Board of Directors
We are a group of people who care about the Cedarburg Bog. We are supported by our members, donors, and volunteers.
Meet Our
Officers
President: Jim Reinartz
Jim has joined the board after retiring from nearly 40 years working as Manager, and then Director, of the UW Milwaukee Field Station. Jim received his PhD in Botany and Plant Ecology from Duke University in 1981. He taught courses on the vegetation of Wisconsin, physiology and identification of plants in winter, invasive plant control, vegetation sampling methods, and various other topics. Jim’s primary areas of research were 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 County Land Trust and served on the board of the Wisconsin chapter of the Nature Conservancy and other organizations. Jim has explored every part of the Cedarburg Bog and shares his deep passion for the wetland, and has now taken on the role of President for the FOCB.
Treasurer: Andy Holman
Andy Holman is a semi-retired CPA who has worked with nonprofits throughout Southeast Wisconsin for over 40 years while also enjoying biodiversity wherever he can find it. He has traveled to all seven continents during his quest for immersing in biodiverse environments.. However, he has always been rooted in Milwaukee. His photos have been exhibited at the Milwaukee Public Library, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and the Racine Art Museum and they have been published in Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Andy also is an instructor with the Helen Bader Institute of Non-Profit Management at UW-Milwaukee focusing on nonprofit financial management.
Directors
Bob Lorence
Bob is serving on the board to become more active in FOCB’s stated mission of preserving and maintaining the Cedarburg Bog. He lives within close proximity of the Bog and UWM Field Station and has attended classes and events, and has a personal interest in learning more about, and contributing to, the Bog and its surrounding natural areas.
As a lawyer who worked in both the government and private sector, Bob brings a unique perspective on certain matters coming before the FOCB board. He has a special interest in the stewardship committee, becoming more active in the Bog Guardian Program, and coordinating with outside organizations on projects and grants.
Danielle Bell
Danielle’s passion for the outdoors started as a small child exploring the natural world with my parents. This love and excitement grew with her through college where a field trip to the Cedarburg Bog was her first exposure to our state natural areas and the intact plant communities of Wisconsin. Since graduating, she has spent the past decade working in the green industry and in 2019 started her own company with the focus of reintroducing native plants into the landscape fabric of our cities and suburbs. She enjoys watching these plants heal the land while providing habitats for our native fauna. There is always something new to discover in nature with every step if you take the time to slow down and be present in the moment. Danielle enjoy being able to share her passions with others and expose them to our natural areas in hopes that they will fall in love with them as much as she has.
Brian Morrison
Events & Education Chair
Brian Morrison values community and has a diverse background in outreach and event coordinating. Currently President of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Council and part time Community Outreach Coordinator, his connections to the arts help give him a unique skill set and creative perspective. Combined with his love for nature and all things wild, he created the educational nature walk series in Grant Park, called “Suburban Soles.” After 5 years of leadership, Brian handed the program over to the Friends of Grant Park, who still present the series each summer. Brian has been responsible for growing popularity and developing the “Music at the Market” music series at the South Milwaukee Downtown Market, helping to ignite a community garden initiative called “Growing South Milwaukee,” and assisted in bringing new life to his home town business district, while working for the Chamber of Commerce as Membership & Events Coordinator.
In 2022, Brian Graduated from the M.A.T.C/Concordia University transfer program, with a Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and a minor in biology. He earned his Master Naturalist certification from Retzer Nature Center and assumed the role of Horticulture Club President while at MATC. After working for Milwaukee County Parks for almost 5 years, he took a job With Ozaukee County Parks, as Park Caretaker at Virmond Park, where he now lives and works.
Brian enjoys camping, backpacking and exploring nature through photography. He studies permaculture and applies learned techniques to his home landscape. Through his new found love of bee-keeper, he hopes to master the art of brewing honey mead. In the winter months, Brian enjoys oil painting, writing music and reading anything plant related. He is the band leader for the group “Blues Addiction,” where he plays bass, books the music for the Thiensville farmers market and helps to organize and book the entertainment for the Best “Dam” Blues Festival in Thiensville. He plans to eventually earn a Masters degree in Natural Resource Management through UW-SP and enjoys attending nature based workshops every chance he can get. The quickest way to his heart is a clever name for a well organized community event. Plant puns are tree-mendously appealing, stolen or not.
Cory Gritzmacher
Stewardship Chair
Cory recognized his passion for the Green Industry over 20 years. He has been an ISA Certified Arborist for over 15 years and is a past president of the Wisconsin Arborist Association. Currently, Cory is the Director of Restoration and Operations at Mequon Nature Preserve. In addition to land management duties, Cory facilitates the maple tree tapping program, and Restoration Rangers, an intergenerational volunteer training group that executes land restoration projects. Cory provides K-12, college students, Scouts and community volunteers with field experiences that focus on forests, wetlands, prairies, wildlife, and sustainability. More recently, he has become the handler for Tilia, the State’s first on-staff conservation dog. Together, they are on a mission to eradicate wild parsnip, an invasive plant species that can cause third degree burns when coming in contact with the skin, as well as to locate salamanders, an indicator species difficult for humans to find, but simple for a dog to scent. Cory is adept at utilizing equipment necessary to complete successful land restoration projects including a tracked skid loader, utility tractor and UTV to aid in large volume plantings. In fall 2017, MATC hired Cory part time as a Horticultural Instructor to teach all types of curriculum relating to career paths for arborists, garden center management, grounds management, horticulturists, landscape construction management and landscape design.
Andrew Struck
Andrew Struck has served as the Director of the Planning and Parks Department for Ozaukee County, WI for 15 years and has more than 20 years of experience in regional planning and geographic information systems (GIS), parks and trails, ecological protection and restoration, Great Lakes fish and wildlife habitat, environmental policy and education and outreach. Andrew has an M.S. in Applied Ecology / Regional Planning from Indiana University – Bloomington and a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Throughout his career, he has worked on collaborative, large-scale, intergovernmental park, trail and natural resource planning, protection, restoration and management issues while securing over $20 million in ecologically focused grant funding for the Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department including development of the Ozaukee Interurban Trail and the creation and development of the Ozaukee Fish Passage Program that has received approximately $14 million in grant funding since 2009 and honored with the National Association of Counties Achievement Award (2011) and the Milwaukee RiverKeeper River Hero of the Year award (2011). Andrew also serves on several planning, tourism, ecological, and environmental non-profit Board of Directors including past President of the Milwaukee Audubon Society and Wisconsin Audubon Council and Treasurer of the Ozaukee County Tourism Council. Andrew has received several awards including the Planning Initiative Award from the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials (NACPRO) for the development of the Ecological Prioritization GIS Tool for Ozaukee County (2021), Gathering Waters Land Conservation Leadership – Conservationist of the Year Award (2013), Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust – Watershed Champion Award (2016), Wisconsin Citizen Based Monitoring Program of the Year Award (2013), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin Urban Forestry Council Partnership Awards (2016), the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust’s Timothy Kaul Leadership and Patricia Wilmeth Stewardship Awards (2013 and 2016 respectively), the Treasures of Oz — Wizard of Oz Award for environmental leadership (2012), the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce – Outstanding Achievement Award (2009), and the Grafton Chamber of Commerce – Distinguished Service Award (2010).
While with the Friends of the Cedarburg Bog, Andrew has assisted the Friends and WDNR with development of education and outreach materials for the importance of groundwater and groundwater recharge in and around the Bog to the Hines Emerald Dragonfly (federally endangered species) and unique Bog habitat. Andrew has served on the Friends Board of Directors since 2015.
Pam Uihlein
Pam is currently employed as an Environmental Educator at Riveredge Nature Center. There her duties include developing and implementing programming for their Home School EdVentures Program, serving as a Recreational Tree Climbing Facilitator and summer camp counselor. Pam comes to us with a wealth of experience as an environmental educator. She earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from the Colorado College. Prior to her work at Riveredge Nature Center, she served as an Instructor for the Wild Rockies Field Institute, and was the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Great Bear Foundation in Missoula, MT as well as Seasonal Special Educator at the Mohonk Preserve, Gardiner, NY. She is well versed and experienced in teaching. Conservation and ecology of black, brown, and polar bears is of special interest to her.
Advisors
Acting Director of the University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee Field Station: Paul Engevold
Paul is the acting Director of the University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee Field Station for 2023 and 2024. His responsibilities at the Field Station 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, and supporting educational outreach activities. On the main campus of UWM in Milwaukee, Paul manages the Biological Sciences Greenhouse, including supporting the botanical needs of the Department’s instructional courses and overseeing the research activities in the greenhouse. Paul also holds an Adjunct Full Professor appointment at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.
Sharon G. Fandel, Department of Natural Resources
In 2014, Sharon became the DNR representative on the Bog team. She works as an ecologist for the Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where her territory spans the southeastern counties of the state. The Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation is tasked with preserving Wisconsin’s special places and non-game species, and managing Wisconsin’s State Natural Areas. In addition to providing expertise to other DNR programs involved in decisions and actions impacting natural communities and native species, she is also the assigned property manager for several State Natural Areas in southeastern Wisconsin, in addition to the Cedarburg Bog. Sharon is a native Minnesotan who earned her Bachelor’s degree from UW-Stevens Point and her Master’s degree in Ecology from UC-Davis. She is interested in birds, spends as much time as she can outdoors, and has already put in some time cutting buckthorn in the Bog.
