Who We Are

Directors

• John Schwingel – The Nature Conservancy
• Stephanie Judge – Driftless Area Land Conservancy
• Michael Tiller – UW-Stevens Point
• Tommy Gunn – American Bird Conservancy
• Ronald Waukau – Menominee Tribal Enterprises
• Jim Elleson – Consultant
• Pat Wolf
• Karina Cardella – The Nature Conservancy
• Keith Phelps – UW-Madison Extension
• Calvin Kruger & Isaac Ebeling – UW-Stevens Point Fire Crew Executive Team

*Directors’ affiliations are shown for identification purposes only. They do not imply that a director represents the listed organization in their work with the WPFC.

WPFC Staff

Executive Director

Rose Brown is our Executive Director. She has more than 20 years of experience in organizational leadership, strategic planning, partnership development, and environmental stewardship. She has previously worked with organizations including Ozark Natural Science Center, The Nature Conservancy, and StreamWatch. Rose is passionate about connecting people with nature through collaboration, education, and conservation.

 

Administrative Assistant

Andrea Weissgerber-Langeweg is our intrepid Administrative Assistant and helps keep the proverbial fire going through meeting coordination, membership services, event planning, social media maintenance, and more! She is a Senior Ecologist at Eco-Resource Consulting, Inc. (ERC) and volunteers on the SE WI Chapter Pheasants Forever Burn Crew. Andrea can be reached at info@prescribedfire.org with any questions or inquiries about the WPFC or prescribed fire.

 

Program Manager

Jim Elleson has been involved with the WPFC since its beginnings in 2003. As Program Manager, he keeps the Council’s administrative wheels turning, leads the Standards Committee’s effort to establish a burn boss certification program, and helps develop and present WPFC’s training program. He also serves on the Board of Directors.

 

 

Program Specialist

Lucas LoBreglio is our Program Specialist, working with the Program Manager to develop and facilitate WPFC training programs. A volunteer on burn crews across southern Wisconsin, Lucas helps further our objectives by creating pathways for prospective fire practitioners to gain knowledge, experience, credentials, and resources.

 

 

Training Specialist

Kristina Weld started as an enthusiastic volunteer with WPFC and then became the Training Specialist in 2025, facilitating the training program and Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) development. She chairs the Training Committee, which oversees the training from introductory level through burn boss, and works directly with landowners to facilitate increased landowner prescribed fire implementation. She can be reached at training@prescribedfire.org.