Whitburn Center

FLIPS (Future Leaders in Public Service) Academy is a new initiative by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and the Whitburn Center designed to actively expose high school and college students to the diverse, rewarding, and essential career paths available across the public sector.

How do the departments of Public Health, Human Services, and the Humanities help to create a better quality of life for our communities? Join us for a night with professionals discussing how their specialties overlap and help to create a more enriched community.

Moderated by: Dr. Matt Richie, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

FLIPS (Future Leaders in Public Service) Academy is a new initiative by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and the Whitburn Center designed to actively expose high school and college students to the diverse, rewarding, and essential career paths available across the public sector.

How does law enforcement’s interactions with the community help to build public safety? Join local law enforcement for a panel reimagining what public safety looks like and can look like in the future.

Moderated by: Dr. Matt Richie, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

FLIPS (Future Leaders in Public Service) Academy is a new initiative by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and the Whitburn Center designed to actively expose high school and college students to the diverse, rewarding, and essential career paths available across the public sector.

How do public spaces shape community, trust, and civic life? Join local public servants for a panel exploring the role of public infrastructure, cultural institutions, and placemaking in building inclusive, connected communities.

Moderated by: Dr. Matt Richie, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

Join us for the launch of the Rebuilding Trust with Local Government Leaders speaker series. This conversation will highlight opportunities and initiatives designed to strengthen public leadership and community trust across the state in 2026. We will welcome back Whitburn Center Director Mike Ford, who will share updates on the Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust (WisACT) and Young Adults for Civic Trust (Y-ACT) activities. Matt Richie will preview the lineup of Future Leaders in Public Service (FLIPS) Academy events, sponsored by the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership. And last but not least, Paul Van Auken will discuss the Wisconsin Labs for Environment & Democracy (WILEAD) initiative. The session will also invite input on ways WisACT members and community leaders can get involved in and support these efforts.

Wisconsin’s story is inseparable from the sovereignty and stewardship of its Tribal Nations. Yet, the path toward trust and true partnership remains unfinished. Restoring Trust, Renewing Relations invites Indigenous community members, civic leaders, and educators to reflect on Wisconsin’s shared responsibility to rebuild relationships grounded in respect, reciprocity, and repair. Through the lens of Tribal governance, we’ll explore what accountability looks like — how the state can honor treaties, uplift Native-led decision-making, and center Indigenous ecological and cultural knowledge in public policy.

Moderated by: Dr. Paul Van Auken, WisACT Coordinator and Professor of Sociology 

Panelists include:

• Aspyn Rafac-Escobar, Y-ACT Program Coordinator; President of UWO Inter-Tribal Student Council; Political Science Major ’26; Law & Policy Minor; Indigenous Studies Certificate; Chumash Nation Descendant
• Dr. Renee Gralewicz, Peacemaker of the Brothertown Indian Nation; Professor of Anthropology and Indigenous Wisconsin curricula at UW Fox Cities; U.S. Military Veteran; MMIW Advocate
• Amanda White Eagle, J.D., Director of the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center; former Counsel, Judicial Officer, Attorney General, and Executive Director for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice
• Roger Wescott, Assistant Director of Admissions at UWO; Indigenous Student Outreach and Representative; Tribal Liaison
• Joe Stephenson, MPA, Senior Planner and Economic Development Program Manager at the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Join us for the next Fall Speaker Series event focused on Rebuilding Trust in Democratic Institutions. This discussion will focus on the state of civic education and open expression in higher education. Moderated by Dr. Michael R. Ford, this student-led panel will bring together representatives from various student organizations (including the College Republicans, College Democrats, Turning Point USA, and others) to explore how universities can foster environments that encourage dialogue across differences.

Moderated by: Dr. Michael R. Ford, Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue

Panelists include:

• Marco Marchiando, Student Chapter President of Turning Point USA
• Emma Pankow, UW Oshkosh College Democrats
• Christian Mueller, UW Oshkosh College Republicans
• Amanda Pierron, Oshkosh Progressive Coalition
   

This event will feature a panel of local journalists from several Wisconsin news outlets reflecting on the responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities of their profession in an era marked by misinformation and public distrust. Panelists will share their experiences navigating questions of accuracy, bias, and credibility in a fast-paced news cycle, as well as the ways they work to maintain public trust. The discussion will highlight how journalism can continue to serve as a cornerstone of democracy, followed by an audience Q&A.

Moderated by: David Haynes, Founding Democratic Co-Lead of WisACT and former Senior Editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Panelists include:

• Ron Smith, Executive Director of Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
• Jessie Opoien, Political Reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Frederica Freyberg, News Anchor for WI PBS
• Dan Kaufman, Contributing Writer for the New Yorker and author of The Fall of Wisconsin

Join us for a candid conversation with Rep. Rivera-Wagner (D-Green Bay), who will share his personal journey with threats of political violence, helping to build a local ecosystem of democratic resilience in Green Bay beyond party lines, and ultimately winning a seat in the Wisconsin State Legislature representing Assembly District 90. This story offers a compelling look at the challenges and hope in today’s political landscape.

In a time of deepening polarization and threats of political violence, including the recent shootings of Minnesota lawmakers, faith communities were uniquely positioned to lead with moral clarity, compassion, and courage. This powerful conversation featured religious leaders from diverse traditions who spoke out against violence and shared how they were working to restore peace in their communities. Together, we explored how spiritual values can guide action, heal division, and inspire collective responsibility in defense of democracy and human dignity.

Panelists included:

• Rev. Nii Addo Abraham, Director of Campus Ministry & Associate Pastor, Pres House
• Rev. Breanna Illene, Director of Ecumenical Innovation and Justice Initiative, Wisconsin Council of Churches
• Rhonda Lindner, Interfaith Organizer, Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign
• Dr. Gerald Mast, Professor of Communication, Bluffton University and co-author of Nonviolent Word: Anabaptism, the Bible, and the Grain of the Universe

This event featured special guest Pete Davis, Co-Director of the acclaimed documentary Join or Die. Pete discussed the film’s message, the legacy of social scientist Robert Putnam, and the vital importance of social capital and building community in an age of isolation. We also had Miranda Spindt, a Policy Associate with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), join the conversation to provide a Wisconsin perspective based on their 2024 report Fraying Connections: Exploring Social Capital and its Societal Implications.

This event was moderated by Dr. Paul Van Auken (Sociology) and included commentary from student research assistants, Amanda Pierron (Political Science and Social Science Education) and Aspyn Rafac-Escobar (Political Science). P.S. If you want to watch the Join or Die film in advance (and meet Pete on camera), it is available to stream on Netflix!

Join us for an inspiring and interactive conversation highlighting how University of Wisconsin students are actively cultivating civic leadership and dialogue across differences. This event will showcase two innovative student-led initiatives—Bridging the Divide and The Pluralist Lab—that are creating spaces for constructive engagement, empathy, and pluralism on campus and beyond.

Hear directly from student organizers about what motivates their work, the challenges they face, and the impact these projects are having on their peers and the broader community. Discover how these programs are empowering students to strengthen their “civic muscles” through dialogue, collaboration, and action in a diverse democratic society.

Whether you’re a student, educator, civic leader, or simply curious about new approaches to campus engagement, this event offers a valuable look into the power of student-driven efforts to bridge divides and foster pluralism in today’s world.

Moderated by: Sam Larson, Interim Director of the Whitburn Center

Panelists include:

• Michael Lueder, Director of the UWO Center for Civic and Community Engagement and Tommy G. Thompson Center, Outreach Affiliate
• Devin Scanlon, Director of The Pluralist Lab
• Olivia Madrigrano, UWO ’25 Sociology Alum and Whitburn Center Communications and Outreach Assistant
• Gabe Murray, UWO Master of Public Administration Student

The Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research awarded two community-engaged research fellowships to four UWO faculty for 2024-2025. Both recipients focused on improving language access in Oshkosh through campus-community partnerships.

Democratic governance requires that citizens have trust in electoral institutions and processes, trust in one another, and the willingness to engage in civic life. In this Whitburn Wednesday event, Whitburn Center researchers will share the results of their ongoing work with community leaders across Wisconsin to identify and mitigate the risks of political violence. Michael Ford and Samantha Larson will share insights from five focus groups conducted in the summer of 2024, and Kate Zurn from the Conflict Resolution Center will provide examples of de-escalation strategies useful in navigating politically contention conversation. Attendees will leave with a knowledge of the challenges facing democratic governance in Wisconsin, and practical tools for navigating those challenges.

There is growing recognition that society’s most difficult problems cannot be solved by government alone. Policy issues like homelessness, social isolation and addiction impact communities of all sizes in Wisconsin. Local governments often turn to nonprofit organizations to provide services and programs that government is either not able or not willing to provide directly. However, the mechanisms by which governments work with the nonprofit sector are often ill-developed and/or absent, particularly in rural areas with limited donor capacity.

In this webinar, Whitburn Center staff will present the results of recent research on collective impact initiatives, specifically proposing a framework in which municipal government serves as the backbone coordinating organization. The event will include a panel discussion of local government and nonprofit leaders discussing the pros and cons of such an approach. The webinar will be of use to those interested in increasing cooperation between the public and nonprofit sectors.

Click here to access video recording.

Municipalities were mighty 200 years ago, even more mighty than they are today. In this presentation, we’ll look at examples of local government power from the time of the American Revolution, and then focus on Oshkosh in the 1840s. From chasing hogs to complaining about taxes to shifting budget priorities, you will find some surprises and some familiarity.

Click here to access video recording.

Graduates of the UW Oshkosh Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program work in local, state and federal government. They work in politics and public policy. They hold elected office. They work in healthcare management, fire and emergency management, higher education, the nonprofit sector, and so much more. The undergraduate programs from which our students come are as diverse as their career paths. The one common thread is a commitment to making positive change in their communities.

Hear how two recent MPA graduates, Taylor Zeinert (Class of ’23) and Jack Tierney (Class of ’22), are putting their degrees to use. Taylor, who holds an undergraduate degree in political science, currently serves as the Economic Development Director for the City of Whitewater, WI. Jack, who holds an undergraduate degree in journalism, serves as a Management Analyst for the City of Des Plaines, IL.

Click here to access video recording.

Former Indiana Governor and Purdue University President, Mitch Daniels, discusses the future of higher education, his experiences in public service, and the state of civic engagement in our current moment. The discussion is moderated by Public Administration Professor and Whitburn Center Director, Michael Ford.

This event is co-sponsored by the Tommy G. Thompson Center for Public Leadership.

Click here to access video recording.

In this presentation, UW Oshkosh MPA student and Graduate Assistant, Kayla Nessmann, presents her research on the advantages and challenges of online graduate education. The presentation is a chance to learn about the latest research on online delivery of higher education, engage in discussion about your experience with online education, and to brainstorm how to improve professional graduate education across modalities.

Click here to access video recording.

Please join us for this virtual meet and greet with students/alumni, and faculty of the newly merged Sociology and Public Administration (SPA) Department! Come and learn how our programs can help you connect your passion for public service, social equity, and community change into a meaningful career. Find out how we empower imaginative, transformative leaders for life. We will highlight our program line-up, including:

• Sociology Major (with double major options in Environmental Studies or Criminal Justice)
• Sociology Minor
• Health, Humanities, & Society Minor
• Social Equity & Diversity Certificate
• Fire & Emergency Response Management (FERM) Major (With Fire Services and Emergency Management Tracks)
• Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program
• 4+1 MPA Program – A NEW accelerated option for undergrad Sociology majors!
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management

Faculty will also discuss career opportunities and benefits for SPA students with the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research, such as:

• MPA Graduate Research Assistantships, including an option with a FULL Tuition Waiver!
• Undergraduate Student Research Assistant Opportunities
• Career Mentorship and Networking with Alumni and Employers

Click here to access video recording.

The study and practice of traditional U.S. public management (PM) is often rooted in acontextual and ahistorical perspectives that ignore the harms perpetuated by people in power. These approaches are aligned with existing systems of oppression that not only undergird dominant narratives but also uphold false identity-based hierarchies. Such perspectives diminish understandings of the shared humanity between those that benefit from and are most impacted by these systems. This engaged session offers participants the tools of mindfulness and racial healing, within the context of PM, to build a sense of shared humanity that can help serve as a pathway toward liberatory management.

Click here to access video recording.

The UWO Whitburn Center will present an overview of two new 2024 faculty funding opportunities, including 2 Community-Engaged Research Fellowships (up to $12,500) and 10 Community-Engaged Course Development Stipends (up to $500). 

Click here to access video recording.

Every two years, Wisconsin policymakers craft a new spending plan for the state. The state budget impacts education spending, student tuition, tax rates, local government, and so much more. The state budget is also the vehicle by which most major policy changes impacting Wisconsin residents occur. This event will demystify the Wisconsin state budget process through a moderated conversation with three experienced experts:

• Dr. James Scott McCallum, 43rd Governor of Wisconsin
• Ellen Nowak, Former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration
• Gordon Hintz, Former Wisconsin State Assembly Minority Leader and member of the Joint Committee on Finance

Panelists will share personal experience, answer questions, and provide guidance on how to increase citizen engagement in the budget process.

Click here to access video recording.

Does your staff dread change? This program will identify the kinds of changes organizations face, describe how to develop a communication plan, and explore the importance of positivity and proactivity in response to resistance. Participants will leave this session better equipped how to communicate change successfully with empathy, active listening skills, and flexibility.

Click here to access video recording.

MPA faculty members and Whitburn Center leaders, Michael Ford and Samantha Larson, will be sharing their research, focused on how they connect their work to practice. We will also be joined by MPA graduate, Jennifer Gauthier, discussing how she has used her MPA to advance her career. It will be a great opportunity to meet MPA faculty and students, learn about the Whitburn Center, and ask questions about academic offerings at UWO. 

Click here to access video recording.

What’s it Like to Work Here? The Worker’s Perspective on Organizational Culture and Climate.

Melissa Malchow, MPA Student 

Studying the Impact of Unmet Needs on Graduation Rates for Caregiving Students at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Elizabeth Bouche, MPA Student

Click here to access video recording.

Please join us as our presenter Raymond Taffora discusses Wisconsin’s Open Records and Meetings Law. Taffora, who most recently served as the Vice-Chancellor for Legal Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will share his expertise and experience from his accomplished legal career. Attendees can expect to leave the event with a practical understanding of how to navigate Wisconsin’s Open Records and Meetings Laws. The presentation will be of particular interest for those working in, or with, Wisconsin’s public sector.

Click here to access video recording.

Please join us as Dr. Michael Ford and Renee Christiansen present data, and a preliminary roadmap for recruiting, training and managing a modern public sector workforce. Human capital is both the most important and most expensive resource in Wisconsin’s local government. The quality of our local governments is directly related to the quality of the public servants working within each agency. Yet, there remains a limited study of how best to train, recruit and lead local government employees in a changing political and economic landscape in Wisconsin.

Click here to access video recording.

We are excited to share with you our first Whitburn Wednesday Event of the spring semester. Please join us as we host SIY certified teacher Stacey Crowley as she presents ‘Search Inside Yourself’; an inspiring and interactive 60-minute introduction to mindfulness-based emotional intelligence skills and their practical applications for leadership.

Click here to access video recording.

Whitburn Wednesday’s December event closes out the fall semester with an exciting presentation of student scholarly research. Join us as MPA candidates Alex Hummel and Monica Jackson will be highlighting their Graduation Capstone experiences by presenting their research. Alex will enlighten us with his investigation on ways to use regional comprehensive universities, like UWO, as vehicles to attract and retain human capital in Wisconsin. Monica will be highlighting the role political journalism has had on covering the confluence of social issues and the current efforts to roll back the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Click here to access video recording.

Are you interested in becoming a better grant writer? Join us for a conversation with grant writing experts Jessica Wildes, MPA and Erin Schultz-Wege, MSW. You will learn tips and tricks for writing successful grant proposals for public and nonprofit organizations. We will be covering topics such as how to find grants that are a good fit, changes in the funding landscape, storytelling and creativity in the writing process, building relationships with funders and the importance of collaboration.

Click here to access video recording.

Chris Astrella will lead this professional development event, presenting strategies to digitally transform local government. He will discuss the history of technology in public administration, giving examples of how other industries have evolved over the past 20 years. Astrella will also discuss his work as a consultant with HeyGov, providing a sneak peak into what the company does and how governments can use the service to increase civic engagement.

Click here to access video recording.

Join us as our own Dr. Michael Ford presents his latest project examining how local governing officials who may be struggling to diagnose and resolve issues can move forward as a cohesive governing body. This research-based project offers pragmatic ways to analyze and resolve many concerns afflicting local government in Wisconsin today. Participants will learn how to apply practical techniques, including a conflict diagnostic tool and regenerative relations tool, to improve performance and ensure governing boards are greater than the sum of their parts.

Click here to access video recording.

Increasing polarization, budget cuts, stigma, and other challenges have made it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the most socially vulnerable in our communities. This conversation will reimagine how to advance social welfare and wellbeing to advance racial and economic equity. The panel will provide a historical account of public assistance programs in the United States, which were historically extensive and run by local governments. Yet,such services were not regarded as controversial, unlike today. Further discussion will examine how programs of the past have evolved, now requiring more collaboration between the public and nonprofit sectors. This conversation will also tackle the question of how government and nonprofit leaders can more effectively work together, promising practices that can foster collective impact, and why such partnerships are critical to address present and future issues.

No video recording available.

To commemorate Women’s History Month, join us for a conversation with an esteemed group of women leading the way in government across the State of Wisconsin. The purpose of this event is to introduce and demystify public service careers for the next generation of leaders. Panelists will discuss their unique journeys into public administration, barriers they experienced along the way, strategies for navigating government careers, the importance of mentorship, work/life balance, advice for those starting out or aspiring to the executive level, internship opportunities, and the importance of equity, inclusion, diversity, and the need to empower more women and people of color in the workplace. Time will also be provided for breakout groups. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and network with panelists and members of the Wisconsin City/County Management Association’s (WCMA) Women’s Leadership Committee, an initiative aimed at the development and support of emerging and existing women professionals in local government.

Click here to access video recording.

The harms of opiates, such as overdose and death, can impact any family. Between 2019 and 2020, reported fatalities from overdoses grew by more than a quarter in Wisconsin – from about 1,200 to 1,530. Numbers surged as the coronavirus struck and disrupted social services, prompting the need for further harm reduction strategies. This conversation will focus on how various agencies are responding to the opioid epidemic on a systemic level. Panelists will provide perspectives from the lens of public health, law enforcement, healthcare, and recovery. Particular focus will be placed on the work of the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review Team. The panel will also cover the importance of having open and honest discussions about opioids to create a more supportive community where prevention, hope, and recovery can be a reality.

Click here to access the video recording.

This engaging conversation will feature tips and career advice for how to be successful in preparing, applying for, and landing a leadership position in local government. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Mike Ford, Chair of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program.