This past May, the UW-Fox Valley Foundation, Inc. announced its “Outstanding Alumni Awards” for 2011. This year’s recipients were Cheryl L. Stinski of Sherwood, WI, and Dr. Douglas J. Walrath of Nome, AK.
Stinski received her Associate of Arts and Science Degree from UWFox in 1991 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Services. She has logged more than a 1000 hours in mediation and conflict resolution training. Since her certification in mediation, she has been committed to helping people effectively resolve conflict for over 20 years and has earned the reputation of a highly skilled mediator, facilitator, consultant, trainer and coach.
Throughout her career and as the owner and founder of Alternative Resolutions, Inc. in Menasha, WI, she has mediated over 900 cases, trained thousands of professional, volunteer and student mediators and has served as adjunct faculty for Aurora University, Aurora, IL. Her philosophy is to honor the value and dignity of each person she serves.
Cheryl received national recognition for a conflict resolution model program that she co-designed. She is a prolific author of articles dealing with communication, mediation and conflict resolution, and is also widely sought out as a presenter at numerous workshops throughout the country. Since 2004, she has been a featured newspaper columnist with the Post-Crescent, where her column addresses workplace conflict. She is involved in various professional organizations including the Wisconsin Association of Mediators (WAM), the Association of Conflict Resolution and is a past president of the Northeast Wisconsin American Society for Training and Development.
While serving in the U.S. Army during the Persian Gulf War, Walrath decided on a career to help others through teaching. After the war, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley from 1992-1993. He went on to earn a B.S. in Technology Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1996.
Walrath completed his M.S. in Industrial Technology and Education from the College of Engineering at Utah State University and received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Utah State University. Prior to receiving his Ph.D., Walrath authored or co-authored eight publications on teaching methodology.
From 1996 to 2005, he taught at Wood River Middle School in Hailey, ID. During that time he was recognized numerous times by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) for teaching excellence and served on the ITEA Board of Directors from 2004-06.
In 2009, Walrath accepted a position as Director of the Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center (NACTEC) in Nome, AK. A regional vocational training center, NACTEC was designed to provide rural Alaskan students with the necessary resources to successfully transition from life in “Bush” villages to post-secondary education, training, and workforce programs. During his first year in Alaska, Walrath logged over 30,000 miles traveling to rural villages acclimating himself to Native customs and ways of life. He has been invited to participate in Native subsistence activities and was given the distinct honor of receiving an Eskimo name from an Elder.
Contact
Diane Abraham
920-832-2849
diane.abraham@uwc.edu