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Members of the Commission Current members GINGER ALDEN is currently Vice-President of Community Development at River Valley State Bank, Wausau, Wisconsin. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Economics. Previously, she served as the Director of ArtsBlock Campaign, which was responsible for a $13 million addition and renovation to the historic Grand Theater in downtown Wausau. Ginger Alden also served as an elected official for 14 years on the Marathon County Board and eight years on the Rib Mountain Town Board. She was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2005 and confirmed in March 2006.
DONALD LEO BACH is a shareholder in the Madison law firm of DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, since rejoining the firm in 1992. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Political Science in June 1968. After graduation he received his commission in the United States Naval Reserve. Following his release from active duty he received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 1974, cum laude. Bach then joined the law firm of DeWitt, Porter, Huggett, Schumacher and Morgan, S.C. (now known as DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, S.C.) The governor appointed Bach in 1986 as the Legal Counsel and Advisor to the Governor, and then in September 1987 he was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Wisconsin Parole Board. In 1988, Bach was first appointed as Administrator of the Division of Administrative Services in the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR); then Administrator of the Division of State Agency Services in the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA); and finally as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin DOR. Bach has served as a member of the State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, the State's Information Technology Strategic Planning Advisory Board, the Computer Utility Implementation Steering Committee, and as a faculty member to the Wisconsin Judicial College Civil Law in October 1999 and November 2002. Bach has further served as Chairman of the State Bar's Bench-Bar Committee and as Chairman of its Survey Committee. He was appointed to the Judicial Commission in August 2004.
JOHN R. DAWSON is a retired partner in Foley & Lardner LLP’s Milwaukee office. He served as the managing partner of the Milwaukee office from 1994 to 1999 and previously served as the national chair of the firm's Litigation Department from 1986 to 1994. At the time of his retirement in 2005, Mr. Dawson was listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of alternate dispute resolution, business litigation and First Amendment law. His practice experience encompassed a broad range of commercial litigation and regulatory issues. Mr. Dawson served on the committee of State Bar members assessing for legislative introduction the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act. He is the author of two published articles on mediation: "Why Mediation Works When Negotiations Don't," Wisconsin Law Journal (Dec. 2003); and "Deciding When to Mediate Business Disputes," Wisconsin Lawyer (March 2005). From its formation in 2000 through September, 2006, Mr. Dawson served as a member of the Preliminary Review Committee of Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation upon appointment by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Mr. Dawson chaired the Eastern District of Wisconsin Advisory Group on the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 under appointment by the chief judge of the district. Mr. Dawson is an adjunct professor at the Marquette University Law School, teaching a course on media law. He also served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1994-1995. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Northwestern University in 1963. Following active duty as a junior officer in the United States Naval Reserve in 1964-1967, Mr. Dawson received his J.D. degree in 1970 from Duke University School of Law. He was appointed to the Judicial Commission in November 2006.
JAMES M. HANEY is the associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and head of the Division of Communication at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (UWSP). A Wisconsin native, Haney was a member of the communication faculty at UWSP from 1981-1991 and rejoined the faculty in 2000. From 1991 through 2000 he was the communication director for Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, which includes the division of criminal investigation, the state crime laboratories, the office of crime victim services and the department’s legal services division. Prior to joining the faculty at UWSP in 1981, Haney had been an award-winning radio journalist at Iowa Public Radio and had more than three dozen of his stories aired on National Public Radio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Ripon College and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. In 1989 he won UWSP’s “Excellence in Teaching Award” and in 1998 he was the first non-lawyer in the country to ever win the National Association of Attorneys General “Marvin Award” for being “an outstanding staff member in the office of a state attorney general.” The Senate confirmed Haney’s appointment in April 2006.
DAVID A. HANSHER, Presiding Judge of the Civil Division, and former Deputy Chief Judge, for Milwaukee County Circuit Court was first elected in 1991. Judge Hansher received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1965 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a J.D. in 1968 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 1968-1972, Judge Hansher was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Milwaukee. He was a sole practitioner from 1972-1991. During this time, Judge Hansher served as Arbitrator for the American Arbitrator Association from 1974-1991 and a Court Commissioner for Milwaukee County Circuit Court from 1978-1991. He is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors. Judge Hansher has also served on the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee, former Co-Chair of the Milwaukee Bar Association Judicial Section Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Bar Foundation. Hansher was appointed to the Judicial Commission in August 2003.
Michael R. Miller retired as Mayor of the City of West Bend in April 2005, after serving 18 years in that position. He was first elected Mayor in April of 1987. Prior to being elected Mayor he served as an Alderperson for 8 years. Miller is currently the Executive Director of the Mid-Moraine Municipal Association. Miller graduated from Spencerian College and served 2 years with the U.S. Army in Panama. Miller is a retired Accounting Methods Manager for Ameritech Services Inc. He is past President of the Mid-Moraine Municipal Association, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities. He also was one of the founding fathers of the Southeastern Municipal Executives (SEME) group, having served on the Steering Committee. He is also a member of the American Legion and Knights of Columbus. Miller was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2003 and served as chair from August 2006 through July 2007.
JENNIFER MORALES of Milwaukee is a member of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, the first person of Latino descent to hold that position. She was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. She has been the editorial assistant and grant writer for Rethinking Schools, a national journal of urban education, and served as the assistant director of two educational research centers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was appointed to the Judicial Commission in March 2006.
GREGORY A. PETERSON, Deputy Chief Judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, was first elected in 1999, after serving 16 years (1983-1999) as a circuit court judge in Eau Claire County. Judge Peterson received his Bachelor's of Art degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1973. He previously was in private practice with a trial emphasis. Judge Peterson was a member since 1990 and Chair from 1998-2002 of the Criminal Jury Instruction Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference. He has also served as Chief Judge (1996-1999) & Deputy Chief Judge (1990-1996) of the Tenth Judicial Administrative District. Judge Peterson has served on the Coordinating Committee for Volunteers in the Courts (1996-1997), Uniform Bond and Forms Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference (1990-1994), Intensive Sanctions Advisory Committee (1991-1993), and Wisconsin Equal Justice Task Force (1989-1990). Judge Peterson is a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, State Bar of Wisconsin and the Eau Claire County Bar Association. Judge Peterson was appointed to the Judicial Commission in August 2004 and served as chair from August 2005 through July 2006.
WILLIAM VANDER LOOP of Kaukauna was employed at Thilmany Pulp and Paper from 1952-1990. Vander Loop represented the fifth District in the Assembly from 1990 through 1998 before retiring. During his tenure as State Representative he served as a committee member on the Labor & Employment Committee, Workers Compensation Advisory Council, Unemployment Compensation Advisement Council, Veteran & Military Affairs Committee, and Aging & Long-Term Care Committee. Vander Loop also served as an alderman for the City of Kaukauna (1983-1991) and was a member of the Kaukauna Credit Union Board of Directors (1961-1991). Vander Loop is currently a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War, Lion's International Club, and the Royal Order of the Moose. He was appointed to the Judicial Commission in December 2004 and confirmed in 2005.
Executive Director JAMES C. ALEXANDER graduated from the University of Wisconsin‑Madison in 1968 and received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1974. He served in the U.S. Army 1969‑1971. From 1974 to 1990 Alexander was engaged in the private practice of law in Madison with a primary emphasis in civil trial work. He was admitted to practice in Wisconsin in 1974 and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Western (1974) and Eastern (1978) Districts of Wisconsin, as well as the United States Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit (1981) and United States Supreme Court (1984). Alexander has been executive director of the Judicial Commission since August 1990. He is an emeritus member and former president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel and serves on the Advisory Committee to the Center for Judicial Ethics of the American Judicature Society. Administrative Assistant LAURY L. BUSSAN previously worked for the Wisconsin Supreme Court/Court of Appeals as a customer support specialist and assistant deputy clerk. Ms. Bussan was appointed to serve as the administrative assistant to the Commission in August 2003. |
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