Our Board
Wisconsin Humanities' 25 volunteer board members hail from all parts of the state. We seek members whose experience, training, interests, skills, cultural background, and community ties bring diversity, energy, and expertise to our programs. Approximately half of our board membership is drawn from the academic community and half from the community at large. New members are ordinarily elected to three-year terms at our February meeting, and assume office in June. Six members are appointed by the Governor.
Jenifer D. Cole *
Chair
Middleton
Ann Huntoon
Treasurer
Tomahawk
David J. O'Connor
Vice-Chair
Madison
Sandra Adell
Madison
Debra K.S. Barker
Eau Claire
enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Nation) and teaches and researches past and contemporary Lakota writing, Indigenous literary aesthetics, decolonial studies, and the representation of American Indians in EuroAmerican culture. Her publications include articles on American Indian boarding schools, Lakota life writings, and the literary production of Louise Erdrich. She joined the Wisconsin Humanities board in 2022 and lives in Eau Claire.
Janet T. Bewley
Mason
Janet T. Bewley is an American politician and former Democratic minority leader in the Wisconsin State Senate. She was a member of the Legislature from 2011 through 2023, representing eleven counties in northwestern Wisconsin. She served on the Ashland City Council, is a former Community Relations Officer for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, and served as Executive Director of a family foundation focused on the arts and social enrichment. She joined the Wisconsin Humanities board in 2023 and lives in Mason.
Laura Damon-Moore
Monona
Mary Lynne Donohue**
Sheboygan
Jennifer S. Esperanza
Beloit
Eloisa Gómez
Milwaukee
Eloisa Gómez is the former Director of U.W. Extension-Milwaukee County and in her retirement is a public speaker and community outreach consultant. Eloisa helped to found Comité por el Voto Latino/Latinx Voter Outreach in 2017, a committee of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and continues as a volunteer. Eloisa is a poet and the co-author of the prize-winning book, Somos Latinas: Voices of Wisconsin Latina Activists. She was a writer in residence for Write On Door County, a non-profit organization in Fish Creek, Wisconsin whose mission is to inspire and engage writers. She joined the Wisconsin Humanities board in 2024 and lives in Milwaukee.
Danielle Hairston Green
Madison
Brian Jackson
Lac du Flambeau
Lara Karpenko
Milwaukee
Stephen Kercher
Neenah
Jan Larson
Eau Claire
Everett L. Marshburn
Milwaukee
Jim O'Connell
Stevens Point
Jim O’Connell coordinates the undergraduate arts management program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business and has spent 46 years managing and programming performing arts, most recently at Wausau’s Grand Theater. Jim serves as a regular grant review panelist for the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin’s Community Arts Grant Program and for the Wisconsin Arts Board’s Creation and Presentation Program. He is also a board member and treasurer of the Association of Arts Administration Educators. Jim joined the Wisconsin Humanities board in 2023 and currently lives in Wausau
Ruth Olson
Madison
Kate Rericha *
Sturgeon Bay
N'Jameh Russell-Camara *
Milwaukee
Scott Schultz
Osseo
Carole J. Trone *
Madison
Carrie Van Hallgren *
Spring Green
Carrie Van Hallgren is Assistant Dean for Academic Administration and Operations of the College of Liberal Arts and Education at UW-Platteville. Prior to coming to UW-Platteville, Carrie served as Managing Director at American Players Theatre for eight seasons. As a non-profit theater leader, she has worked with Milwaukee Shakespeare, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Her higher education experience includes producing and teaching theater at Davidson College, University of Minnesota, and UW- Madison. Born and raised in Platteville, she currently lives in Spring Green with her family and was appointed to the Wisconsin Humanities board by Governor Evers in 2023.
Nengher Vang
Whitewater
Wisconsin-Whitewater. He holds degrees in history, peace studies, theology, and sociology. His research focuses on the history and politics of Hmong Americans who came to the United States as refugees from Laos after the Vietnam War. He has published numerous articles and is currently writing a book on the Hmong’s colonial history and their struggle for national sovereignty. He joined the board in 2023 and lives in Deerfield.
John Viste**
Harshaw
Kris Adams Wendt *
Rhinelander
* Governor’s Appointee as of 11/1/23
** Associate Member as of 6/15/24