Tracy Wiklund, President
Tracy recently retired from a 32-year career at University of Wisconsin-Madison that started in the campus Internal Audit Department and ended in a basic science department in the School of Medicine & Public Health. As a department administrator, her responsibilities included budgeting, human resources, financial oversight, facilities management and planning. She holds a BS in Accounting and a MS in Management. Tracy lives in a rural township near Madison with her husband and dog on 16 acres of restored prairie. For over a decade she served as a member (and then Chair) of the town’s Land Trust Commission, preserving farmland and natural areas through the town’s Purchase of Development Rights Program. Tracy enjoys painting (canvas, not walls), volunteering on the UW Credit Union’s Audit Committee, and spending time outside trying to keep honeysuckle and aspen out of the family prairie.
Alexandria Baker, Vice President
Alexandria is the Communications and Development Manager for Marbleseed, an organization supporting Midwest organic and sustainable farmers through educational resources and farmer-led events. Prior to her position with Marbleseed, she was the Foundation & Grants Manager for Clean Wisconsin, led Clean Wisconsin’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts and served as the Board Representative for Community Shares of Wisconsin. Alexandria is a graduate of Bard College with a degree in French Literature and before her career in environmental advocacy, she worked in book publishing and on several farms, both urban and rural. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog, yoga, and kayaking.
Pat Leavenworth, Secretary
Pat completed her career with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in October 2012 after 33 years with the agency. She led Wisconsin NRCS as State Conservationist for 18 years. During this tenure in Wisconsin, Pat facilitated conservation partnerships to assure optimal conservation achievements for future generations. Pat has a BA in Biological Sciences from Mt. Holyoke College and an MA in Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Pat and her husband, Phil, have operated a hay and grazing operation in Ridgeway, WI since 2001. They have a daughter and son and live in Mount Horeb where Pat serves as a director for the local Farmer’s Market. Pat’s interests include writing, photography, and raising golden retrievers.
Alton Multhauf, Treasurer
Alton is Vice President of Treasury Management with First Business Bank. He helps businesses streamline back-office processing, reduce fraud risk, and manage cash reserves by implementing various treasury management solutions. Prior to his Treasury Management position, Alton worked as a Credit Analyst at First Business. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA in Finance & Management from UW-Whitewater. Alton holds the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) designation and is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). Alton enjoys spending time outdoors hunting, fishing, hiking and kayaking. Alton also currently serves as Treasurer for Tri 4 Schools, Inc. and is on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Innovation Awards. Alton lives in Oregon with his wife and daughter.
Mary Binkley
I grew up on the outskirts of Wausau, where daily activities included looking for snakes, insects, wildflowers and agates. With farm fields, mature forests, and the Wisconsin River only 2-4 blocks away, I had lots of different habitats to explore, and since the neighborhood had no young girls my age, that’s where I happily spent my time. Excitement was finding a red-backed salamander, smooth green snake, the first hepatica in the spring, or a really pretty agate along the railroad track at the bottom of the hill. Somehow all that, plus having parents that bought land along a trout stream, and then a nearby shallow lake, allowed me to explore and notice loads of different plants, critters, and rocks. During my four years of college at UW-Eau Claire, I managed to declare majors in Occupational Therapy, Music, Education, Art, and settled in to get a degree in Botany. Of course, being a Botany major, I decided to pursue a career in Real Estate after settling in Madison in 1990. So, that is what I’ve done for the last few decades – after discovering that I could not earn a living being a Naturalist. Needless to say, I love the natural world, and I see preserving as much greenspace, in as original a condition as possible, to be a most worthy and important goal. That is why I totally support Groundswell, and want to help. I am recently retired, and when not fighting with invasive species on our Groundswell conservation easement protected acreage in Westport, I love making pottery, walking, and ballroom dancing, or perhaps baking sweet things with eggs from our 18 chickens.
Curt Bjurlin
Curt is an environmental practitioner who leads Stantec Consulting Inc.’s U.S. power business. He holds a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Utah State University. For the past 13 years, he has worked in the energy sector, conducting renewable energy and transmission line siting, stakeholder meetings, county and township meetings, and civic group discussions. Curt spent the first ten years of his career researching threatened and endangered species throughout the United States, primarily in the west. He has published numerous scientific papers on the ways in which desert tortoises and San Joaquin kit foxes interact with transportation and energy infrastructure. In his free time, he enjoys cross country skiing, gardening, canoeing, or just sitting outside on a beautiful day. He lives in Madison with his wife, Alex, and their twin boys.
Anne M. H. Brindley
Anne grew up on a small, fifth-generation dairy farm next door to her grandparents. At an early age, they instilled in her an appreciation of Polka music, lutefisk and lefse, and family. Working with the elderly and families seemed a natural progression from where it all began, and has proven to be where Anne feels most at home. She is a shareholder at Haskins Short & Brindley LLC, where her practice includes estate planning and administration, Medicaid and long term care benefit qualification, guardianship, and small business and residential real estate matters. Anne is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, State Bar of Wisconsin Young Lawyers Division, Elder Law Section, and Real Property, Probate & Trust Section. Anne volunteers with the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Wills for Heroes clinic and the Veteran’s Law Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She is an advisor to the Portage Crossfit Cooperative. Anne is licensed to practice in Wisconsin and Colorado.
Matt Frank
Matt is an attorney with Murphy Desmond, S.C., where he practices environmental and energy law, and is a member of the firm’s practice group for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Matt served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources from 2007 through 2010, where he led efforts to pass the Great Lakes Compact, reduce mercury and phosphorous pollution in state waters, and expand the Knowles Nelson Stewardship program. He also led efforts to expand clean and renewable energy and address climate change. In his 30 years of public service, Matt also served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Wisconsin Department of Justice and as Secretary of the Department of Corrections. Matt received his B.A. degree from Carleton College and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He grew up in Cross Plains, where he fished the Black Earth Creek. Matt and his wife live in Middleton where they raised three boys.
Greg Hyer
Greg is Chair of the Town of Cross Plains Board of Supervisors and a member of the Town Plan Commission. Greg is an advocate for the Town’s agriculture land uses, protecting its scenic and natural resources and the Black Earth Creek Watershed. He has nationally recognized professional experience in real estate development for science and technology companies tied to universities and senior management experience in government. He has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Public Administration from Indiana University. Greg and his wife, Jane enjoy cycling, skiing, hiking and fishing in the Black Earth Creek Watershed, state and national parks, preserves and public open spaces.
Stacy Rhone
Stacy is the Director of Budgets at Madison Gas and Electric Company. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Master of Professional Accountancy from UW-Whitewater. She has been employed with Madison Gas and Electric Company for 16 years. Her responsibilities include working with multiple areas throughout the Company to create budgets, forecasts and variance explanations. In addition, she works with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and prepares ratecases and other filings. She and her husband love camping and enjoying the great state and county parks Wisconsin has to offer.
Veronica Rueckert
Veronica is a Peabody Award-winning communications specialist and the owner of Veronica Rueckert Coaching. She was the host of Wisconsin Public Radio’s statewide news magazine Central Time and hosted the statewide call in program, The Veronica Rueckert Show. Earlier, she worked as a senior producer and contributor on the national program To the Best of Our Knowledge distributed by Public Radio International. Her essays have aired to a national audience via NPR and PRI. She is the national media specialist at UW-Madison and the author of the book “Outspoken: Why Women’s Voices Get Silenced and How to Set Them Free” from HarperCollins. She and her family love hiking and kayaking in the beautiful natural areas in Dane County and beyond.
Rodee Schneider
Rodee is the director of Strategic Partnerships Marketing and Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he and his team work to build relationships between UW and various stakeholder groups. Prior to joining UW-Madison in 2017, Rodee spent more than ten years guiding the marketing, strategic communication and journalistic efforts of non-profits, higher education institutions and Fortune 500 companies, including the University of Wisconsin Colleges, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, C-SPAN and Kimberly-Clark. Rodee is a two-time graduate of UW-Madison, with a master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a bachelor’s in Family and Consumer Journalism. He is a proud husband and father of two, and can often be found running and hiking the trails of Madison and greater Dane County.