Whitburn Center

Whitburn served as Church Mutual’s CEO from 2001 until January 2010. He joined the company in 1996 as Vice President – Administration and became Executive Vice President in 1998. He served as Chairman of the Board from 2005 until 2013. He has a broad background in business and government. Whitburn is a Past Chairman of the Property Casualty Insurers of America (PCI), the property casualty industry’s largest national trade association. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Institutes (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters).

He returned to Wisconsin after having served in Boston as Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. In that position, he oversaw the Commonwealth’s sixteen health and human services offices, with a budget of approximately $8 billion and a workforce of 25,000 employees.

Earlier, Whitburn held two cabinet positions in Wisconsin. From 1991 to 1995, he served as the Secretary of Health and Social Services, and from July 1989 to January 1991, Whitburn served as Labor Secretary in Wisconsin. He led major welfare reform initiatives in both Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

A native of Merrill, Wisconsin, Whitburn served for three years on the staff of the Secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon during the Vietnam period.

From 1973 to 1980, Whitburn was in business in Merrill. In 1981, Whitburn returned to Washington to work in the United States Senate. He came back to Wisconsin in 1987 and served for two and one-half years as Deputy Secretary of the State Department of Administration.

Whitburn received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and History from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. He earned his Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has studied management at the Kennedy School and The Business School at Harvard and at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He served as Vice Chair of the Kennedy School’s Executive Alumni Council.

Whitburn served on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents from 2011 to 2020. While on the Board, he served as chair of the Audit Committee, the Business and Finance Committee, and also the Education Committee. Prior to becoming a Regent, he served on the Board of Visitors-Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Earlier, Whitburn served on the National Advisory Council at Marshfield Clinic and also on the Board of Step Up For Students, the nation’s largest school choice program which operates in Florida.

Whitburn, and his wife Charmaine, who met as undergraduates at UWO, reside in Wausau.

Michael M. Grebe is the Chief Legal Officer of Rite-Hite, a world-wide leader in the development, manufacture, and sale of loading dock safety systems, industrial door solutions and in-plant products headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Michael attended Dartmouth College and Wisconsin Law School and practiced at Quarles & Brady for more than 20 years, serving on the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining Rite-Hite he worked as the Chief Legal Officer of Advocate Aurora Health, and with Husco International in Waukesha, Wisconsin as EVP and General Counsel.

Michael has served in governance roles for a number of organizations, including as a member of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Columbia St. Mary’s Health System, the Columbia St. Mary’s Health Care Foundation, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee Endowment Trust, the University School of Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. He also spent twelve years coaching two of his sons’ community-based select/travel youth baseball teams.

Michael lives in Mequon, Wisconsin with his wife, Kelly. They were married in 1993 and have had four sons. They have two surviving children (Tripp and Griffin). Their other two children (Bridger and Essex) passed away in 2010 and 2015, respectively, from complications related to INAD. The Grebe family created the Bridger and Essex Grebe Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in their memory to support families whose children have INAD or similar conditions.

Mark currently serves on the Board of Directors for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Wisconsin Urban Alliance, and LWMMI Insurance, as well as various non-profit boards in the Oshkosh area. He is a Past President of the Wisconsin City-County Management Association and has served on a number of committees for the International City-County Management Association.

Jennifer Gauthier is the Director of the Sustainable Development Institute at the College of Menominee Nation. Programming, projects, and research are focused on the Menominee theoretical model and Menominee sustainability. Before this position, she worked with the Division of Extension for nearly 11 years where she helped local government and educational institutions with planning, health focused community development efforts, and Indigenous food sovereignty work. Jennifer also has experience in Tribal government having worked for the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Jennifer is also an adjunct professor at the College of Menominee Nation and serves on a number of local boards where Menominee language revitalization and food sovereignty are prioritized. Jennifer earned a Master of Public Administration from UW-Oshkosh and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UW-Madison.

Benjamin Krumenauer is the Administrator for Bellevue, Wisconsin and has been in the municipal field for nearly two decades with a focus on the Administrator role since 2016. His areas of expertise range from community development and infrastructure planning to financial management and capital budgeting. As an active member of Wisconsin City-County Management Association, Ben currently sits on various committees including Professional Development (Chair) and Annual Conference Planning teams. Ben is also an Advisory Board Member of the UW-Oshkosh Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research.

He is a member of ICMAs mentoring program and regularly contributes to local and regional support groups. He has a Master of Public Administration through UW-Oshkosh and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from UW-Green Bay. Through his work and education experiences, Ben has developed a leadership style where supporting staff is paramount. He believes that creative problem solving and “out of the box” ideas should be reinforced and strives to create an environment where encouragement and support are pillars of the workplace. These core values have created a workplace where successes are realized daily. Ben and his wife Amber enjoy outdoor recreation and exploring the country with their three boys.

With 35 years of experience in journalism and publishing, I lead a team that covers state politics, government, and business news and issues through web-based and subscription-based services. At WisPolitics.com & WisBusiness, now part of the State Affairs network, we strive to provide accurate, timely, and insightful information via newsletters, web articles, podcasts and events to our diverse and engaged audience. Before co-founding WisPolitics.com in 2000, I wrote extensively for a variety of publications on various topics, ranging from fishing and golf to travel and business. I have been part of several book projects.

In my current role, I oversee the editorial, financial, and operational aspects of the sites, as well as developing and executing strategic plans for growth and innovation. I also organize and host luncheons and events that feature prominent speakers and experts from different fields and sectors, creating opportunities for dialogue and networking among subscribers, partners and citizens. I leverage my skills in marketing and communications to promote our brand, products, and services, and to build and maintain strong relationships with our stakeholders.

I have a lot of involvement in the nonprofit world through Madison South Rotary and past board stints at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association foundation, the Center for Journalism Ethics at UW-Madison, and the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service. I also am on the board of the Madison Club, where we do a lot of our events.

Ellen currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), chairs NARUC’s International Committee, is the vice-chair of the Electricity Committee’s subcommittee on clean coal and carbon management and is a member of the Task Force on Emergency Preparedness, Recovery and Resiliency. Ellen is the Preside t of the Mid-America Regulatory Conference (MARC) and is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Center for Public Utilities. She also previously served on the Executive Committee for NARUC. Previous NARUC duties also included serving on the Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment and the Task Force on Environmental Regulation and Generation. Commissioner Nowak also served on the Advisory Council to the Board of Directors for the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Advisory Committee for the Critical Consumers Issues Forum.

Previously, Ellen served as the chief of staff to Waukesha County Executive, Dan Vrakas. From 2002-2006, she served as legal counsel and subsequent chief of staff to the Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly. She also later worked as the deputy director of School Choice Wisconsin. From 1998-2002, Ellen practiced business litigation at Mallery & Zimmerman SC in Milwaukee.

Ellen has a law degree from Marquette University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

• Scott McCallum – Wisconsin Governor from 2001-2003 and Lieutenant Governor from 1987-2001

• Kathryn Schauf – Retired Eau Claire County Administrator
• Sachin Shivaram – CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry
• Christine Thomas – Retired dean and professor of resource management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources