Our People

We are a diverse team of outreach specialists, educators, researchers, affiliates, and support teams working at the intersection of knowledge and action to tackle complex challenges, foster meaningful dialogue, and empower the next generation of community leaders.

Institute Leadership

Conservation Professional Training Program

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Kevin Erb	Conservation Professional Training Program Manager	kevin.erb@wisc.edu	(920) 391-4652
Steph Garcia	Program Coordinator	steph.garcia@wisc.edu	See email address

Emerging Contaminants Outreach

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Anya “AJ” Jeninga-Nehls	Emerging Contaminants Outreach Specialist	jeninga@wisc.edu	(920) 391-4612

Lake Superior Collaborative

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Catie Geib	Lake Superior Collaborative Program Coordinator	catie.geib@wisc.edu	(715) 820-1852

Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Deanna Erickson	Reserve Director	deanna.erickson@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4086
Melissa Burke	Climate Resilience Specialist	melissa.burke@wisc.edu	See email address
Ryan Feldbrugge	Education Specialist	feldbrugge@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4090
Jim Gharrity	Financial and Administrative Specialist	james.gharrity@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4082
Karina Heim	Coastal Training Program Coordinator	karina.heim@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4089
Addison “Addi” Knoll	Environmental Lab Tech	knoll4@wisc.edu	See email address
Hannah Nicklay	Monitoring Coordinator, Interim Research Coordinator	hannah.nicklay@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4088
Luciana Ranelli	Education Coordinator	luciana.ranelli@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4085
Cecile Renfro	Coastal Wetlands Research Intern	crenfro@wisc.edu	See email address
Kirsten Rhude	Stewardship Coordinator	kirsten.rhude@wisc.edu	(715) 399-4091

Forestry Natural Resource Educators

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Kris Tiles	Forestry and Wildlife Program Manager	kris.tiles@wisc.edu	(715) 261-1254
Johanna Desprez	Regional Natural Resources Educator	johanna.desprez@wisc.edu	See email address
Scott Hershberger	Forestry Communications Specialist	scott.hershberger@wisc.edu	See email address
Tony Johnson	Working Lands Forestry Educator	anthony.johnson@wisc.edu	(608) 386-8900
Olivia Kovacs	Regional Natural Resources Educator	okovacs@wisc.edu	See email address
Keith Phelps	Working Lands Forestry Educator	keith.phelps@wisc.edu	(920) 840-7504

Water Education and Outreach

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Meg Domroese	Water Program Manager	meg.domroese@wisc.edu	See email address
Sarah Brown	Natural Resources Educator (Washburn County Extension)	sarah.anne.brown@wisc.edu	(715) 635-4444
Anna Mitchell	Regional Natural Resources Educator	anna.m.james@wisc.edu	(715) 421-8444
Maranda Miller	Regional Natural Resources Educator	maranda.miller@wisc.edu	(608) 590-5758
Wade Moder	Natural Resources Educator (Dane County Extension)	wade.moder@wisc.edu	(608) 224-3710
Whitney Prestby	Regional Natural Resource Educator and Demo Farms Outreach Team Lead	whitney.prestby@wisc.edu	(920) 391-4663
Jenny Seifert	Watershed Outreach Specialist	jenny.seifert@wisc.edu	(608) 890-4717
Dan Zerr	Regional Natural Resources Educator	daniel.zerr@wisc.edu	(715) 836-5513

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Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center

Visit the Upham Woods website for the current staff directory.

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Water Action Volunteers Program

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Katy Bradford	WAV Program Manager	katy.bradford@wisc.edu	(608) 331-0173
Steph Garcia	Program Coordinator	steph.garcia@wisc.edu	See email address
Emily Heald	Rivers Educator	emily.heald@wisc.edu	See email address

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Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey

Visit the WGNHS website for the current staff directory.

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Wisconsin Master Naturalist Program

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Becky Sapper	Master Naturalist Program Manager	becky.sapper@wisc.edu	(715) 685-2652
Martha Martin	Outreach Support Specialist	martha.martin@wisc.edu	(608) 262-0020
Aleisha Miller	Summit Coordinator	amiller244@wisc.edu	See email address

Wisconsin State Climatology Office

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Steve Vavrus, PhD	Wisconsin State Climatologist	sjvavrus@wisc.edu	(608) 265-5279
Josh Bendorf	Climate Outreach Specialist	jbendorf@wisc.edu	See email address

Evaluation Unit

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Samuel Pratsch, PhD	Evaluation Unit Lead	samuel.pratsch@wisc.edu	(608) 265-3473
Feiran Chen	Evaluation Specialist	fchen84@wisc.edu	See email address
Evelyn Hammond, PhD	Evaluation Specialist	evelyn.hammond@wisc.edu	See email address
Greta Landis, PhD	Evaluation Specialist	greta.landis@wisc.edu	See email address
Amber Saylor Mase, PhD	Evaluation Specialist	amber.mase@wisc.edu	(608) 890-0718
Ayse Okur	Evaluation Specialist	okur2@wisc.edu	See email address
Namah Taku-Forchu	Evaluation Specialist	takuepseforc@wisc.edu	(515) 735-005

Instructional Design Unit

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Janice Kepka	Instructional Design Unit Lead	janice.kepka@wisc.edu	(608) 263-4695
Kristy Gruley	Project Manager	gruley@wisc.edu	See email address
Margie Cook	Instructional Designer	margie.cook@wisc.edu	(608) 262-2643
Casey Garhart	Instructional Designer	pmgarhart@wisc.edu	See email address
Wendy Schweitzer	Instructional Designer	wendy.schweitzer@wisc.edu	(608) 798-0962

Marketing and Communications Unit

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Anne Nardi	Marketing & Communications Unit Lead	anne.nardi@wisc.edu	(608) 262-1377
Jamey Burns	Senior Web Developer	jamey.burns@wisc.edu	See email address
Shailah (Shay) Handy	Graphic and Web Designer	shailah.handy@wisc.edu	See email address
Leah Kavallaris	Graphic and Web Designer	leah.kavallaris@wisc.edu	See email address
Matt Waldren, PhD	Senior Editor	matt.waldren@wisc.edu	See email address

Support Staff

Name	Title	Email	Phone
Brian Kline	Assistant Director of Administration	brian.kline@wisc.edu	(608) 262-1369
Krysta Koralesky	Financial Specialist	krysta.koralesky@wisc.edu	(608) 262-2634
Martha Martin	Outreach Support Specialist	martha.martin@wisc.edu	(608) 262-0020
Travis Olson	Partnerships Manager	travis.olson@wisc.edu	(608) 262-1748

UW–Madison Affiliates

Name	Title	Email	Campus
Scott Bowe, PhD	Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Forest and Wildlife Ecology	sbowe@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
Paul Charland	Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Coordinator and Outreach Specialist	pcharland@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
David Drake, PhD	Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Forest and Wildlife Ecology	ddrake2@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
Ken Genskow, PhD	Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Planning and Landscape Architecture (Former ERC Director)	kgenskow@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
Eliza Hamilton-Poore	Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Communications Specialist	hamiltonpoor@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
Jamie Nack	Outreach Specialist, Dept. of Forest and Wildlife Ecology	jlnack@wisc.edu	UW-Madison
Bret Shaw, PhD	Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Life Sciences Communication	brshaw@wisc.edu	UW-Madison

UW–Stevens Point Affiliates

Name	Title	Email	Campus
Austin Holland	Professor	austin.holland@uwsp.edu alholland2@wisc.edu	CLUE
Abby Johnson	Data Science, Data Management and GIS Specialist	abby.johnson@uwsp.edu  aejohnson36@wisc.edu	CWSE
Lynn Markham	Shoreland and Land Use Specialist	Lynn.Markham@uwsp.edu	CLUE
Kevin Masarik	Director, Center for Watershed Science and Education	kmasarik@uwsp.edu kevin.masarik@wisc.edu	CWSE
Eric Olson	Director of Extension Lakes	eric.olson@uwsp.edu  eric.olson@wisc.edu	CWSE/Lakes
Jason Riddle	Director of Wisconsin Center for Wildlife	jriddle@uwsp.edu	Wildlife
Cathy Scheder	Assoc. Dean of Outreach, Extension, and Extramural Programming	cathy.scheder@uwsp.edu	UW-SP
Brian Sloss	Dean of College of Natural Resources	brian.sloss@uwsp.edu  blsloss@wisc.edu	UW-SP
Vacant	Director of Wisconsin Forestry Center		WFC

UW–Green Bay Affiliates

Name	Title	Email	Campus
Amy Carrozzino-Lyon	Restoration Scientist, Natural & Applied Sciences	carrozza@uwgb.edu carrozzinoly@wisc.edu	UW-GB
Emily Tyner	Freshwater Strategy Director, Cofrin School of Business	tynere@uwgb.edu  ehtyner@wisc.edu	UW-GB