2017 Speakers

HIP-HOP ARTIST | MIWAUKEE, WI

Klassik is a Wisconsin hip-hop artist whose sound is a synthesis of hip hop, R&B, jazz and soul. He has opened for acts such as Ludacris, Kendrick Lamar and Talib Kweli.

DIRECTOR | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

Alvarez has been head of UW’s Department of Athletics since 2004 and was head coach of the Badgers football team from 1990 to 2005, compiling the most wins (118) in program history.

PROFESSOR | UW-MADISON, AGRICULTURAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS

Barham specializes in issues related to technology adoption, public policy and structural change in agriculture, resource use, and wealth and poverty dynamics.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR | WASHINGTON POST

Baron has been the Post’s top editor since 2012 and had the same role at The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2012. It was at the Globe where Baron oversaw an investigation into sexual abuse among priests in the Archdiocese of Boston that drew worldwide attention. The story of that coverage was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie ‘Spotlight’ in 2015.

REPORTER | CAP TIMES

Becker joined The Cap Times in 2016, where she primarily covers city and county government. She previously worked for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the Wisconsin State Journal.

STATE SENATOR | D-ASHLAND, WISCONSIN SENATE

Bewley was elected to the Senate in the fall of 2014 after serving two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. She is a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse.

CHANCELLOR | UW-MADISON

Blank is the current chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former Acting United States Secretary of Commerce.

EXECUTIVE MANAGER | HO CHUNK GAMING-MADISON

Since 2012, Brown has served as the executive manager of Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison He is a former vice president of the Ho-Chunk Nation.

FOUNDER AND CEO | BUILDING BRAVE

Burke is the founder of Building Brave, an online community of women who inspire, encourage and empower each other to be their most confident selves. She is a former executive at Trek Bicycle and was the 2014 Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin.

CHEF AND OWNER | ARDENT

Carlisle is the owner of Ardent and Red Light Ramen in Milwaukee. For the past three years, he’s been a finalist for the James Beard Awards Best Chef Midwest.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN CHEESE ORIGINALS

Carpenter is the founder of Wisconsin Cheese Originals, the Cheesetopia festival and the upcoming Wisconsin Cheese Camp. Carpenter also teaches classes and writes and co-produces a weekly blog/podcast called Cheese Underground.

ALDER | CITY OF MADISON

Cheeks represents District 10 on Madison’s City Council. He is also the vice president of business development at MIOsoft, a Madison company that specializes in cleaning and organizing big data sets.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN BIKE FED

Cieslewicz is the executive director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, which works to create bicycle-friendly policies and legislation in Wisconsin. He served two terms as the mayor of Madison.

PRESIDENT | MADISON COLLEGE

Daniels, president of Madison College, has more than 30 years of higher education experience, ranging from community and technical colleges to graduate institutions.

Associate Director | COWS

Dresser is associate director of COWS at UW-Madison. A labor economist and expert on low-wage work and workforce development systems, she has both written about and worked to build stronger labor market systems.

LEGISLATIVE/PAC DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN RIGHT TO LIFE

Duffy is the Legislative and PAC director for Wisconsin Right to Life.

PRESIDENT | WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND LIBERTY

Esenberg is the founder, president and general counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a rapidly expanding law and policy organization headquartered in Milwaukee.

EDITOR AND EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER | CAP TIMES

Fanlund is editor and executive publisher of the Cap Times. A longtime Madisonian, he was a State Journal reporter and editor before becoming a vice president of Capital Newspapers.

INSTRUCTOR | MADISON COLLEGE

Ford is an architectural designer and Madison College instructor. He is the designer of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum in New York and has speaking engagements nationwide about the connections between hip-hop, architecture and social justice.

DIRECTOR | MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL POLL

The poll, which Franklin leads in addition to serving as a professor of law and public policy at the university, is the most widely followed effort of its kind in Wisconsin, monitoring trends in politics and other matters of public policy.

PROFESSOR | MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

Fuller was the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools from 1991 to 1995 and afterward founded the institute at Marquette University. Its purpose is to improve how educational systems serve low-income families.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE

Gallagher is the executive director of the Milwaukee Institute, a nonprofit that connects its members with advanced computing technology.

REPORTER AND AUTHOR | WASHINGTON POST

Goldstein has been a staff writer for 30 years at The Washington Post, where much of her work focuses on social policy. She shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and is the author of “Janesville: An American Story.”

REPORTER | WIS. PUBLIC RADIO/WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Alexandra Hall joined the Center in January 2017 as the second Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow.

CHIEF OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS | MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hanks is chief of elementary education at the Madison Metropolitan School District. She was named one of the country’s 100 most influential African-Americans last year by The Root.

VICE PRESIDENT OF OUTREACH AND SPECIAL PROJECTS | WISCONSIN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Jahr is an experienced communications strategist, using storytelling and networking to build movements, inform public opinion and improve lives.

U.S. SENATOR | R-WISCONSIN

Ronald Harold Johnson is the senior U.S. senator from Wisconsin and a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2010, he was chief executive officer of PACUR, LLC, a polyester and plastics manufacturer.

NEWS EDITOR | CAP TIMES

Joyce has been the Cap Times news editor since 2013. Before that, he led the digital media efforts at Madison’s Isthmus.

U.S. SENATOR | D-MINNESOTA

Klobuchar is the senior senator and first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE | R-STRATFORD

Kulp represents Wisconsin’s 69th District. He also started and owns three companies: Marathon Metals, Kulp Energy Solutions and Kulp Real Properties.

CO-OWNER AND CHEESEMAKER | LANDMARK CREAMERY

Landmark is the cheesemaker and co-owner (with Anna Thomas Bates) of Landmark Creamery in Albany, which makes small batch artisan cheeses from sheep and cow’s milk.

Reporter | Cap Times

Erik Lorenzsonn is the Cap Times’ tech and culture reporter, and also its podcast producer. He joined the team in 2016 after having served as an online editor for Wisconsin Public Radio.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR | HEYMISS PROGRESS

Award winning entrepreneur Madison, affectionately known as “Heymiss Progress” is the creator of the Black Women’s Leadership Conference, Conversation Mixtape, Black Business Expo and a Grand Poetry Slam Champion.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR | WASHINGTON POST

A Madison native, Maraniss won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential bid. He is the author of multiple books, including “They Marched into Sunlight” and a forthcoming book about the late U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy.

CEO | EQT BY DESIGN

Miller is the CEO of EQT by Design, a consulting firm for businesses looking to build inclusion and diversity initiatives. She won the 2016 Reverend James C. Wright Human Rights Award from the city for her work on community and neighborhood issues with the mayor’s office while employed by MG&E.

DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN VOICES FOR RECOVERY

Miller is the director of Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, a statewide network of individuals in recovery from addiction, family members, professionals and allies.

EDUCATION EQUITY CONSULTANT

Mirilli works to create educational equity, including her previous work with the Madison Metropolitan School District as a family youth and community engagement coordinator.

Judge | Dane County Circuit Court

Mitchell was elected to the court in 2016 and also serves as pastor of Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church. Before his election to the court, Mitchell was the director of community relations for UW-Madison and earlier an assistant Dane County district attorney.

CAPITOL BUREAU CHIEF | WKOW-TV

Neumann is WKOW’s Capitol Bureau Chief and covers state politics on his show, “Capitol City Sunday.”

Executive Director | Voces de la Frontera

Neumann-Ortiz is the founding executive director of Voces, an immigrant workers center with chapters in Milwaukee and Racine that is a voice for immigration reform.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR | CAP TIMES

Nichols is the author of several books about politics and the media, including the new “Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse.” He writes about electoral politics and public policy for The Nation magazine.

ANCHOR | WKOW-TV

News anchor Noggle joined the WKOW 27 News team from New York City, where she was an anchor and Emmy-nominated reporter for News 12.

CO-OWNER | O’HARROW’S FAMILY FARM

O’Harrow is co-owner of O’Harrow’s Family Farm in Oconto Falls.

PRESIDENT | MILLENNIAL ACTION PROJECT

Olikara, a UW-Madison alumnus, is the founder and president of the Millennial Action Project, a Washington, D.C.- based nonprofit focused on engaging millennials to overcome partisan gridlock.

REPORTER | CAP TIMES

Speckhard Pasque is the the Cap Times’ metro reporter, primarily covering neighborhoods, transportation and development.

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE | D-MADISON

Pocan has represented Madison and the rest of the Second Congressional District in Congress since 2012. Prior to that, he represented a downtown Madison district in the state Assembly and was a leader in state Democratic politics.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | UW-MADISON SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

A former journalist, Robinson is now a professor at UW-Madison’s journalism school, where she researches how power dynamics play out in community dialogues like journalism.

REPORTER | WISPOLITICS.COM

Rocha has been a reporter for WisPolitics.com since 2016. Prior to that he was editor at WisBusiness.com, covering economic development and the tech sector.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN

Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to that, he worked at The Progressive magazine for 32 years, serving as both editor and publisher.

OWNER | KATAPULT

Seifert is the former executive vice president of Kimberly Clark and serves on Gov. Scott Walker’s Council on Workforce Investment. She founded and works for the Katapult Group, a consulting firm that helps businesses solve problems.

CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM DIRECTOR | MADISON COLLEGE

Short is the culinary arts program director at Madison College. He’s overseen a recent expansion of the culinary training facility and has developed a sustainable farm-to-table program.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 100STATE

St. Fort is the executive director of 100state, the largest coworking network in Wisconsin. He’s also the founder and CEO of LetsKeepBuilding, a marketing firm focused on community building and entrepreneurship.

DIRECTOR | CENTER FOR DAIRY PROFITABILITY

Stephenson is the director of Dairy Policy Analysis at UW-Madison. Stephenson conducts and coordinates research and outreach activities related to the dairy industry.

PUBLISHER | THE PROGRESSIVE

Stockwell is the publisher of The Progressive. Previously, Stockwell spent the last 33 years at WORT Community Radio, a listener-sponsored station.

MANAGING DIRECTOR | STATE SMART TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE

Sundquist is the managing director of the State Smart Transportation Initiative, which promotes transportation practices that advance environmental sustainability and equitable economic development.

POLITICAL ANALYST | AUTHOR

Sykes is a political commentator who hosted a conservative talk show on WTMJ in Milwaukee. He is the author of “How the Right Lost Its Mind,” which will be published in October.

STATE SENATOR | D-MILWAUKEE

Taylor has served in the Senate since 2004 and was at one time the co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.

CEO | MARKABLE

Tang is the CEO and founder of Markable, a Madison startup that develops image-recognition technology for fashion retailers. The company has been featured in Forbes and won funding on a Chinese version of the TV show “Shark Tank.”

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | WISCONSIN TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

Thompson is a veteran legislative and policy analyst with more than 20 years of experience working with Wisconsin businesses, communities, legislators and units of government. Prior to joining TDA in 2006, Thompson served as the legislative director for the Wisconsin Counties Association.

OWNER | FELION STUDIOS AND AMERICAN SKILLET CO.

Alisa Toninato is a Madison sculpture artist and entrepreneur who with her partner, Andrew McManigal, founded FeLion Studios and American Skillet Company. She’s best known for making skillets in the shape of states. In 2012, she was honored by Martha Stewart’s American Made Awards.

FORMER MADISON POLICE CHIEF

Noble Wray retired in 2013 as Madison’s chief of police after serving on the force for 28 years. He has worked as a community policing consultant for departments around the country, served on several nonprofit boards and was appointed to lead to President Obama’s Policing Practices and Accountability Initiative in 2015.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE | D-MILWAUKEE

Zamarripa has served in the Assembly since 2010 and was the first Latina to be elected to the state Legislature.