We are a group of people who care about the Cedarburg Bog. We are supported by our members and volunteers.

OFFICERS

President: Carl Schwartz

Carl Schwartz has been hiking and birding in the Cedarburg Bog since the late 1980s when he went back to school to take all the science and ecology courses he had avoided the first time around in getting a journalism and history degree from the University of Illinois in 1971. That was the same year he moved to Milwaukee with wife Barbara, with whom he has two children: Chris, a special education teacher in Milwaukee, and Eric, a freshman in engineering at Columbia University. Carl is project coordinator for Bird City Wisconsin and vice president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. He has belonged to the Riveredge Nature Center and its bird club for 20 years and currently serves as its field trip chair. He is a member of the Ozaukee-Washington and Door County land trusts, the Nature Conservancy and the International Crane Foundation and was senior editor for national and world news at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel until his retirement in 2009.

Vice President: Gail Epping Overholt

Gail has loved wetlands ever since she can remember. They have always been her refuge when she feels the need to refresh from a sometimes paved over lifestyle. At UW-Extension, Gail has worked to develop the Wisconsin Ephemeral Pond Project into an official program of the Citizen-based Monitoring Program working with partners like the Friends of Cedarburg Bog. Gail has served on the Friends Board of Directors since 2007 and also has served two terms on the Wisconsin Wetlands Association Board. She lives in Wauwatosa with her husband and favorite FOCB volunteer (Pete), 3 teen step-daughters and a playful Labrador pooch named McPhee. She enjoys canoeing/kayaking, gardening, cooking (and showing off their stormwater-light yardshed-complete with a rain garden, 3 rain barrels and a 250-gallon cistern). Her dream is to someday live where she can wake to the sights, sounds and smells of wetlands -- if it can be the Cedarburg Bog that would be just about perfect!

Secretary: Kate Redmond

Kate, a Wisconsin native, grew up near Brown Deer Park and presently lives in an ideal setting between Riveredge and the Cedarburg Bog. She holds a Master's degree in "Nature Study and Conservation Education" -now known as "Environmental Education" from Cornell University, has worked as a teacher-naturalist for a number of Nature centers, including two locally, and presents nature programs at area schools, senior centers, and nature centers. She enjoys writing about, photographing and drawing natural history subjects, volunteers at the Cedarburg Bog and at Lac Lawrann Conservancy in West Bend.

Treasurer: Bill Taylor

Bill retired from UWM's School of Business as a professor emeritus but continues his consulting practice and textbook writing. He has served as president of both the Riveredge Nature Center and the Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust and is a board member of several other not-for-profits.

DIRECTORS

Mark Murphy

Mark was born in Wisconsin and has lived in Mequon since 1973. He and Debbie have two boys, the older a junior at Colorado State, the younger a freshman about to follow his brother to CSU. Mark has an undergraduate degree in Geology from Beloit College and a master's in business management from Cardinal Stritch College. He worked for the family business for 24 years before a sale to a private equity firm. He has been involved in environmental non-profit work since 1992.

Thomas Uttech

Thomas (Tom) is a Self employed artist from 2000 to the present. He has numerous solo and group exhibitions in private galleries and museums, mainly in Milwaukee. WI, NY. NY, Reno Nevada, New Orleans La. and Chicago IL Since 1965 he has works in numerous museums and corporations and private collections. Tom holds a BFA from the Layton School of Art 1965 and a MFA from the University of Cincinnati 1967. He has held teaching positions with School of arts and drama, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock Arkansas; Instructor of Painting and Oriental Art History, 1967-1968 and The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Professor of Painting, drawing, theory and photography, 1968-2000.

Mary Holleback

Mary has been an environmental educator at Riveredge Nature Center for the past 15 years. She has served as project director for the region-wide Testing the Waters high school program. She has taught credit courses for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as well as, workshops for the University of Wisconsin Washington County, Concordia College, Moraine Park Technical College, and the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Prior to being hired by Riveredge, she taught 7th and 8th grade science in Hartford, WI for five years. In addition to her two teaching licenses, she holds a BA in Biology and Conservation, and MS in Curriculum and Instruction from UW - Milwaukee. She served on the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board from 2003-2005, the Board of the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin from 1989 to present, and is currently on the Family Selection committee of the Board of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County. She has been a resident of Washington County, WI since 1977 and has lived in West Bend, WI since 1995.

William S. Niehaus

William (Bill) a resident of Ozaukee County since 1976. is a Graduate of Miami University - BA; Auburn University - MPA; Ohio State University - JD. He is a Member of state bars of Wisconsin and Ohio, US Supreme Court, US Court of Military Appeals, US Tax Court, and Court of Claims. Regular officer in US Air Force; served as Judge Advocate; Mobile Aerial Port and Aerial Port Squadron Commanders; various staff positions. Active duty six years, active reserves 21 years. Distinguished military graduate from Officer Candidate School. Private law practice; general counsel, The Vollrath Co., Sheboygan, WI; President, International Division, The Vollrath Co.; currently owner, President, and CEO of Medica International, Ltd. Past president of Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. He is currently on the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors, where he serves on the Executive Committee, the Land Preservation Board, and is chairman of the Environmental and Land Use Committee.

Vicki Piaskowsi

Vicki Piaskowski is an ornithologist who has conducted research and conservation education in Wisconsin, Michigan and Belize, Central America. The Cedarburg Bog and maple beech forest at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station are high on the list of places that Vicki loves. Vicki was fortunate to assist the late Dr. Charles Weise with his ornithology research there and to conduct her M.S. research at the UW-Milwaukee Field Station. Her work has included being the international coordinator of the Birds Without Borders Aves Sin Fronteras project and a passerine bander at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. She has taught workshops on bird banding and migration at the UW-Milwaukee Field Station and conducted training in ornithology and bird banding in Belize.

Susan Schumacher

Sue was born and raised in New York City. A budding ecologist, she realized early on that she needed to move out of the city. Earning a BA in Zoology from the State University of New York at Oswego, and then an MS in Biology from UW Milwaukee convinced her to move to the Midwest. For 11 years she worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a waterway and wetland regulatory specialist, wildlife assistant, and wetland restoration specialist. The past nine years she's worked as a senior ecologist for the utility company We Energies. Most recently, she's been involved in the planning, permitting, construction and post-construction monitoring of two wind farms in Wisconsin. She's also enjoyed being a Planning Commission member for the Town of Mitchell for nearly 10 years. Sue and her husband Art, their two cats, and two dogs live in Cascade where they are working on restoring their 8 acre woodlot to native species.

Nicole Sidoff

Nicole graduated from UW-Madison in 2005 with majors in History and International Economic Policy Studies, and UW-Milwaukee in 2008 with a Masters in Urban Planning. Nicole began working for Ozaukee County in 2006. She became acquainted with the Ozaukee County Planning & Parks Department while working on a preservation plan for the Cedarburg Bog during a graduate school course. Since mid-2008, she has served as the UW-Extension Community Resource Development Educator for Ozaukee County. Her primary projects include coordinating public input opportunities for the County’s Farmland Preservation and Park & Open Space planning processes, conducting an economic impact analysis of the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, and working with chambers of commerce, Ozaukee County Tourism Council, and Ozaukee Economic Development. Outside of work, Nicole enjoys biking, hiking, snowboarding, attending Milwaukee’s plentiful musical and cultural events, and cheering on the Brewers.

Bruce Ross

In 28 years with the United States Coast Guard, and now in the private sector, Bruce has held a variety of leadership positions, from command of ships and graduate-level teaching to executive positions in Washington, D.C., and avionics development. He now serves as the Chief Operating Officer for an insurance organization in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A native of Lancaster, Pa., he holds degrees from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and U.S. Naval War College. Married to Pamela Resnick Ross, a Milwaukee attorney and fellow board member, Bruce enjoys life along the Milwaukee River in Mequon, as an avid outdoorsman--fishing, gardening, bird-watching and waterfowling.

Pamela Resnick Ross

Pam was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has resided in the Milwaukee area most of her life. She attended law school at Gonzaga University, where she was a member of the Gonzaga Law Review and University Legal Services Clinic, and graduated Cum Laude in 1981. She was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 1981 and she was admitted to the United States Supreme Court in 1990. She is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bar Association, Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin, Divorce Cooperation Institute, Leander J. Foley Matrimonial Inns of Court, Family Law Society, and the Wisconsin Family Law Section. She is a certified family law mediator and is currently performing mediation and Guardian ad Litem services for the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She was a founding Board Member of the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pam is married to fellow Board member, Bruce Ross.

James A. Reinartz, Director UW-Milwaukee Field Station

Jim Reinartz directs the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Field Station, where he has been working for over 25 years. Jim received his PhD in Botany and Plant Ecology from Duke University in 1981. He teaches courses on the vegetation of Wisconsin, wetland ecology, vegetation sampling methods, and various topics in ecological genetics. Jim’s primary areas of research have been wetland ecology, rare plant ecology and genetics, the control and ecology of invasive plants, and natural area management. He is deeply involved in the preservation and management of natural areas and has written management and stewardship plans for many natural areas in southeastern Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, served on the board of the Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and currently serves on the boards of Riveredge Nature Center, and the Invasive Plants Association of Wisconsin.

Andrew Krueger, Property Manager, Department of Natural Resources

Andrew (Andy) is the Property Manager for the Department of Natural Resources portion of the Cedarburg Bog. He is the liaison between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of the Cedarburg Bog. He also manages Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium, WI.

ADVISORS

John H. Lhost, Legal Counsel Quarles & Brady

Joanne Kline

Joanne signed up for a Riveredge tour of the Cedarburg Bog in 1985 and has been both a volunteer and fortunate enough to work in the Bog ever since. She is a biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, a Liaison to the Department of Transportation and a member of the State Wetland Technical Team. Her work develops methods to conserve natural areas at both local and landscape scales with an emphasis on wetlands, water quality and habitat for rare species. Before joining state service, Joanne was a researcher in watershed ecology with the International Biological Program at Oregon State University and at the University of California San Diego. She is an avid paddler, a volunteer with the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the United Performing Arts Fund, and an Advisor to The Ozaukee Washington Land Trust and Lac Lawrann Conservancy. Joanne has a MS from Penn State University. She lives in West Bend with her husband, Dan.

Gretchen Meyer

Gretchen Meyer is Manager and Staff Biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station, a position she has held since 1999. Her responsibilities at UWM include administering the research and educational activities of the Field Station, managing the natural areas owned by UWM, supporting other researchers and educators using the Field Station, teaching field courses, conducting research, and supporting educational outreach activities. Prior to her appointment at UWM, she was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and she has also served as a Lecturer in the Department of Biology at Yale University. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University, a Master's of Forest Science from Yale University, and an undergraduate degree in Biology from Tufts University.