SPEAKERS:

UWGB BSW Students

The group consists of the following students: Thalia Carreno, Daniel Kozak, Abby Lamere, Jose Plascencia-Arciniega, Kate Thompson, and Dezi Sobiesczyk.  Jen Schanen-Materi, MSW, APSW, UWGB Field Coordinator, Associate Teaching Professor.

Renee Sutkay

Renee Sutkay is a Program Manager at the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality. Throughout her career, Renee has been an advocate for increasing access to whole person healthcare for underserved populations. She works directly with health systems across the state to impact and improve health disparities, behavioral health care and access, and health outcomes. Renee obtained her bachelor’s degree in social work from Edgewood College in Madison and master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from UW-Madison. Previously, Renee spent 16 years working in community mental health.

Michelle Wingate

Michelle Wingate is a passionate Learning Ambassador dedicated to creating impactful learning experiences. She holds a B.A. in Human Development from Azusa Pacific University and an M.S. in Family Studies from Texas Woman's University. As a curriculum developer and dynamic trainer, she blends creativity and practicality to design engaging programs that drive growth. A mother of six through biology and foster care adoption, Michelle and her husband have fostered over 20 children, embracing parenthood with compassion and resilience. Her firsthand experiences shape her empathetic, solutions-focused approach. A forward-thinker and lifelong learner, Michelle is committed to innovation, professional development, and advocating for children and families with a trauma-responsive mindset.

Kelly Bell

Michelle received her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science and Psychology through Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota and obtained her Master of Social Work through UW-Milwaukee. She has worked with Washington County since 2016, starting as a CCS Service Facilitator, transitioning, to outpatient therapist, then then to her current position as the Youth Treatment Team Assistant Supervisor. She is certified in FCT, PCIT, Situational Leadership and have training in TF-CBT, DBT and Reflective Supervision.

Hilary Shager

Hilary Shager is the Associate Director at the University of Wisconsin (UW) Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), the nation’s sole federally funded poverty and economic mobility research center. At IRP, she oversees day-to-day operations of the Institute, conducts social policy research, and manages research and data sharing contracts with Wisconsin state agencies and in service of IRP’s Wisconsin Administrative Data Core.

Gaelin Elmore

Gaelin Elmore is a dynamic and nationally sought after keynote speaker, trainer, and thought leader. He works with organizations and people to become belonging-informed in order to help children overcome trauma and unleash their potential. Gaelin's passion and energy for his work stems from his heart for justice and his own lived experience. His own belonging journey has led Gaelin to the National Football League, and now stages, boardrooms, and organizations, all across the country, aiming to inspire, encourage, and equip others to think differently about their work and its long term impact on others. Gaelin now lives in Burnsville, MN, where he gets to experience the purest form of belonging as a husband to his wife, Micaela, and dad to their three children, Laniah, Tatum, and Gideon!

Annie Meehan 

Annie Meehan is committed to transforming achievement from good to great by teaching people to rewrite their excuses into successful accomplishments. Speaking internationally as an expert on living an Exceptional life, she will motivate, inspire, and teach your audience to remove the road blocks that stand in the way. Her audiences walk out with a “WOW” factor that includes practical tools to immediately impact their lives both professionally and personally. Having corporate, associations, and non-profits as clients, Annie provides actionable strategies to manage change, recognize the power of words in customer/employee experience, and eliminate excuses that keep people from attaining their goals. Her passion and engaging presence inspire people to take action.

Emily Klingenberg

Emily is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of WI. Her background includes direct client work with youth in residential, day treatment settings, and in-home family therapy. Emily has been involved with LSS’s in-home evidence-based family services since her start in 2015. She currently supervises the Family Centered Treatment teams at LSS and is working to bring more awareness of our new service FCT-Recovery.

Rachel Mackey

Rachel Mackey is a Senior Associate with Paragon Government Relations working to advance the interests of clients’ federal policy interests in the health & human services, housing and veterans spaces. She is a seasoned government affairs professional with experience advocating for county government priorities in the areas of human services, education, and veterans and military services. Prior to joining Paragon, she spent five years as the Legislative Director for Human Services and Education/Veterans and Military Services at the National Association of Counties (NACo), where she built strong relationships with key lawmakers, agencies, and the administration to influence pressing legislative and regulatory matters impacting county governments and worked directly with county leaders to develop and promote best practices for implementing federal policies at the local level. Rachel also led NACo’s work with the Local Government Legal Center to help shape the outcome of significant Supreme Court cases for county governments through persuasive and effective legal advocacy. Rachel also has two years of experience as the Director of Policy and Research at First Focus, a bipartisan child advocacy organization, where she specialized in policy analysis and government relations related to federal budget and appropriations policy, child hunger and nutrition, and family tax policy. Rachel earned her Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

Jason Witt

Jason Witt is Director of La Crosse County Human Services. He has over 25 years of Human Services experience with Wisconsin state and local government. This has included roles with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and the Rock County Human Services Department. Recently, Jason was tapped to represent La Crosse County in creating a homelessness response plan in partnership with the City of La Crosse. Jason holds a master’s degree in public Affairs and a law degree, both from the University of Wisconsin. He lives in Onalaska, Wisconsin, with his wife Tricia, son Chasen (15) and daughter Gracie (12).

Deb Standridge

Deb Standridge has spent her career working in, improving, and leading health care systems. She was appointed by Governor Evers as Deputy Secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in September 2021. Previously she served as Regional President of the North Region of Ascension Wisconsin and Chief Executive Officer of Wisconsin’s Alternate Care Facility. Her professional focus has been on the strategic direction and operational management of hospitals in a diversity of communities, including her work at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s North Market. She is an award-winning advocate for health care systems and served on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Stacey Otto

Stacey Otto, LCSW, has been working or volunteering with abused children and their families for over 25 years. Previously she was employed at Winnebago County Department of Human Services as a clinical social worker providing individual and family counseling to children and families who have experienced trauma. In January 2015 Stacey created Nurturing Connections, a trauma-informed service program that provides consulting, educational workshops and intervention services to children, families and professionals. Since November 2015 she has worked as a Reflective Consultant with the Home Visiting Reflective Practice Project providing consultation services to the Healthy Families program through Family Services of Northeast WI in Brown County. For the past 18 months Stacey has been participating in the Trauma Informed Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) learning collaborative and plans to be a CPP therapist for Winnebago County by the summer of 2016. Stacey enjoys giving presentations and has provided a variety of workshops on trauma and attachment. Recently Stacey received the Good Heart award in April 2016 during the annual Blue Ribbon event sponsored by Parent Connection, a local social service agency. The Good Heart award recognizes the efforts of individuals who continually make a difference in the lives of children and families in the community.