Board & Staff

West Wisconsin Land Trust Board Members

• John Goetz, President, Minneapolis, MN
  John Goetz is a practicing attorney and partner in the Minneapolis law firm of Schwebel, Goetz and Sieben. He has had a long history with and commitment to land conservation in western Wisconsin and Minnesota, with a particular love of the Blufflands along the Mississippi River. He is an avid bicyclist and skier. He has been on the WWLT board since 2004 and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors.
  
  
• Curt Rohland, President Emeritus, Chippewa Falls, WI
  Curt Rohland is the elder statesman of West Wisconsin Land Trust board, having helped with the initial formation of the organization, then known as the Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy. He is a Lutheran pastor serving several congregations in western Wisconsin and is involved with several charities including Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International, Feed My People and Lutheran World Relief. A retired dairy farmer, Curt continues to be involved in issues facing today's farmers as well as with conservation concerns.
  
  
• Larry Jost, Vice President, Alma, WI
  Larry Jost 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 now serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of WWLT. An avid outdoorsman and life member of the Alma Rod and Gun Club, Larry also has a deep interest in the arts.
  
  
• Laura Kracum, Secretary, Chicago, IL
  Laurie Kracum 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 Secretary 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.
  
  
• Joe Kingman, Treasurer, St. Paul, MN
  Joe Kingman is a retired banker with an extensive history of involvement in philanthropic endeavors, including conservation issues, the arts, economic development, and human services. Having retired as President of American National Bank in 1992, he went on to serve in the administration of Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson and then as Senior Vice President of Administration for The Saint Paul Foundation. In retirement Joe has continued to be involved in the community by serving on numerous boards while splitting his time between St. Paul, MN and Shell Lake, WI where he loves fishing and gardening. Joe currently serves as Treasurer of the WWLT Board of Directors.
  
  
• Robert Cropp, Colfax, WI
  Bob Cropp is a longtime resident of the greater Menomonie area and board member of WWLT. Bob works for University of Wisconsin-Extension at its office in Pepin County, WI where he is involved with a number of educational programs relating to conservation in collaboration with the Pepin County Land Conservation Department and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Bob also serves as the main advisor to the Pepin County Farm Management Club.
  
  
• Edward (Ned) Bixby, Edina, MN
  Ned Bixby is a retired General Mills executive. While he and his wife reside in Edina, 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 the Chair of the Development Committee for WWLT and 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.
  
  
• Peter Vaughan, Minneapolis, MN
  Peter Vaughan joined the WWLT Board of Directors in 2009 and currently serves as the Chair of the Land Program Committee. 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. In addition to serving on the board of WWLT, Peter he is also a board member of the Northern Environmental Support Trust and volunteers at his children's schools. Peter and his wife and family love spending time on land they hold in northern Wisconsin.
  
  
• Tish Keahna, Hayward, WI
  Tish Keahna is a recent addition to the WWLT board. She is an attorney and working of counsel with the Stoddard Law Office. As an enrolled tribal member, Tish is deeply involved in issues facing the Native American community today, including land conservation. She has worked as an adjunct professor at Augsburg College and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College and as an attorney with Anishinabe Legal Services. Tish and her active family with three young children love spending time outdoors in beautiful Northern Wisconsin.
  
  
• Bruce Moss, Spooner, WI
  Bruce Moss is one of three members joining the WWLT board in September 2011. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota holding a Master of Science degree in Wildlife Management. Bruce worked for over two 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 with the 16 county northern region. In his retirement Bruce had continued to be involved in the conservation community by serving on the board of the Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, as chairman of the board of directors for Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area, as a volunteer easement monitor for WWLT. 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.
  
  
• Stephen Yanisch, Minneapolis, MN
  Steve Yanisch also 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.
  
  
• William P. Rogers, Superior, WI
  Bill Rogers, a longtime supporter of WWLT, also joined us in September 2011. Originally hailing from Rockford, IL, Bill developed a love of the wild places of Wisconsin in his youth while spending his summers fishing for trout on the Brule River while vacationing with his family. 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. 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.
  
  

West Wisconsin Land Trust Staff

• Interim Executive Director:
  Jane Prohaska is an attorney and independent consultant providing advice to conservation and other nonprofit organizations around the country. Jane recently left her position as the President and Executive Director of the Minnesota Land Trust, where for nine years she was responsible for providing programmatic leadership and operational oversight for all of the Land Trust’s programs. Before that, she worked for The Nature Conservancy for 18 years, initially as the Conservancy’s Midwest Regional Counsel and later as Vice President and Midwest Regional Director. Jane also worked as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General for several years. Jane has a law degree from the University of Minnesota where she graduated magna cum laude. She is also a cum laude graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota where she received an undergraduate degree in history.
  
  
• Conservation Director:
  Rick Remington is a native of central Wisconsin, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. Rick worked throughout the Midwest, Maine and Kentucky in land management, restoration and protection, before joining the land trust staff in 2002. In his spare time, he enjoys "silent sports", gardening, and spending time outdoors with his wife Heather and daughter Amber.
  
  
• Conservation Coordinator:
  Britta joined West Wisconsin Land Trust in May of 2004. Britta currently assists with the Stewardship Program in implementation of standards and practices, conservation easement baseline documentation, monitoring, record keeping, data tracking, volunteer coordination and GIS administration. Britta has a baccalaureate degree in Land Use Planning from UW- River Falls.
  
  
• Northwoods Land Protection Coordinator
  Jane Anklam serves the Northwoods region for West Wisconsin Land Trust. She concentrates her efforts on lakes, wetlands and forest land that drain to Lake Superior and the St. Croix River. Jane has worked throughout Wisconsin as a resource conservationist with the USDA. She is a registered Soil Scientist in Wisconsin and a Certified Crop Advisor with the American Society of Agronomy. Along with her family, Jane enjoys all the silent sports that the north has to offer.
  
  
• Office Manager:
  Michelle Hunter Copley came to WWLT in January of 2008 after a career in title work and real estate. She is a graduate of the Nonprofit Administration program at UW-Superior and currently enrolled in the Human Resources Management program. In her spare time she enjoys fishing, hunting, quilting and roaming the hills and valleys near her home in Buffalo County with her husband Rocky and dog Hamish.