About The Board
Presidents of the Board
Presidents of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, from 1971 to today.
Contacting the Board
Comments can be submitted through the Office of the Board of Regents (board@uwsa.edu) or by contacting Regents individually.
Regents
Term of Appointment: May 2022-May 2029
Angela Adams previously served at Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago as director (2016 to 2018) and vice president (2018 to 2021) of community relations and most recently as chief communications and diversity officer (2021-2023).
Prior to her work with Goodwill, she served in various other nonprofit and corporate leadership roles, including at Ascension Wisconsin, Johnson Controls, and Pfizer. She also serves on the board of directors for Froedtert Hospital, Carmen Schools, African American Leadership Alliance Milwaukee (AALAM), and the Sherman Phoenix Foundation, as well as serving as the past board president of Professional Dimensions, a women’s professional association in the Milwaukee Area.
Adams obtained her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida A&M University and earned her master’s in strategic communication and leadership from Seton Hall University.
Term of Appointment: May 2017 – May 2024
batwell@uwsa.edu
(920) 430-7317
Bob Atwell is the founding CEO of Nicolet National Bank. He has 34 years of experience as a Wisconsin banker. He is a graduate of Beloit College (’80) and the Yale School of Management (’83).
Atwell is Lead Director for the Ariens Company Board, and serves on the boards of Hospital Sisters Health System, Great Northern Corporation, Saris Cycling Group, and Promotion Management, Inc. (PMI). He is past chairman and one of the founders of Relevant Radio, a national Catholic radio network. He is a frequent speaker on leadership and community banking, as well as ethics, faith and economics.
Regent Vice President
Term of Appointment: May 2020 – May 2027
Amy Blumenfeld Bogost began practicing law in 1989 in the areas of criminal defense and civil rights. More recently her practice has focused on representation of victims of sensitive crimes and Federal Title IX. She started a pro bono training for attorneys to aid and represent survivors of sexual assault and those going through the Title IX hearing process. Bogost has provided training on implementation of Title IX at Tribal colleges and has helped organize and teach at the National Trial Tribal College, co-sponsored and located at University of Wisconsin Law School. Bogost has been active in advancing the education of students with learning differences including serving as a Board member for “Imagine a Child’s Capacity” and lending her legal services to advocate on behalf of students and families. Bogost currently sits on the Milwaukee based HIR Wellness Center Board, a nonprofit organization that believes in a multi systemic and integrated approach to providing high-quality mental health and wellness care. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Chicago Kent College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of Wisconsin. She is a member of Washington State, California and Wisconsin Bar Associations. Lifelong residents of Wisconsin, Bogost and her husband live in Madison and have three adult children. The entire family have received degrees or are currently attending the University of Wisconsin.
Term of Appointment: May 2023 – May 2025
Evan Brenkus is enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he is pursuing a major in First Nations Studies and a minor in Mathematics. Currently, he is making meaningful connections within the Oneida Nation’s education system – working under contract at the Nation’s Oneida Language Immersion School. In the future, he wants to use what he has learned to create an online platform for First Nations to document, access, update, and hear their language while providing helpful tools to Indigenous educators to aid in language revitalization within their classrooms.
Term of Appointment: March 2020 – May 2025
Héctor Colón is the President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (LSS). Under his leadership, LSS has adapted new models and business strategies to increase relevancy and operational efficiency. Before the start of Colón’s tenure in 2017, the organization had not met its budget for four consecutive years. Since that time, LSS has generated multi-million dollar surpluses with a gain of $2.4 million in 2019. In 2019, Colón was named the Nonprofit Executive of the Year by BizTimes Media and the Hispanic Man of the year by UMOS.
As Executive Director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, Colón worked with a team to turn multi-million dollar deficits into multi-million dollar surpluses. There he led several countywide initiatives, including efforts to reform the juvenile justice system, end chronic homelessness, transform mental health care, and end a 30-year waitlist for disabilities services.
As a member and champion of the U.S. national boxing team, Colón won seven national titles and competed in the 1992 Olympic trials. At the height of his boxing career, Colón stepped away from his Olympic dreams and the potential of millions to serve God. Today, he is an independent director on the board of USA Boxing with a focus on inspiring athletes to discover their own path towards personal and professional greatness. His first book, “From Boxing Ring to Board Room,” is set to release in June 2020.
Term of Appointment: May 2017 – May 2024
mjones@uwsa.edu
(414) 223-2536
Mike Jones is Of Counsel with the Michael Best law firm in Milwaukee. He joined the firm in January 2013 after working in a variety of positions at Miller Brewing Company and MillerCoors. Jones joined Miller full time as an attorney in 1984 and went on to serve as senior vice president, general counsel secretary, and a member of the board of directors of Miller Brewing Company. In 2008, he was appointed vice president of corporate affairs for MillerCoors, from which he retired in 2012.
Jones has been involved in many community and civic organizations. He currently also serves on the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board of Directors.
Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 and a Juris Doctorate from Marquette University in 1984.
Term of Appointment: May 2023 – May 2030
Regent Jim Kreuser has more than three decades of experience in public service, serving as Kenosha County Executive for 14 years from 2008 to 2022 and representing Kenosha in the Wisconsin State Assembly for 15 years from 1993 to 2008. A first-generation college graduate, he earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Parkside in 1983 and continued on to complete his master’s in public administration (M.P.A.) from the school in 1986. During his time at UW-Parkside, Regent Kreuser was PSGA President for 2 years and interned for Congressman Les Aspin. He then interned for then-Kenosha County Executive John Collins and was hired as a full-time administrative assistant in the county executive’s office after graduating with his M.P.A., where he worked until 1993.
Jim and his wife, Jane, have two sons who have graduated from UW‐Madison and UW‐Stevens Point.
Term of Appointment: May 2019 – May 2026
Previous Appointment: May 2010 – May 2017
(534) 444-3118
emanydeeds@uwsa.edu
Edmund Manydeeds is an attorney with Manydeeds Law S.C. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Superior and received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Manydeeds was appointed and confirmed in the spring of 2010 to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and served a 7-year term. Manydeeds was reappointed in 2019 to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to serve a second 7-year term.
Term of Appointment: May 2021 – May 2028
Previous Appointment: February 2021 – May 2021 
John W. Miller is the Founder and Principal at Arenberg Holdings, a Venture Capital fund established in 2015 to make investments in early stage companies, with an emphasis on companies located in the Midwest.
Miller began his career as a Congressional staffer, serving as the chief tax and budget policy advisor for a Wisconsin Congressman serving on the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on the Budget. In 2006 Miller joined Miller-St. Nazianz, Inc., his family’s farm equipment manufacturing business and became the 5th generation of his family to lead the company as President & CEO. In late 2014 Miller sold his company to CNH Industrial, its largest customer. He serves on many local charitable boards including Discovery World, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation, Bublr Bikes, Public Policy Forum and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee.
Miller holds a B.A. from Marquette University, a M.A. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He lives in the Milwaukee area with his wife, Brigid, and their children: Nora, Jack and Lucy.
Term of Appointment: May 2018 – May 2025
cpeterson@uwsa.edu
(715) 463-5799
Cris Peterson is a dairy farmer and writer from Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she earned a B.S. in Education from the University of Minnesota before marrying her husband, Gary, and moving to the farm. In partnership with their son, Ben, they have operated Four Cubs Farm near Grantsburg for the past 45 years. They milk 1000 cows with 16 robots. The farm has been in the Peterson family since 1877.
Peterson has written twelve books for children. She also wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper column on literacy for Universal Press for eight years. An overriding theme of all her work involves proactively promoting agriculture and working to overcome public misperceptions about how food is produced.
Peterson has chaired Wisconsin’s Dairy 2020 Council, has served on the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association board, the International Dairy Foods Association advisory board, and was named the 2004 National Dairywoman of the Year. Currently she serves on Burnett Dairy Cooperative’s board of directors, is president of Grantsburg’s scholarship foundation, and is treasurer of Grantsburg Revitalization Operation, working to develop strategies to revitalize her community.
Term of Appointment: May 2023 – May 2030
Previous Appointment: Feb 2023 – May 2023
Dr. Joan M. Prince is the President and CEO of Executive Strategies Elite, LLC, a global consulting firm that works with top executive leaders on their most pressing issues. Prince, a Milwaukee native, was the first African American to hold undergraduate and graduate degrees in clinical laboratory medicine with a specialty in flow cytometry and hematology and a doctorate in medical science education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, from which she has received four degrees. She served as the vice chancellor of global inclusion and engagement and as an associate professor in biomedical sciences at her alma mater from 2000 to 2021. In 2012, Dr. Prince was nominated by former President Barack Obama to the U.N. General Assembly as a public delegate with the honorary rank of ambassador. In this role, she occupied the US seat and worked with global leaders, UN committees and related organizations, and also delivered policy statements on behalf of the United States to the international board of nations.
Term of Appointment: May 2021 – May 2028
Dr. Ashok Rai is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Prevea Health – a physician-led, multispecialty health care provider working in partnership with Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) hospitals across Wisconsin. Dr. Rai’s passion to redesign health care in the U.S. embraces the movement from fee-for-service methods of payment to value-based care, which rewards health care organizations for their work in preventive health care and encouraging patients to live healthy lifestyles and not for the amount of procedures they perform.
Dr. Rai was born and raised in Michigan. He attended undergraduate school and enrolled in the “Target M.D.” program at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. He completed his medical degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and then a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics through Michigan State University at the Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. Following residency, he specialized in hospital medicine and held various leadership positions at Prevea Health before becoming the President and CEO of Prevea Health in 2009. He also continues to practice medicine and cares for patients at Woodside Lutheran Nursing Home in Green Bay.
Dr. Rai plays an active role in community and health care organizations. He joined the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Board of Directors in 2012 and served as Chairman of AMGA in 2018. He is also Chairman of the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon Board; and serves on the Board of Directors for the Automobile Gallery in Green Bay and Progress Lakeshore, and on the Board of Downtown Green Bay, Inc.
Dr. Rai lives in Green Bay with his wife, Brooke. He is a proud father of three boys and three girls.
Term of Appointment: May 2022-May 2024
(262) 977-0153
Jennifer Staton is currently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she is pursuing a major in applied health sciences with a pre-physician assistant concentration, a minor in biology, and a certificate in community-based learning. From 2007 until 2014, Staton also served in the U.S. Army in various roles, including as a combat medic while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ex-Officio Member (WTCS Board Representative): June 2023 – Present
Past Ex-Officio Service (WTCS Board Representative): July 2011 – July 2013, July 2015 – July 2019
Mark is the Founder and Chairman of OEM Fabricators, Inc., a contract manufacturer in Northwestern Wisconsin. OEM was named Wisconsin’s Manufacturer of the Year in multiple years, and was the first to be recognized for their efforts in Workforce Development.
Mark volunteers with a number of organizations in the areas of workforce development, K-12 and postsecondary education and he is passionate about early childhood education and access to affordable childcare. A sample of Mark’s current and past public service includes:
- Member and President, Wisconsin Technical College System Board
- Chair, Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment
- Chair, National Governors Association, State Workforce Board Chairs Association
- Board Member and Executive Committee Member, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
- Member, Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council
- Member and President, Family Resource Center St Croix Valley Board
- Founder, Family Friendly Workplaces, Inc. (a 501c3 nonprofit)
- Member, St Croix Valley United Way Success by 6 Board
- Member, Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, UW River Falls
- Member, UW Stout’s Discovery Center Advisory Committee
Mark earned his Technical College Degree in Design Technology from St. Paul TVI, (now St. Paul College), and later in his career earned his MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
Mark lives in rural Emerald Township, Wisconsin with his wife Jackie. Together they operate Emerald Glenn Farm which breeds and trains American Shetland and Welsh ponies and Shetland Sheep. In their spare time, Jackie collects and restores antique bisque dolls, and Mark collects and restores brass era cars.
Ex Officio Member (State Superintendent): July 2021 – Present
statesuperintendent@dpi.wi.gov
608-266-8687
Dr. Jill Underly was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction on April 6th, 2021. Since 1999, she has worked in all facets of public education, including PK – 16 as a high school and middle school social studies teacher, a University of Wisconsin College of Letters & Science academic advisor, a Title I Consultant and assistant director at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, an elementary principal and Director of Instruction, and most recently, a rural school district superintendent.
Dr. Underly received bachelor’s degrees in history and sociology from Indiana University-Bloomington, a master’s degree in secondary education from Indiana University-Purdue University, and a master’s degree in educational administration and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She and her husband, John, have two children, one in middle school and one in high school. They live on a small farm in southwestern Wisconsin.
Term of Appointment: May 2022-May 2029
Dana Wachs, a lifelong resident of Eau Claire, has practiced law since 1985 and currently is a partner at Gingras, Thomsen, & Wachs LLP where his practice focuses on personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability cases. Additionally, from 2013 to 2019, Wachs represented the 91st Assembly District in the Wisconsin State Assembly where he was a steadfast proponent for the UW System, serving on both the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities and the State Building Commission.
Regent President
Term of Appointment: May 2019 – May 2026
Karen Walsh is director of the BerbeeWalsh Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to human and animal health and welfare. Since 2006, the foundation has awarded more than $8 million dollars in grants in the State of Wisconsin, including a gift to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics that created the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine. She was a newscaster and reporter for news outlets including Wisconsin Public Radio prior to serving for 23 years in a variety of public information and communications positions at UW-Madison. She retired in 2005 as the Assistant Dean for External Relations in the College of Engineering, directing alumni and donor communications, news media relations, and industry communications. She also directed the college’s undergraduate student invention and prototyping competitions, the Schoofs Prize for Creativity and Tong Prototype Prize. Her honors include publications awards with the National Association of Government Communicators, the university’s Bollinger Academic Staff Achievement Award, and Philanthropist of the Year from the Dane County Humane Society.
A native of Columbus, Wisconsin, Walsh holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Journalism from UW-Madison. She serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Board of Visitors at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, the Madison Cat Project, and the Access Community Health Centers Community Partners Board. She is also a past president of the Madison Opera Board of Trustees.
Term of Appointment: May 2020 – May 2027
Kyle Weatherly was the founding CEO of Frontdesk, a short-term housing provider started in 2017. Today, Frontdesk operates in 35 cities with greater than $40 million in revenue and more than 300 employees.
Prior to Frontdesk, Kyle was the President and Co-owner of Solaris, a medical device company, which sold to Lohmann & Rascher in 2014. During his nine-year tenure, Solaris grew revenue and headcount by 30x and expanded distribution from one country to more than 50.
Kyle holds an MPA in Public Management and BA in Political Science and History from UW-Madison. Between degrees, he worked for Habitat for Humanity, first in Long Beach/Compton, CA as an AmeriCorp volunteer and later in Madison as a staff member.
Kyle and his wife, Ruthie, live in Milwaukee’s Lower East Side.