Board of Directors

Sara Alvarado
Dave Boyer
Jim Bradley
Jac Garner
Jordan Hemaidan
Brian Joiner
Joann Kelley
Wendy Kuo
Michael Mucha
Jonathan Patz
Lisa Peyton-Caire
Cate Ranheim
Rebecca Ryan
Willa Schlecht

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Sara Alvarado, Secretary

Sara Alvarado was raised in Madison in a family of real estate experts and social activists and now runs her own real estate company, Alvarado Real Estate Group with her husband, Carlos.  After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Spanish and Business, and numerous adventurous travels, Sara met Carlos in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and settled there for 3 years.  In 2002 Sara and Carlos moved back to Madison with their first son, Alex.  Their other son, Leo, was born in 2004.  

With a passion for educating and inspiring the community on the importance of sustainable living, Sara is incredibly engaged in numerous organizations.  Sara currently serves on the Realtors Association Green Committee (Founder) and has served as Chair of the Dane Buy local Membership Committee and as a member of GreenBuilt Home Program.  Along the lines of sustainability, Sara is passionate about education and more specifically public education and innovative learning.  After working with Nuestro Mundo Community School (named founder) to become one of Madison’s first charter schools and only dual immersion Spanish school she now serves on the board for Badger Rock Middle School.  Badger Rock is a small diverse multiage school that will place a strong emphasis on community, family, culture and the environment.  At the center of the Badger Rock Middle School program is an ACTIVE, hands-on learning environment where students learn by working on real-life projects that are both challenging and fun.

 

Dave Boyer

Dave Boyer is the CEO and co-owner of MCD, Inc., located in Madison , Wisconsin. MCD provides creative graphic arts products and print finishing services to various markets using processes that include die cutting, foil stamping, embossing, laminating, and folding and gluing. The company was originally founded in 1974 and is now one of the largest print finishing companies in the Midwest . Dave purchased the company with his business partner in 1998.

Prior to purchasing MCD, Dave was the President and CEO of Placon Corporation. Placon designs, develops, and manufactures plastic packaging and packaging systems and is considered a leader in product design and creative packaging solutions. Prior to joining Placon, Dave was employed by ITW in Chicago , where he held positions in product design (receiving 4 patents for his work), in sales and marketing, and in manufacturing management. His education background includes a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Dave currently serves on the Board of Johnson Bank in Madison, is a Board member of the Meriter Hospital, a member of the Sustainable Design and Energy Commission for the City of Madison, a Board Member of Sustain Dane, and a Board Member of the Madison Committee on Foreign Relations.

Jac Garner, President

Jac Garner is the President and CEO of Webcrafters and has been with the Madison-based firm since 1986, serving in various management capacities in human resources, sales and marketing, and manufacturing.  Prior to joining Webcrafters, Mr. Garner worked in many areas of human resources in the medical industry, as well as at the University of Wisconsin.  Jac has a degree in finance and economics from the University of Iowa, and a Master's Degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin.  In addition, Jac is a member of many boards, including Book Manufacturer’s Institute, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Madison Community Foundation, Sustain Dane, U.S. Bank, and previously Meriter Hospital and Health Services, and Printing Industries of Wisconsin.  He has worked in various capacities on the board and campaign committees for the United Way of Dane County. Mr. Garner is a member of the In Business Magazine Executive Hall of Fame and the Book Manufacturer’s Institute Case-In Club.   Jac and his wife Edye live in Madison and they have a college-age daughter and a son and daughter-in-law.

 

Jordan Hemaidan

Jordan Hemaidan leads the Energy and Sustainability Group for Michael Best & Friederich, LLP, and is a partner practicing in the areas of energy, regulatory law, construction and telecommunications. Jordan’s work on renewable energy projects includes negotiation of complex property leases, and agreements for power purchase, turbine supply and construction agreements. In the area of public utilities practice, Mr. Hemaidan has provided representation in siting, certification, construction, ratemaking and transactional issues for large power generation facilities, electric transmission lines and a range of renewable energy projects, including wind, solar and landfill to gas projects. He also has significant experience in regulatory litigation and transactional matters involving complex telecommunications, energy and water issues. In addition, Mr. Hemaidan has provided representation on policy and regulatory matters relating to electric and telecommunications industry restructuring.  

Jordan also has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating construction contracts for both owners and contractors for large institutional, utility and commercial projects, and administering such contracts throughout the life of the project. In particular Mr. Hemaidan has developed significant experience providing counsel on the construction aspects of renewable energy projects. Mr. Hemaidan also has experience in construction claim assessment, settlement negotiations, mediation, arbitration and litigation. 

 

Brian Joiner

Dr. Brian Joiner has since 1997 been a full-time community volunteer working toward helping to create a just and sustainable society. He is co-founder and President of Sustain Dane, and formerly served on the Board of Trustees of Shorewood Hills, and chair on its Traffic and Storm Water committees.

Prior to his early retirement Brian was Chairman and co-owner of Joiner Associates, a nationally recognized management consulting firm. Prior to Joiner Associates, Brian was a UW professor. He is author of Fourth Generation Management: The New Business Consciousness (McGraw Hill) and coauthor with Peter Scholtes of The Team Handbook, published by Joiner Associates and one of the best selling business books of all time, having now sold over one-and-a-half million copies.

He was one of the original nine judges of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and, thirty years ago, was one of the originators of the Minitab statistical software system which is still in widespread use by corporations today.

 

Joann Kelley

Joann Kelley holds a Master of Science in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Wisconsin. She is Director - Residential and Community Services at Madison Gas and Electric where she has pioneered innovative approaches to distributing energy efficiency information to customers through community organizations and neighborhood activities. Among the community efforts she lent support and assistance during their formation are Sustain Dane and EcoTeams.

As an advocate for civil rights and social justice she has testified before legislative committees and forged relations between the Afro-American and gay communities. Ms. Kelley served on the Urban League of Greater Madison's Board of Directors for six years, including one year as board chair.

She and her domestic partner of 28 years raised their 19-year-old daughter in Madison. Being among the first gay-headed families in Madison they offered assistance and support to other gay/lesbian families facing hostile environments and discrimination in schools, health care systems and other institutions. They also built bridges of understanding with administrators, legislators, and direct service providers of institutions through education and discussion to help them provide safe, welcoming environments for all families.

Ms. Kelley owns and operates two businesses. Through Eco-Realty she offers an array of consulting services for homeowners, rental property owners, and developers to reduce the environmental footprint of new and existing homes and developments and to increase individual's sense of meaning and community. She is certified as a Solar Water Heating Site Assessor with Wisconsin's Focus on Energy and as a Consultant in Permaculture Design. As an urban ecologist she developed a set of ecological standards to reduce the environmental impact of residential and commercial developments. Ms Kelley is a licensed real estate broker offering services to buyers and sellers through her firm, Eco-Realty. She brings environmental and energy expertise to her clients and the real estate market.

 

Wendy Kuo

Wendy Kuo has been working in online media for eleven years.  As Senior Account Manager at Shoutlet, a social media company, Wendy works with the larger clients to develop strategies and increase effectiveness in their social media plans using the platform.  Shoutlet provides a centralized online platform that helps companies manage and monetize their social media communication.  It includes social network management like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, Social CRM to monitor fans and uncover influencers, create custom promotions, social apps and Facebook tabs easily, and analytics to gauge your social success - all in one easy-to-use interface. The platform gives brands and agencies the tools to create, manage, and measure their entire social media communications.  Companies using Shoutlet's platform are able to better design and implement highly targeted campaigns and ultimately improve the business impact of their social media communications.  Prior to her work with Shoutlet, Wendy was an Account Director at Microsoft Advertising – Atlas Advertiser, as well as holding various positions at FCBi and iVillage.  

 

Michael Mucha

Michael serves as the Chief Engineer and Director for the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. He has dedicated his 25-year career to working on sustainability issues in local government.

“Building public trust through sustainability” best describes what motivates Michael to get up and go to work every day. He believes that the issues of our time are too complex to tackle alone. Moreover, the key to public trust is discovering reasons to work together to make a difference.

Michael is a registered professional engineer in three states. He currently serves as Vice Chair for American Society of Civil Engineers Committee on Sustainability. He is also Past Chair for the American Public Works Associations Center for Sustainability, where he was a founding member.

Prior to joining MMSD, Michael served as Director of Public Works for the City of Olympia, the Capital of Washington for eleven years. During his tenure, he worked with others to achieve significant reductions in overall community water consumption, developed actions to adapt Olympia to sea level rise and advanced a bold vision of being a waste free community.

Michael teaches sustainable leadership and decision making as adjunct faculty at Evergreen State College-Olympia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also serves on the Community Board for the Clean Lakes Alliance. Michael has his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington-Seattle, and completed Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.

For fun, Michael is learning to play violin and putters around the basement fixing up old Schwinn bicycles. He lives on the East side of Madison.

 

Jonathan Patz

Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH, is a Professor & Director of Global Environmental Health at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He Co-chaired the health expert panel of the US National Assessment on Climate Change and was a Convening Lead Author for the United Nations/World Bank Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.  For the past 15 years, Dr. Patz has been a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC) – the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
 
He is President of the International Association for Ecology and Health and co-editor of the association’s journal EcoHealth.  He has written over 90 peer-reviewed papers and a textbook addressing the health effects of global environmental change.  He has been invited to brief both houses of Congress, served on several scientific committees of the National Academy of Sciences, and currently serves on science advisory boards for both CDC and EPA.  In addition to his sharing in the 2007 Nobel Prize, Dr. Patz received an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellows Award in 2005, shared the Zayed International Prize for the Environment in 2006, and earned the distinction of becoming a UW-Madison Romnes Faculty Fellow in 2009.
 
He has earned medical board certification in both Occupational/Environmental Medicine and Family Medicine and received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University (1987) and his Master of Public Health degree (1992) from Johns Hopkins University.

 

Lisa Peyton-Caire

Lisa Peyton-Caire is the co-founder and president of K.L. Caire Companies, a Maryland-based corporation committed to empowering children and adults to lead healthy and productive lives. K.L. Caire’s holdings include K.L. Caire Consulting, and Black Beauty Ventures which offers beauty, wellness & lifestyle products for women and girls. Most notable among Black Beauty’s projects is the SisterSpeak Online Magazine, an online publication for women of color whose readership spans the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.  

Ms. Peyton-Caire began her career as a counselor, working extensively with children and families with a particular passion for helping women, girls, and underserved youth of all backgrounds unleash their hidden potential. She is the co-founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s highly successful Information Technology Academy (ITA), a pre-college technology training & college access program for first generation college students; and most recently served as Assistant Head of School of the 800+ student Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., a K-12 college preparatory school.  

A tireless advocate for educational quality  and opportunity, Lisa continues to consult in the field of  education and is a founding member alongside her husband, Kaleem, of the Next Generation Education Foundation, a Maryland-based non-profit dedicated to the academic and social development of young men. The couple was recently honored with a Forward Under Forty Award by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association for their contributions and achievements in education.

 

Cate Ranheim

Dr. Cate Ranheim, MD, Hospitalist with Meriter Medical Group, is the passion, energy, and drive behind the Helping Educate and Link the Homeless (HEALTH) outreach program. While working at Meriter Hospital, Dr. Ranheim observed many patients who were homeless or in transitional housing, repeatedly coming to the Emergency Room seeking medical care for untreated illnesses that became acute due to delayed treatment. Dr. Ranheim began to investigate what prohibited these patients from maintaining their health and determined eight barriers to good health: medical illiteracy, limited transportation, lack of insurance or income, inability to afford medications, substance abuse, mental health issues, unstable housing, and failure to access primary care. With this information, she developed the HEALTH program.

Through HEALTH, patients have access to free care, including basic health screening, disease and medication education, prescription updates, basic health supplies, help with disability, Medicare/Medicaid and housing applications, health counseling, assistance linking to local resources and coordination with local primary care providers to establish a medical home. Dr. Ranheim recruited volunteer physicians, nurses, physician assistants, social workers, dentists, administrative staff, and many others to bring health care to people at accessible sites. 

The impact of Dr. Ranheim's efforts is significant. Through the program's design, a trust is being established with the homeless population and they are more proactively addressing their health care needs. Preliminary data indicated that use of emergency services and inpatient care at Meriter has decreased among HEALTH program patients. In 2011, Dr Ranheim expects to serve 1,000 patients through this care coordination model. 

 

Rebecca Ryan, Vice-President

Rebecca Ryan is a "human spark plug." She's a former professional basketball player, an Entrepreneur of the Year, and leads the team that Richard Florida calls, "One of the most reliable sources for leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers." Corporate and community leaders rely on Rebecca and her team to understand "kids these days."

Ryan's firm, Next Generation Consulting, helps clients design strategies to retain their young, future leaders; they have helped some of America's best workplaces achieve rankings in the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work, and helped cities including Nashville, Milwaukee, and Columbus, OH design award-winning workforce strategies. Since 1998, they have conducted interviews, focus groups, and surveys with over 40,000 young professionals. With this wealth of insight, Rebecca wrote Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Head of the Next Generation.

Rebecca was raised in West Bend, Wisconsin, by members of the "greatest generation." She returned to Wisconsin after living, working, and playing professional basketball in Iowa, Minneapolis, Germany, and Hungary, respectively. Rebecca serves as a Trustee of Alverno College and is on the Board of the Greater Madison (WI) Chamber of Commerce. She lives with her partner and three labrador retrievers in Madison.

 

Willa Schlecht, Treasurer

Willa Schlecht is a 3rd generation Madisonian, she received her BBA and Masters of Accountancy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Upon graduation Willa worked for SVA, a public accounting firm, in the Tax Department.  During a 10-year hiatus from the professional world as a stay-at-home mother, Willa volunteered in a number of venues.  She served 6 years on the board of her son's parent teacher group, Co-Founder of her local library's Friends group and also earned a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the UW.  Willa worked part-time as a medical librarian for MetaStar, a healthcare quality improvement organization.

Willa is an alum of LGM (Leadership Greater Madison) 12, a leadership program designed to educate and encourage stewards in our community.  The project for her team was titled, "A Greener Bottom Line" and brought eco-minded business leaders together for a panel presentation and discussion of green business practices and decisions. Her special interest in sustainability relates to communities and how they develop our sense of place.

Ms. Schlecht is currently employed as Meriter Health Services' controller.  She recently served  on the boards of the Center for Nursing Excellence and Madison Environmental Resourcing, Inc., a collaborative for shared service among the city's 3 hospitals for handling medical waste.