Board of Directors
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Photo | Name | Brief Biography | Contact Information |
| Huda Alkaff WIPL President |
Founder
and Director 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. Huda is the Vice Chair of the Interfaith
Earth Network. |
interfaith.earth(at)yahoo.com | |
| Rev. Adam Arn | Adam Arn is the Associate Pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Grafton where he has served since 2003. He has a B.A in Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an M.A. in Theology from Marquette University. One of the primary emphases in his graduate work was ecological hermeneutics, which involved reading sacred texts from the perspective of the Earth community with an eye toward addressing contemporary environmental concerns. Some of the issues he addressed were global climate change and the honeybee crisis know as Colony Collapse Disorder. In addition to advocating for environmental stewardship as a critical component of spiritual formation, he understands the importance of exploring one's sense of place, which is why he can often be found meandering through the white cedars of Lake Michigan's unique coastal ecosystems | adam(at)vineyardcc.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 |
|
| Rev. Dr. John Helt | Rev. Dr. Helt is the Pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Colgate. He graduated with M. Div. from Eden Theological Seminary and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Rev. Helt served UCC congregations in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. He served on the Wisconsin Council of Churches, board of directors, 1992-2000, is a baritone, Lutheran A Cappella Choir of Milwaukee, since 2010, and serves on Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ, historical committee, worship committee, annual meeting planning committee, association and conference committees on church and ministry. | cjhelt(at)yahoo.com | |
Melissa Taylor
|
Melissa Taylor, Unitarian Universalist, is the Just Trade Buyer/Manager (HOPES Center), Racine, Oct 2008 to present, Green Congregations participant, 2007 to present, Green Sanctuary participant, Olympia Brown UU Church, 2006 to present, Sierra Club participant, Racine Chapter, 2006 to present, and was the Racine Coordinator for Youth Restoring Earth, July 2010 to March 2011. | meliss.taylor2638@att.net | |
| 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 WIPL Secretary |
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 | |
Dr. Daniel Weber |
Dr. Weber received his
PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he is currently
employed as a Senior Scientist in the Children's Environmental
Health Sciences Center. His research interests focus on the behavioral
toxicology of environmental contaminants such as bisphenol A, lead,
and mercury. He is a Board member and Chair of the Science and
Technology Advisory Board of Canfei Nesharim, an outreach program
of the Orthodox Jewish community that teaches sustainable living
through Torah values. As part of his Center's Community Outreach
and Education Core, he is involved with developing and implementing
environmental health science modules for middle and high school
students. He is a member of Tikkun Ha'Ir, an advocacy program of
the Jewish community to enhance environmental and social justice
in Milwaukee. |
dweber@uwm.edu | |
| Sr. Janet
Weyker, OP WIPL Treasurer |
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 |
|
| 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, former WIPL President, 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 the founding 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 |
Thank you to Former WICEC/WIPL Board
Members!
Wayne Stroessner; Rev. Dick Blomker; Rich Bogovich; Dr. Joe Bachman,
MD; Rev. Jim Theselius; Sarah Streed; Rev. Sue Moline Larson; Sr. Shell
Balek; Elisha & Kim Herb; Susan De Vos; Judy Skog; Alycia Ashburn;
Mark Edge; Dennis Briley; Trish Tucker-Kees; Amy Johnson; Mark Kresowik;
Ryan Schryver; Rev. Meru Doug Szper
Dr.
Peter Bakken, Executive Director |