KRISTIN CHARLTON (West Central Region)

Kristin has had a long life love of water. Beginning with summers and holidays spent at her parent’s cabin in Forest County on Trump Lake and growing up in Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan, she’s been exposed to the joys of lake living. Thanks to her parents, Kristin also had many wonderful adventures canoeing down the Wolf River and enjoying the beautiful environment that Wisconsin has to offer. Her parents instilled in her a strong ethic of protecting lakes and the environment.

Kristin has enjoyed living on Lake Eau Claire in western Wisconsin with her husband for more than 15 years. Deeply involved with the Lake Eau Claire Association, she’s worked on various projects, served on its board of directors and founded and was co-chair of the Lake Eau Claire Clean Water Triathlon. She is a Crew 6 graduate of the Lake Leaders Institute.

Professionally, Kristin has been involved in the contract manufacturing industry for more than 20 years with a specific interest in product development, engineering and industrial design. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and an MBA from Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee. She continues to live on Lake Eau Claire with her husband, one very spoiled Brittany dog named Sam, and two felines.

CONTACT KRISTIN:

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BOB CLARKE (Northeast Region)

Growing up on a lake in Minnesota, Bob developed a passion for the outdoors in general and water issues in particular. While raising a family he and his wife Joanne made a commitment to afford their two children the same experiences and have been part-time residents of the Central Sands for nearly 25 years.

A strong supporter of the environment, Bob has been active in the preservation of the environmental resources in many pristine places including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. On a local level he was stirred to action when ground and surface waters were threatened in the Central Sands area of Wisconsin.

Personally passionate about the outdoors, Bob has backpacked, hiked, floated and canoed many fascinating places including nearly a dozen trips to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He is active in many environmental organizations including having served as the Chairman of Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network, serving as a founding steering committee member of the Central Sands Water Action Network, and as the Chairman and founding board member of Friends of the Central Sands.

CONTACT BOB:

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CATHIE ERICKSON (Northern Region)

Raised in Shawano, Cathie had easy access to both Shawano Lake and the Wolf River and has many fond memories her father taking her to the lake or the river to swim after work on hot afternoons, exploring the channel that connects the lake and the river with her brother in their rowboat, watching the sturgeon spawn on the Wolf River and waterskiing on Shawano Lake.

Cathie went on to Northland College and was introduced to the wonders of Lake Superior. After graduating from Northland, she moved with her husband to St. Paul where they raised their daughters and she worked as a software developer and attorney for a large legal publishing company. During that time, the family bought a small summer cottage on Big McKenzie Lake in Washburn County, which began a 36-year relationship with Northwest Wisconsin’s lakes and natural areas and her realization that Wisconsin’s waters are a precious natural resource.

The opportunity to play a role in protecting Wisconsin’s waters came when Cathie and her husband retired and moved to Stone Lake and joined the Shoreowners of Stone Lake Association (SOSLA). That led to her involvement in creating the Stone Lake Community Wetland Park and then to serving on the board the Washburn County Lakes and Rivers Association (WCLRA), where she has served for 10 years (including four years as president and five years as treasurer). Cathie is also a member of Lake Leaders Crew 8.

CONTACT CATHIE:

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SARA HATLELI, SECRETARY (West Central Region)

Sara has always enjoyed being in, on, and around the water. Working on lakes officially started as an undergraduate research project while she earned a B.S. in Biology from UW-Eau Claire (2003) and took off from there. Sara has worked a few limited term and permanent positions in natural resources and environmental education, but has always most enjoyed lake work. Her master’s research at UW-Stevens Point (2009) involved assessment of structural habitat in near-shore areas of lakes, spending two summers snorkeling in northern Wisconsin lakes during which her best days involved feeding rusty crayfish to the smallmouth bass, watching the community dynamics of spawning bluegills, and catching fat bullfrogs.

Sara lives in Black River Falls and works for the Ho-Chunk Nation Division of Natural Resources organizing various land management projects. In 2011 to continue her lake work, she launched a small consulting business, Aquatic Plant and Habitat Services LLC, which offers services in aquatic plant surveys, grant writing, environmental education, and lake management plans. Sara sees her service as a Wisconsin Lakes board member as an exciting opportunity to work for the protection of our lake resources and a way to work with some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers and professionals around.

CONTACT SARA: smschmidt79@yahoo.com

JIM HORN, TREASURER (South Central Region)

Jim has served as treasurer for Wisconsin Lakes for several years. A Dane County resident, he’s worked with numerous non-profits in the area, and is currently employed by the Urban League of Greater Madison.

CONTACT JIM:

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MARY KNIPPER, PRESIDENT – (Southeast Region)

An east coast native, Mary grew up going to the beach every summer day. As such, when she moved to the Midwest she thought lake living would pale by comparison and was pleased to be proven wrong!

Mary sees each season on the lake as full of surprises and new experiences, and enjoys sharing this experience with her children and visitors who allow her to see it through fresh eyes time and time again. She and her husband are committed to doing their part to pass this wonderful legacy on to their family, and working to protect lakes gives them an opportunity to meet and work with others who share their love and respect for the waters of Wisconsin. Mary recognizes that the issues facing our local lakes are not unique, and that it will take a statewide effort to address these concerns and promote good environmental policies to ensure that the generations to come will benefit by the decisions we make now.

As board president of Wisconsin Lakes, Mary leads the board’s work and believes in the power of advocacy to effect policy, and be the collective voice that we need. She also sees education and outreach as playing a vital role in protecting our waters.

CONTACT MARY:

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DEREK KAVANAUGH, VICE PRESIDENT (Northeast Region)

Derek grew up in the lake-rich region of Northern Minnesota. A graduate of UW-Stevens Point, he currently works for the Green Lake County Land Conservation Department, where his duties are split between the watershed and lakes programs, and where he also serves as the County’s Invasive Species Coordinator. Derek established a Lakes and Rivers Program in 2003, and has continually grown and expanded the program each year.

CONTACT DEREK:

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ALLEN ROSENTHAL (Northeast Region)

Al lives on Buffalo Lake in Marquette County, and served on the Buffalo Lake P&R District Board for six years as treasurer. He assisted in the forming of the Marquette County Lakes Association, and presently serves as secretary. Al believes that our lakes in Wisconsin are our biggest asset, and must be maintained and preserved through advocacy and outreach.

CONTACT AL:

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CAROLYN SCHOLL, (Northern Region)

Carolyn is the Vilas County Conservationist, having worked in different capacities for the county for more than a decade. She serves on the board of WI Land + Water, as well as its legislative committee. She instills her love of nature in youth by serving as a co-director of the annual WI Youth Conservation Camp. Trips to the Rhinelander area as a child instilled in her a deep love of the beauty and recreational value of lakes, leading to her career in conservation. She holds degrees from UW-Oshkosh and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

CONTACT CAROLYN: seashoal64@yahoo.com

JERRY ZIEGLER, (Southeast Region)

Jerry grew up in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, and it seemed that he was always thinking of the water. He pestered his parents every chance he got to take him to relatives’ places on some of the hundreds of lakes within a stone’s throw of Detroit and would spend summer days in rowboats with a fishing rod. When his parents bought a cottage in the hamlet of Colchester overlooking Lake Erie, he divided his time between the Great Lakes and the inland lakes. Later, after coming to Milwaukee, he crewed on sailboats for offshore racing on Lake Michigan.

Jerry has always had a passion for the environment, spawned in part by his father’s roots as a farmer and partly by being well-grounded in the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s. It followed easily that he came to The Nature Conservancy first as a volunteer and then as an employee, removing invasive aquatic species at Lulu and Pickerel lakes in Walworth County and working to protect the Mukwonago River Watershed. He never fails to appreciate the incredible diversity – and fragility – of our lakes.

CONTACT JERRY: jziegler@tnc.org

RAY ZUELKE, (Northeast Region)

Ray was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin. However, he was lucky enough, starting at a very early age, to spend summers with his parents on Waubeesee Lake 20 miles outside of town in Racine County. No doubt that’s where the lake water got into his blood.

Shortly after graduating college, he again was lucky enough to marry a beautiful woman, Joy, and Ray proudly says he’s as much or more in love with her today as when they were married 50 years ago. Joy and Ray, along with their first daughter (eventually they had three daughters) received a job transfer to Neenah in 1967. At the time, this was the furthest north he had ever been in Wisconsin. It didn’t take long, however, for the growing family to decide the Fox River Valley was a great place to live. Ray changed jobs and joined U.S. Venture (at the time Schmidt Oil Co.) in 1969. After a career with U.S. spanning some 40+ years, involving several sales and marketing leadership positions, he retired in 2009.

Interestingly, aviation played a role in the discharge of Ray’s duties with U.S. As an accomplished pilot (commercial license, multi-engine, certified flight instructor – instrument airplane) he has many interesting stories to tell. Corner him at the Lakes Convention and ask him about his experience working with the DNR, flying spotted musky fry from Lower Michigan to the hatcheries near the Waupaca airport.

His ties to lake living lead him to become a property owner on the south shore of Shawano Lake in spring of 1982. Ray’s family has loved summer weekends and vacations at Shawano. Life at Shawano has become a way of life for them ever since.

Becoming a member of Shawano Lake Property Owner’s Association introduced Ray to the challenges of lake management. He has been a member of the Association for 32 years, having served in various capacities. Today as a board member and past President, he is proud to have been part of the Association’s evolution into Shawano Area Waterways Management, Inc., whose goal is to implement long term positive ecological improvement in the entire lake and contiguous waterways. Ray is quick to recognize the value of the excellent working relationships with DNR, UW Extension, UW-Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Lakes.

Ray’s experience as a member and graduate of the Lake Leaders Institute, Crew 10 lead to his involvement with lake issues on a broader scale and he became a board member of Wisconsin Lakes.

 

MICHAEL ENGLESON, Executive Director

Prior to accepting the Executive Director role in 2013, Mike came to Wisconsin Lakes as Membership & Communications Director in 2009. A graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton and UW-Madison Law School, Mike gained a great deal of experience with non-profit organizations while in school. He served as intern with 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, during which time he helped rural towns write ordinances implementing their land use plans. After a short stint as a general practice attorney, he spent six years working for the River Alliance of Wisconsin before coming to Wisconsin Lakes. He has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including Prairie Music & Arts, the Tenant Resource Center of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Community Fund, and is a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton.

A paddler, hiker, and occasional trombonist, Mike is a lifelong resident of Wisconsin (except for four great years in Kentucky). Some of his fondest memories are of camping and canoeing the lakes of the northwoods, a pastime he now enjoys sharing with his family.

CONTACT MIKE: 

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DAVID PAUSCH, Membership & Development Director

David Pausch brings more than a decade of experience in fundraising and development to Wisconsin Lakes. Before coming to Wisconsin Lakes in 2013, David was the director of development for the River Alliance of Wisconsin. When not developing and fundraising, David is a pretty talented actor and theatrical director, a darned good home chef, a mediocre but dedicated gardener, and a doggedly determined husband and father to Karen, Max, and Ginny, respectively.

CONTACT DAVID:

 

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