Whitburn Center
Advisory Board

About the Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is comprised of 10 members who will work with Whitburn Center leadership to ensure a successful launch. Members bring a variety of public and private sector experience to the Whitburn Center, and will aid in setting organizational goals, establishing a research agenda, and long-term capacity building.

Gerald Whitburn – Founding Donor and Ex-Officio Advisory Board Member

About Gerald Whitburn

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.

Scott McCallum – Advisory Board Chair

About Scott McCallum

McCallum was the Wisconsin Governor from 2001-03 after serving as Lt. Governor for 14 years, and in the State Senate for 10 years prior to that. He has a B.A. from Macalester College, M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and an Honorary Jurist Doctor degree from Marian University

From 2005-2015 McCallum was President & CEO of the Aidmatrix Foundation. Under his leadership they grew from a regional nonprofit organization to one of the world’s largest technology providers to the humanitarian sector, working with over 32,000 clients on 5 continents. The success resulted in being awarded the US southern region Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

McCallum had been on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009-2017), teaching in the Biotechnology M.S. program in the School of Medicine and Public Health, and now as Adjunct Professor in the LaFollette School of Public Affairs as well as on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Bader Institute of Nonprofit Management. He is published and has presented throughout the world on technology for humanitarian purposes and its effect upon jobs and public policy. He also represents health care and technology companies in establishing collaborative projects. His academic research continues to provide insights of the technology revolution impact upon the global economy.

He serves on nonprofit organization boards for the Institute of Sustainability (D.C), ResponseNet (Delhi), the Alliance for Innovation (Warsaw), and the Helen Bader Institute of Nonprofit Management at UWM, and is consultant for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations in the U.S., India, Poland and Canada.

McCallum has received many awards for his use of technology to advance humanitarian issues, including the 21st Century Achievement Award for “visionary use of information technology to promote positive social economic and educational change” and a “true hero of the information age.” (Computerworld). Government Technology Magazine named McCallum to the “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers” in US Technology, March 2013.

A partial list of publications includes How Technology is Transforming Disaster Relief. McCallum, On the Brink, US Chamber of Commerce, 2008; Budgeting & Funding Technology – How to Finance Your IT Structure. McCallum, Thode, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders, Wiley Publishers, 2009; Nongovernmental Organizations: Solving Society’s Problems. S. McCallum, R. Boyer, Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications, edited by Caywood, McGraw-Hill 2012; Work Analysis, Technology, and the Millennium Development Goals, S. McCallum, L.F. Thompson, A. Gloss; Humanitarian Work Psychology and the Global Development Agenda: Case Studies and Interventions, edited by McWha, Maynard, and Berry, London: Psychology Press 2016; Psychological Dynamics in Information and Communication Technology for Development Projects. Behrend, Gloss, Honadon, Thompson, McCallum; Information Communications Technology for Development Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 2013.

Jennifer Gauthier – Advisory Board Member

About Jennifer Gauthier

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.

Michael M. Grebe – Advisory Board Member

About Michael M. Grebe

Michael M. Grebe is the former Chief Legal Officer of Advocate Aurora Health, the largest health system in Wisconsin and Illinois. 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 Advocate Aurora Health he worked 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.

Benjamin Krumenauer – Advisory Board Member
About Benjamin Krumenauer

Benjamin Krumenauer is the administrator for the Village of Bellevue, Wisconsin. Ben has been in the municipal field for 16 years with a focus on the Administrator role for the last five years. 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 and Annual Conference Planning teams.

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.

Ellen Nowak – Advisory Board Member
About Ellen Nowak
Ellen Nowak was first appointed to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in July 2011 by Governor Scott Walker. She was reconfirmed for a new, six-year term beginning on March 1, 2013. Commissioner Nowak was named Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in March of 2015. In March of 2018 Governor Walker appointed her as Secretary of the Department of Administration. She served in that role until the end of the Governor’s term and was then reappointed as chairperson of the PSC in January 2019.

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.

Mark Rohloff – Advisory Board Member
About Mark Rohloff
Mark Rohloff has been City Manager of Oshkosh, Wisconsin since 2008. Mark has 38 years of experience in local government management, in areas as diverse as finance, economic development, public works, and organizational development. Mark has previously served as the Town Administrator for Grand Chute, Wisconsin; City Administrator of Berlin, Wisconsin; Assistant City Manager of Rancho Palos Verdes, California; and held a variety of positions in the cities of Long Beach, California and Fort Collins, Colorado. He is also a member of the adjunct faculty in the MPA program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

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.

Kathryn Schauf – Advisory Board Member
About Kathryn Schauf
Kathryn Schauf is the Eau Claire County Administrator.

From 2005 to 2015, Kathryn served as the Administrative Coordinator for Sauk County providing leadership for day-to-day operations and collaborative projects with local partners.

Prior to her work in local government, Kathryn had nearly 15 years of private sector experience in the areas of total quality process improvement, systems analysis and customer relations.

She currently is serving as a board member of the Wisconsin City / County Managers Association; a member of the advisory board for the Wisconsin Institute of Public Policy and Service; and a member of the Government Finance Officers Association.

Kathryn holds a Bachelors in Technical Communications and a Masters in Public Administration; and is a credentialed manager with the International City / County Managers Association.

Sachin Shivaram – Advisory Board Member
About Sachin Shivaram
Sachin Shivaram is CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, a 115-year-old family-owned manufacturing company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Sachin is a first-generation American, his parents having immigrated from India in the 1970s. He grew up in Milwaukee. Sachin attended Harvard University, majoring in history and literature, focusing on Afro-American history. He also earned citations in Spanish and Portuguese, both of which he speaks fluently, in addition to the South Indian language Kannada. He met his future wife, Lipi, at Harvard and they have been together 21 years and have two young sons.

After college, Sachin received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Cambridge. He worked at McKinsey & Co. in Chicago before moving on to Yale for law school, where he earned a J.D. He is bar-certified in Wisconsin. While in law school, he was inspired to work in the metals industry rather than pursue a law career. He joined a steel company in Mexico where he and Lipi lived for four years. He later worked in Brazil and across the North and South America at various steel companies.

A desire to return to Wisconsin led Sachin in 2016 to join Samuel Pressure Vessel Group as President, based in Marinette, WI. In 2019, Sachin was recruited to join Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry as the company’s first non-family CEO.

Sachin and his family live Northeast Wisconsin. In his spare time, he is an avid runner, and he teaches a course on Business Ethics and Values-Based Leadership at St. Norbert College. He is active in various community organizations, including IndUS, an organization dedicated to promoting Indo-American friendship and goodwill in the Fox Valley. He was also elected as Town Supervisor of Ledgeview, WI.

Raymond P. Taffora – Advisory Board Member

About Raymond P. Taffora
Raymond P. Taffora retired from a 35 year active law practice in August of this year. Most recently, Mr. Taffora served as Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for eight years, where he supervised the University’s Office of Legal Affairs and the Office of Compliance. Prior to his work for the University, Mr. Taffora has served as the Deputy Attorney General in the Wisconsin Department of Justice (2007-2011), Chief Legal Counsel to the Governor of Wisconsin (1987-1991) and as an attorney in the private practice of law for nearly 20 years. Mr. Taffora earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1986.