Board of Visitors
The Political Science Department Board of Visitors Board volunteers its time to help the Department increase career, internship, and other opportunities for students; promote the Department's image and identity; and support development and outreach. The Board's members, who serve three-year terms, are alumni and Department friends who have excelled in a wide variety of careers and pursuits.
Members of the Board of Visitors
Former members
David Adamany (1963 MS Political Science, 1967 PHD Political Science)
David Adamany is Chancellor and Laura Carnell Professor of Law and Political Science at Temple University. He previously served as president at Temple and at Wayne State University in Detroit. Adamany served as Wisconsin Secretary of Revenue and in other state government positions in Wisconsin and Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Robert Barnett (1968 BA English/History)
Robert Barnett is a senior partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly LLP. He represents major corporations and individuals in litigation matters, corporate work, contracts, crisis management, transactions, government relations, and media relations. He has served as debate adviser for eight Democratic presidential and vice presidential campaigns, including Walter Mondale, Geraldine Ferraro, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton. During his almost 30 years of practice, he has represented clients before almost every executive department and administrative agency in Washington, D.C. He earned a bachelors degree in English and History from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rita Braver (1970 BA Political Science)
As a national correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, Rita Braver reports on everything from arts to national politics to foreign policy. Prior to that, Braver worked for CBS News as a White House correspondent and as a law correspondent. She has filed stories on the Columbia space shuttle explosion, the Iran-Contra controversy, and Bill Clinton's 1996 presidential campaign. She has interviewed Attorney General John Ashcroft and shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. Her honors include five Emmy Awards. She holds a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Stephen F. Brenton (1975 BA Political Science)
Steve joined the Wisconsin Hospital Association in January 2002 and serves as the Association's president/CEO.
Steve worked for WHA earlier in his career, serving as the Association's Senior Vice President for Government Relations before departing for Charleston, West Virginia in 1988 to become president of the West Virginia Hospital Association. In 1992, Steve returned to the Midwest and served as president of the Iowa Hospital Association until his return to Madison in 2002.
Steve's professional background focuses heavily on federal and state government relations and advocacy. He currently serves as a board member of the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, the Wisconsin Health Information Organization, SmokeFree Wisconsin and the UW Population Health Institute Advisory Board. He is also active on a number of committees of the American Hospital Association.
Steve is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Political Science - 1975).
Edward B. Cohen (Career/Internship Committee Chair) (1971 BA Political Science)
Edward B. Cohen is vice president for government and industry relations for Honda North America. Prior to joining Honda, he served as deputy solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior; a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine; deputy special assistant to President Jimmy Carter; and counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a law degree from Georgetown University.
Richard A. Davies (1979 BA Political Science/Economics)
Mr. Davies is responsible for developing and supporting AllianceBernstein's defined contribution product solutions for plan sponsors globally. He took on his current responsibilities in June 2008 after leading institutional defined contribution efforts since 2006. Previously Mr. Davies headed retirement and college savings businesses for AllianceBernstein's mutual funds organization. Prior to 2003, Mr. Davies served as head of global marketing and product management, and led several business lines and distribution channels, for the company's mutual funds group. He joined Alliance in 1995 from First Chicago Corporation, where he served as President of retail investment services and as a Managing Director of First Chicago Investment Management Company. Prior to joining First Chicago in 1989, Mr. Davies was a consultant and manager with The Boston Consulting Group. He worked in brand management for Procter & Gamble before graduate school. Mr. Davies received a BA in Economics and Political Science, with Honors, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
George C. Edwards III (1970 MA Political Science, 1973 PHD Political Science)
George C. Edwards III is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University and holds the Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies in the Bush School. He has held visiting appointments at Oxford, University of London, Peking University, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and West Point. A specialist in the presidency, he edits Presidential Studies Quarterly and has written or edited 23 books on American politics and public policy making. He has also advised leaders in a number of other countries and frequently comments on politics in the national press. Mr. Edwards received his BA from Stetson University, his MA and Ph.D in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Gayle Haller (1979 BS Political Science)
On sabbatical from the telecommunications industry to focus on her family, Gayle Haller is a consultant for the National Executive Service Corp. After earning her master's of business administration from the University of Chicago, she spent her career with Motorola in a variety of marketing management roles. She led data product and network product marketing for the launch of the Nextel cellular phone and directed the marketing effort for a line of next generation cellular phones. After moving to New York, she remained with the company as a consultant. She received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Amed Khan (1991 BA Political Science)
Amed Khan is the President of Paradigm Global Group Inc., a private investment firm, and serves as senior advisor to the Clinton-Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative. His career includes many positions in the federal government including Special Assistant to the Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. He served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Administration for the 1997 Presidential Inaugural Committee and managed planning for the Democratic National Convention and Presidential Debates as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Clinton/Gore '96 campaign. He also worked for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Tanzania where he was Chief Administrator/Logistician for Rwandan and Burundian refugee camps. He holds a bachelors degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kathy N. Lefco (1971 BA Political Science)
A law librarian since 1975, Kathy Lefco has served as firmwide director of library services at Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP since 1994. Previous positions include senior legal reference librarian at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, assistant librarian at Kaye Scholer LLP, also in Manhattan, as well as reader services librarian at the Wisconsin State Law Library in Madison. In addition to serving on the Board of Visitors, Kathy was recently appointed to a three year term on the Thomson West Advisory Board, a committee of leaders in the librarian community who provide information on West products and services from the law firm perspective. She received her bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her master of arts in library science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Jeffrey Lyons (1978 BS Political Science)
Formerly the president of Charles Schwab's $400 billion asset management business, Jeffrey Lyons now focuses his energy on community involvement and board service. Jeff worked for 22 years at Schwab in a variety of marketing, strategy and general management jobs and served on their Executive Committee. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and his masters in business administration from the University of California-Berkeley.
Laura Miller (1980 BA Political Science / Journalism)
Among her accomplishments as Mayor of Dallas from 2002 to 2007, Laura Miller formed a statewide coalition of elected officials to oppose the construction of 18 old-technology coal plants in Texas - an effort memorialized in an award-winning Robert Redford documentary entitled "Fighting Goliath." Her environmental leadership as Mayor led to her current position as Director of Projects, Texas, for Seattle-based Summit Power Group, which is developing the world's first clean-coal IGCC power plant with 90 percent carbon capture in West Texas. Before being elected Mayor, Laura served three-and-a-half years on the Dallas City Council and worked for 18 years prior to that as an award-winning newspaper columnist and investigative reporter in Dallas, Miami and New York. She won a Distinguished Service Award from the UW-Madison Journalism School in 2003. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Journalism in 1980, when she was named one of America's Top Ten College Women by Glamour magazine.
William D. Petasnick (1968 BA Political Science)
William D. Petasnick is President and CEO of Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and the Froedtert & Community Health System, Milwaukee, WI, and is the Immediate Past Chair of the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees. He has served on a number of AHA committees and was the 2003 chair of the Council of Teaching Hospitals. Prior to joining Froedtert, he was deputy director and chief operating officer, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; director of operations/chief operating officer, University of North Carolina Hospital; and senior associate director, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Hospital Association in 2005, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee Person of the Year Award in 2006, and the 2009 Badger of the Year award from the Milwaukee chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. He earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in
1968 and an MHA from the University of Minnesota.
Patti McGill Peterson (1968 MA Political Science, 1974 Ph.D. Educational Policy Studies)
Patti Peterson is senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy in Washington, D.C. She served as executive director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and vice president of the Institute of International Education from 1997 to 2007. Previously, Peterson was senior fellow at Cornell University's Institute for Public Affairs where her work focused on the nonprofit sector and its role in shaping public policy in the United States and abroad. She is president emerita at Wells College and St. Lawrence University. Peterson has a bachelor's degree from the Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in political science and Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and did post-graduate study at Harvard University.
Ronald Rose (Board Chair; Development Committee Chair) (1970 BA Political Science)
Ronald Rose manages his own real estate portfolio and consults with LoopLender, an affiliated commercial mortgage brokerage firm of LoopNet Inc. This follows a 30-year career in commercial real estate with Metropolitan Life, The Federal Home Loan Bank, John Hancock Real Estate Financial Services and LoopNet Inc. Ronald Rose serves on three committees at the University of San Francisco: The Regional Council, the McCarthy Center for Social Justice and Common Good, and the Dean's Circle at the Masagung Graduate School of Management. In addition, he co-produces new works with the Magic Theater in San Francisco. He holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a masters degree in government and planning from the University of Arizona, and a masters degree in finance from the University of San Francisco.
John M. Stanoch (1980 BA Political Science)
John Stanoch is the Minnesota President of Qwest Communications. Prior to joining Qwest, John served for two years as Minnesota's Chief Deputy Attorney General, eight years as a Hennepin County Minneapolis District Court Judge and practiced law in Minneapolis. He is involved with a broad range of business and community groups. He holds a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
David Tabacoff (1971 BA Political Science, 1974 MA Political Science)
David Tabacoff is the senior executive producer for The O'Reilly Factor with Bill O'Reilly at the Fox News Channel. Prior to his time at Fox, he worked for many years at ABC News in a variety of positions including executive producer of 20/20 Downtown, senior broadcast producer of 20/20, and senior producer of Nightline. He has an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a masters degree in political science from Rutgers University where he was a fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and a law degree from Fordham Law School. He also was a Fulbright Scholar studying political science at Auckland University in New Zealand.
Robert Trice (1971 MA Political Science, 1974 PHD Political Science)
Robert Trice is senior vice president for strategy and business development, responsible for global strategies and new business at Lockheed Martin Corp. Before he joined Lockheed, he was vice president-international at General Dynamics Corp. Prior to that he was vice president and general manager of business development at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. Mr. Trice holds a bachelors degree from the College of William and Mary, and a masters degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Doris Weisberg (1958 BS Psychology)
Doris Weisberg is professor emeritus of speech-language pathology at the City College of the City University of New York, where she was director of the Speech and Hearing Center, and Speech Department chair. After her retirement, she produced television cooking shows. She was part of a team that conceived, developed, and produced the TV Food Network. She is an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Education where she develops lecture series. She holds a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and masters and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.
Gerald Whitburn (1968 MA Political Science)
Gerald Whitburn is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Church Mutual Insurance Company, one of the nation's highest rated property casualty companies. He joined the company in 1996 after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services from1995 to 1996. In Wisconsin, he was the Deputy Secretary of the State Department of Administration from 1987 through 1989, Secretary of Labor from 1989 to 1991, and Secretary of Health and Social Services from 1991 to 1995. His Washington, D.C. experience includes positions in the office of the Secretary of the Navy and in the U.S. Senate. Whitburn received his BA at UW-Oshkosh, his MA in Political Science at UW-Madison, and has studied management at the Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Wharton School of Business. He serves on several boards and is a director of the Wisconsin Center for the Academically Talented Youth and the Natural Resources Foundation.
Mike Wittenwyler (1995 BA Political Science, 1998 JD Law)
Mike Wittenwyler is an administrative and regulatory attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. Splitting his time between Madison and Washington, D.C., Mike focuses on providing legal services for political and media consultants, lobbyists and other professionals who interact with government, public officials and candidates. He also teaches "Political Law: Campaign Finance, Ethics & Elections" at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Prior to practicing law, Mike worked on political campaigns, in media relations and as a congressional aide. In 1998, he served as campaign manager and spokesperson for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. In addition to his law degree, Mike holds a bachelors degree in political science - both from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Former Members
UW-Madison degrees indicated in parentheses.
NOTE: The Political Science Department and La Follette School of Public Affairs shared a Board of Visitors prior to November 2008.
P. Bai Akridge
Bai Akridge is president of Worldwise Services Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on international education, commerce, and policy. His career has included government relations and philanthropy in international business and university teaching and research, in addition to 17 years with IBM.
Eloise Anderson
As director of the Program for the American Family at the Claremont Institute in California, Eloise Anderson develops policy approaches to welfare, education, employment and health. She as dirctor of the California Department of Social Services, an was adnisrator of the Division of Community Services for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services. Her career includes many positions in state and local government. Her undergraduate degree is from Central State University in Ohio, and she has done graduate work at the UW-Milwaukee and at Harvard University.
Martin Begun (1953 BA Political Science
Martin Begun is managing partner of Reiter/Begun Associates, a New York management and marketing consulting group. He worked for more than 35 years at New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center as senior associate dean and vice president for external affairs. Begun serves on many boards and committees, including the New Milford Hospital Foundation board, the New York City Parks Council, and the Community Services Board of the New York City Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services.
Edwin Behrens (1960, 1961 BS/MS Chemical Engineering)
Formerly the director of national government relations for Procter & Gamble, Edwin Behrens now works as a consultant. He served as senior advisor to the Progress and Freedom Foundation, coordinating its research and educational activities regarding online privacy. He received bachelors and masters degrees in chemical engineering from UW-Madison, and a masters degree in business administration from Xavier University. Behrens chaired the University of Wisconsin Foundationcommittee for the greater Wasington, D.C., area.
Michael Bright (1990 MA Public Policy)
Michael Bright, business strategist and entrepreneur, created Bright Consulting in 1995. A former contract lobbyist, he has now recovered and is enjoying management consulting with private, public and third sector enterprise. Bright is also Head of Post for the UK's diplomatic mission to the State of Wisconsin. Appointed by the British Foreign Office and authorized by the U.S. State Department, he serves officially as H.M. British Consul (Hon.) Prior to starting his firm, Bright was Chief of Staff to the Wisconsin Joint Committee on Financ, and Executi Buget and Policy Analyst in the Governor's Budget Office. Bright holds a BA from American University, and a MPA from the La Follette Istitute at UW-Madison.
Jay Carlson (1964 BS History)
Jay Carlson is a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Miller & Chevalier, where he specializes in corporate tax litigation. He earned a bachelors degree at UW-Madison and a law degree at the George Washington University Law School. His family established the Laurie Carlson Lecture Fund through the La Follette School of Public Affairs.
Bernard Cohen (Emeritus Professor of Political Science)
Bernard Cohen is emeritus professor of political science and emeritus vice chancellor at UW-Madison. He also served on the faculty of Princeton University. His bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees were completed at Yale University.
Anthony Carroll (1980 MA Public Policy & Administration)
Anthony Carroll is managing director of Manchester Trade Ltd., which prootes conomic relations between developed and lesser developed aeas of th old. His clients have included leading companies in pharmaceuticals, oil and gas exploration and production, finance and banking, and textiles manufacturing. He has advised the World Bank, the United Nations, the U.S. government, and many African governments about trade and investment. He is a 1980 graduate from the Center for the Study of Pubic Policy and Administration, the La Follette School's predecessor and holds degrees in law and economics from the University of Denver. He was agraduate fellow at the Colorado School of Mines.
Charles Fischbach (1960 BS Political Science & History)
As a practicing attorney, Charles Fischbach represented unions in the private and public sectors. He negotiated labor agreements containing precedent-setting unisex pension provisions, the first flex-time work schedule arrangement in a major municipality, and landmark health-care benefits for extended-care, catastrophic and rehabilitation-care coverage. His arbitration practice covers more than 25 industries. Fischbach earned a bachelors degree in political science and history, and a law degree at UW-Madison, and a masters degree in political science and labor relations at Rutgers University.
Tom Hefty (1969, 1973, BA, JD, Economics & Law)
An attorney with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren SC, Tom Hefty is the former president, chairman and chief executive officer of Cobalt Corp. and its subsidiary, Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin. He servd as Wiconsin's deputy insurance commissioner, assistant general counsel for the Sntry Insurance Group, and asan attorney for the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission. He holds a masters degree in health-care economics from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from UW-Madison.
Charles O. Jones (Professor Emeritus Political Science)
Charles O. Jones is Hawkins Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a non-resident senior fellow in the Governmental Studies Program at The Brookings Institution. Jones has written or edited 18 books and contributed more than 100 articles and book chapters. His most recent books focus on the presidency and Congress. They include
The Trusteeship Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Cogres TheReagan Legacy: Promise and Performance and
The Presidency in a Separated System. Jones served as treasurer, vice president, ad president of the American Political Science Association.
Douglas Kiel (1971 BA Political Science)
With a background in broadcasting, Douglas Kiel is president of Journal Communications Inc., a diversified, employee-owned media and communications company. He had been executive vice president there and president of Journal Broadcast Group Inc. Kiel is a graduate of UW-Madison, and completed the Advanced Executive Program in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Philip Kaiser (BA 1935 Philosophy & Classics)
Philip Kaiser is former U.S. ambassador to Senegal, Mauritania, Austria and Hungary, and minister to Great Britain. He was President Truman's assistant secretary of labor for international affairs, and special assistant to former New York Governor Averell Harriman. He graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelors degree in classics and philosophy, and from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics.
Terry Lierman (1971 MA Public Policy)
Terry Lierman is the chief of staff to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He was the management director of Health Ventures LLC and vice chair of Employee Health Programs. He has served as an administrator at the National Cancer Institute and was staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, as well as the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. He has a bachelors degree from Winona State University and a masters degree in publi policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
James Klauser (1961 BS Political Science, 1964 Law Degree, 1968 MA Political Science )
James Klauser is a senior vice president with Wisconsin Energy Corp. He served s secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration for 10 years, and he served on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. A regent of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, he serves on the boards of the Milwaukee County Research Park Corporation, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Spirit of Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership. He is a director of Joy Global Inc.
Tom Loftus (1972 MA Public Policy & Administration)
Tom Loftus was special advisor to the director general of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2005. He joined the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents in 2005. He served as U.S. ambassador to Norway and longtime speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly. He has a master's degree in public policy from the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration, the La Follette School's predecessor.
Ronald Luskin (1979 MA Public Policy & Admin)
Ronald Luskin handles marketing and business development for Arnold & O'Sheridan Consulting Engineers, which has offices in Madison and Milwaukee. He graduated from the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration, the La Follette School's predecessor, in 1979. His graduate studies focused on health-care policy and public information. Prior to joining Arnold and O'Sheridan, he was vice presdent ad director of marketing for Marshall Erdman & Associates, a national firm specializing in design and construction of health-care facilities. He earlier worked for many years in strategic marketing planning, advertising and public relations. Just before relocating to Madison, he was the director of business development for Hammel, Green & Abrahamson.
Karl Meyer (1951 BS History)
Karl Meyer, editor of World Policy Journal since 2000, is a writer and commentator on international affairs, a former editorial writer for the New York Times and the Washington Post, author of a dozen books, and a visiting professor at Yale, Princeton, Tufts, and Bard College. He earned his bachelor's degree in history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his masers degee in public affairs and Ph.D. at Princeton University. He hasbeen a visiting fellow at Oxford University and Berlin's Institute for Advanced Study.
Robert Milbourne (1968 BA Economics, 1978 MA Public Policy)
Robert Milbourne is president of the Columbus Partnership, a civic-improvement group of central Ohio business and community leaders to develop a long-term vision for the Columbus metropolitan area. Prior to that, he led the Greater Milwaukee Committee, a similar group of business, labor and education leaders that he joined after a career in business and government in Wisconsin. Milbourne earned a bachelors degree in economics and a masters degree in public policy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also attended Harvard Business School.
Theresa Mintle (1991 MAPublic Policy & Admin)
Theresa Mintle is the manager of government and community relations for the Chicago Transit Authority. Her experience rior to joining CTA includes working with not-for-profits on formulating and recommending policies and governmental strategies on a portfolio of issues, including tax reform, affordable housing, transportation policy, and community outreach. She has represented the University of Illinois in the Illinois State Capitol and served as Mayor Daley's City Council manager. Mintle holds a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Illinois-Urbana and a masters degree in public affairs from UW-Madison.
Felicia Norwood (1982 MA Political Science)
Felicia Norwood is national head of Medicaid for Aetna Inc., one of the nations leading diversified health-benefits companies. There, she has held several positions, including national head of small group and individual markets and president of Aetna Government Health Plans. She joined Aetna in 1994 as state govrnmnt relations counsel and served as Midwest region general cunsel prior to her apontment as general manager in 1999. She earlier served as executve assistant for health and human services for former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Valdosta (Georgia) State University; a masters degree in political sciencefrm the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and her law degree from Yale Law School.
Joy Picus (1951 BA Political Science)
Joy Picus served as a member of te Los Angeles City Council for many years. Her major public policy achievements were in garbage and hazardous waste, and dependent care and the creation of a family-friendly city. She is nationally recognized for her promotion of opportunities for women. Picus serves on many civic committees and boards in Los Angeles. She earned a bachelors degree in political science from UW-Madison.
Phillip Schemel (1982 BA Political Science & Economics)
Phillip Schemel is managing director in the Derivatives and Financial Products Group at the Societe General Bank in New York. Previously, he was an associate in the Derivatives Group at Citibank in New York and a floor broker at the Chicago Board of Trade for Dean Witter in Chicago. He earned a bachelors degree in political science and economics from UW-Madison and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
John Karl Scholz
John Karl Scholz is a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a past director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison. His research has examined the effects of the earned income tax credit and other policy interventions to assist low-wage workers. He also has explored the degree to which families prepare adequately for retirement.
Allan Selig (1956 BS Political Science & History)
After many years of distinguished participation in baseball and the Milwaukee community, Allan Selig was elected the ninth baseball commissioner. He served as chair Major League Baseballs executive council, and he contributed to numerous cangs to te sport, including the opening of many stadiums. He earned a bachelors degree n history and political science from UW-Madison.
Lee Shapiro (1979 BSE, History, Political Science)
n her former capacity as director of media services for Voter News Service, a cooperative venture of major television networks, Lee Shapiro assisted more tha 125 national and local news organizations in producing their election night coverage. Working with newsroom staff, she helped develop political stories and provide election analysis. Previously she was with the CBS News election and survey unit. She is a political science graduate of UW-Madison.
Joel Skornicka (1959, 1964 BS, MS Political Science)
Joel Skornickas partnership, Herndon, Mays & Skornicka, assists executives and organizations in identifying capital funding strategies and growing through changes and transitions. Prior positions include mayor of Madison, assistant chancellor at UW-Madison, director of development at the University of California-Davis, and senior vice president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Skornicka earned a bachelors degree and a masters degree in political science at UW-Madison.
Lon Sprecher (1974, 1975, BA, MA Political Science & Public Poliy and Administration)
Lon Sprecher is chief officer for business to business solutions and the international area at CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wisconsin. Previously he was the senior vice president f cedit union protection and employee solutions. Prior to that, he was the senior reinvention officer and head of the international division. He also worked for Wisconsin Physicians Services, the Central Life Assurance Co., the State of Wisconsin andthe City of Madison. He has published several books on budget and tax administration and is an adjunct faculty member of UW-Madison, where he earned a master's degrees in public affairs and business administration.
Michael Youngman (1975 BA Political Science, 1982 MA Public Policy & Admin)
As vice president of government relations for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Michael Youngman works on legislative and regulatory matters at the federal, state and local level. Prior to joining the company in 1986, Youngman was a legislative assistant in the Wisconsin Assembly. He became a fellow of the Life Management Institute in 1990. He served as president of the Wisconsin Association of Life and Health Insurers and as president of the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists. Youngman holds a bachelors degree and a masters degree in public policy and administration from UW-Madison.