Board of Directors
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| Photo | Name | Brief Biography | Contact Information |
| Huda Alkaff WIPL President |
Founder of the Islamic Environmental Group of Wisconsin. She is an environmentalist by training and education, her higher education degrees are in conservation ecology and sustainable development / science and environmental education from the University of Georgia and she has experience teaching environmental science courses at the University of Wisconsin. She is the coordinator of the Wisconsin Annual Interfaith Earth Month in April and the Wisconsin Annual Interfaith Energy Awareness Month in October. |
interfaith.earth(at)yahoo.com | |
| Dr. Peter Bakken | (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), received his PhD in theology from the University of Chicago. His dissertation focused on theological and ecological assumptions of Aldo Leopold and Joseph Sittler. He is Coordinator for Public Policy for the Wisconsin Council of Churches, promoting faith-based advocacy on issues from climate change to hunger and health care reform. For 14 years he was Coordinator of Outreach for the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, a Christian environmental education organization. His publications include Church on Earth: Grounding Your Ministry in a Sense of Place (with Jeff Wild) and a collection of writings by Joseph Sittler, Evocations of Grace: Writings on Ecology, Theology and Ethics (coedited with Steven Bouma-Prediger). | bakken@WisconsinIPL.org 608-837-3108 |
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| Wayne
Stroessner |
(United
Church of Christ) is a retired science teacher. He has served on
numerous committees for environmental groups including: the Sierra
Club, RENEW Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin, the WDNR's Citizens Advisory
Committee on Mercury Regulations, the League of Conservation Voters
(LCV), Coordinator of Monroe Area Recycling Committee for seven
years, presently serves as Random Lake's Water Monitor for the
DNR, served as WICEC President for two years. He is a hydrogen
economy promoter. |
wstroessner@wi.rr.com |
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| Rev. Meru Doug Szper WIPL Treasurer |
Rev. Szper is a mathematician by education and an Actuary by profession. He has also taught college Physics, and continues his study of Physics as a hobby. He is currently President, Treasurer, and co-Owner of QuasarSystems, Inc. an Insurance software firm, and an ordained Priest in the Hollow Bones Rinzai Zen Lineage. Rev Szper serves on various Boards of Directors as Secretary, Treasurer, and President. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of four Non-profit Organizations in addition to the WIPL Board: Still Point Zen Center, Inc - The TRUTH Project; Inc - The Wisconsin ManKind Project, Inc. - The New Day Club, Inc. He resides with his wife at Still Point Zen Center in Random Lake, Wisconsin where they have installed 4.7 Kw of Solar Panels and are developing an Organic Farm in alignment with their commitment to Sacred Stewardship of the earth. | stillpointzen@earthlink.net | |
Melissa Taylor
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| Rev. Nick Utphall WIPL Vice President |
Nick Utphall is a pastor of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Monona, where he has served since 2004. In that time he has gotten to commute by bike most days and has been excited to help with the start of a community garden and work on developing creation care as central to all our vocations. | nick(at)ststlc.net | |
Katy Walter |
Katy is an organizer
and advocate for clean energy issues with Clean Wisconsin. Her
professional experience includes training students
to run their own social and environmental campaigns, and directing
a fundraising canvass to fight global warming. Katy is a graduate
of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse with a bachelor’s
degree in sociology and political science. |
kwalter(at)cleanwisconsin.org | |
| Sr. Janet
Weyker, OP |
Janet Weyker, OP - (Catholic) is a graduate of St. Mary-of-the- Woods College in Indiana where she studied Earth Literacy. Currently she serves as Director of "Rooted in Hope", the Racine Dominican Eco-Justice Center that is dedicated to environmental education and care of Earth. She earned masters degrees from UW-Madison and UW-Platteville in art education and counseling; her prior ministry experience includes teaching, administration, and campus ministry. | eco-justice@racinedominicans.org 262-681-8527 Rooted in Hope Racine Dominican Eco-Justice Center 7133 Michna Road Racine, WI 53402 |
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| Justin Yotter | A graduate of the University
of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Justin
is a Sustainable Services Specialist for
Hoffman, LLC. Working closely with Hoffman project teams, Justin
plays a key role by ensuring all predetermined sustainable project
goals are implemented. A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED®) Accredited Professional, Justin has been invited to speak
numerous times on a subject he has a strong passion for—creating
healthy, sustainable spaces that positively impact people’s
lives—including the session “Greening Your Sacred Spaces” at
the 2009 South Central Synod of Wisconsin (SCSW) Synod Assembly. Justin is a member of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Monona, Wisconsin, where he is a member of the Green Team. He is also a member of the South Central Synod of Wisconsin (ELCA) Care for Creation Team, Co-Chair of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (WGBA) Green Schools Committee, Associate AIA member, and the Online Program Coordinator for a new Pilot Program - “Energy Stewardship Initiative” being implemented by Lutheran’s Restoring Creation. In Justin’s free time, he enjoys spending time with his family (wife Sara, son Nickolas, and dogs Zane and Maggie) hiking, cycling, camping, canoeing, and finding any way to enjoy being outdoors. |
jyotter@hoffman.net | |
| The Rev.
Susan Gilbert Zencka |
Rev. Susan Gilbert Zencka is the pastor at Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church in Stevens Point. She has a B.A. in Humanities from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and and M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. She also earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago majoring in Accounting and Economics, and was a CPA for 10 years before entering seminary. Susan is president of the board of the Interfaith Community for the Earth (ICE) in Stevens Point. | suzzencka@gmail.com 715-341-3040 |
Founder of Wisconsin Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign (1999)
| The Rev. Dr. Dave Steffenson | The Rev. Dr. Dave Steffenson is a retired United Methodist minister. He has a BA from the U. of Denver in social sciences and journalism; Th.M from Iliff School of Theology, Denver; STM in political social ethics from Yale University Divinity School; and the Ph.D. in "Ecological Social Ethics" from The Union Institute and University, a national program based in Cincinnati, OH. He taught college Eco-Ethics courses part-time for over 35 years. He directed WICEC on his retirement for three years and is still active in the program and other environmental activities. | dsteffe70@gmail.com 608-285-5201 |
Dr.
Peter Bakken, Executive Director |