Insider Magazine, career services, international travel opportunities and lifelong learning events.