Judy joined the Board in 2012 and is currently Chair of the Governance Committee. Her business career involved banking and the non-profit medical field in Milwaukee. She and her husband Chuck purchased and conserved 300 acres of wild lakes and forest in Sawyer County and although they no longer live on the property, it is preserved in perpetuity. She volunteers in several community non-profit organizations.
Ned is a retired General Mills executive. While he and his wife reside in Bloomington, MN, they spend considerable time at the family cabin on Love Lake in Burnett County, WI. Ned has been instrumental in preserving the natural environment surrounding the lake through his active involvement on the Board of Directors of the Love Lake Association. Ned serves as Secretary of the board of directors and as Chair of the Development Committee for WWLT. He has been instrumental in raising funds needed to sustain the organization. Ned also serves his community through volunteer work with several organizations including Dartmouth College and the United Way.
Bill Butsic and his wife Jane are both originally from upper Michigan and have lived in the Menomonie area since 1980. Bill retired in 2012 from a successful 40-year career in the food industry including as manager for ConAgra Food’s plant in Menomonie.He has been an active community volunteer with many organizations including the Rotary, Greater Menomonie Development Corporation, Dunn County United Way, CVTC Foundation Board and Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts. In the business community Bill served for 11 years on the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce board of directors and was chairman of the board of First National Bank and Trust of Menomonie. Bill currently serves on the board of Dairy State Bank. He is an avid outdoorsmen who enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and traveling to his fishing camp on the Kenai River in Alaska.
Rory has served as a circuit judge in Chippewa Falls since 1983. A native of Rice Lake, he is a member of Beaver Creek Reserve in Fall Creek and is president of the Beaver Creek Bird Club. Rory is passionate about birds and participates in annual owl, marsh bird, and Golden Eagle surveys. Others interests include running, biking, and playing the highland bagpipes. He also serves on the board of directors of Lake Atitlan Libraries, Inc., a non-profit organization that raises funds for purchasing books for libraries in Guatemala.
Larry is a retired partner in the Quarles & Brady law firm of Milwaukee. Upon retirement he and his wife Anne moved to the family farm near Alma, WI—land now protected with a conservation easement with WWLT. He serves on the board’s Finance and Audit Committee. An avid outdoorsman and life member of the Alma Rod and Gun Club, Larry also has a deep interest in the arts.
Laurie is an environmental volunteer who resides in Chicago but has deep family roots in Wisconsin. She and her husband Rich are directly responsible for the protection of over 1,400 acres of land in western Wisconsin through conservation easements conveyed to WWLT. In addition to serving as President of the WWLT Board of Directors, Laurie also serves on the board of American Rivers and the Women’s Board of the Field Museum of Natural History.
Bruce is a graduate of the University of Minnesota holding a B.S. and M.S. degrees in wildlife biology. Bruce worked for over three decades for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource until his retirement in 2005. In his position as Northern Regional Lands Leader he was responsible for supervising all land programs within the 16 county northern region. In his retirement Bruce has continued to be involved in the conservation community by serving on the boards of the Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society and the Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area. He also volunteers as an easement monitor for WWLT as well as serving on our board. Bruce and his wife Nora live in Spooner, which provides them with the ideal landscape to pursue their love of hunting, fishing, gardening and other outdoor activities.
Originally hailing from Rockford, IL, Bill developed a love of Wisconsin wild places in his youth while spending his summers with family, fishing for trout on the Brule River. Bill is a true pioneer in the Wisconsin conservation movement being one of the first in the state to grant a conservation easement protecting his Brule River property. He currently serves as Vice President of Brule River Preservation, an organization dedicated to preserving the Brule River in its natural state. Bill and his wife Lynne, a retired teacher, live in Superior where they are both actively dedicated to the economic sustainability of the Twin Ports.
Peter joined the WWLT Board of Directors in 2009 and currently serves as Vice President of the board. A biologist by training with a doctorate in ecology and behavioral biology, Peter works as a research consultant to conservation organizations. He has a particular interest in innovative approaches to using entertainment communication to positively influence social issues—an area in which he has done extensive research and writing. Peter and his wife and family love spending time on land they hold in northern Wisconsin.
Steve joined the WWLT board in September 2011. Although currently living in Minneapolis, MN, Steve has deep family roots in western Wisconsin. He is an experienced investment banker currently working at RBC Capital Markets. Steve has served on several boards including the Minnesota Institute of Public Finance, where he was president, the University of St. Thomas Graduate School Advisory Board, and as a current member of the American Transmission Company board. He is committed to the conservation movement in western Wisconsin, with particular affection for the Brule River where he pursues his passion for fly-fishing.