Members of the Commission

Yulonda Anderson has been a Senior Client Services Specialist with the Milwaukee-Trial Office of the State Public Defender since 2014. Prior to working at the Public Defender's Office, she was a child welfare social worker at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin for six years. During her time with Children's Hospital, she became a State Licensed Social Worker while earning a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Ms. Anderson also holds bachelor’s degrees from Bryant & Stratton College–Milwaukee and Upper Iowa University. She has served on the Commission since December 2019.

Donald A. Daugherty, Jr. is Senior Litigation Counsel for the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, an education reform organization based in Washington D.C. Don has over 30 years of experience in trial and appellate litigation and has been a partner at three of Wisconsin's largest law firms. He has been recognized as among the "Best Lawyers in America" and Wisconsin's "Super Lawyers." Don earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia. Before entering private practice, he clerked for the Hon. Roger J. Miner on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has served on the boards of numerous civic and charitable organizations, including as President of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. Don is licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. He has been admitted to practice before federal district courts across the country, including the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, as well as the Second, Seventh, Ninth, and Federal Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Don has served on the Commission since August 2021 and has been the chair of the Commission since September 2023.

Jane Foley retired from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office after 37 years of advocating for and providing services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, clergy sexual abuse, and other crimes in the Victim Witnesses Services Unit, the Sensitive Crimes Victims Unit, the Domestic Violence Unit, and the Crisis Response Unit. She also supervised and mentored advocates and other staff members in their work with crime victims and their families. Jane has given numerous presentations, including those sponsored by the Office of Judicial Education and the Attorney General’s Office, concerning victimization, the work of sexual assault and domestic violence advocates, and sexual assault and domestic violence prevention and education, to judicial officials, court staff, attorneys, criminal justice agency professionals, community organization members, and other community stakeholders. She has served as a faculty member for the National Judicial Education Program (training sexual assault prosecutors throughout the United States) and the Wisconsin Judicial College. Jane designed the curriculum and taught the Safe Passages Program for teen girls and their mothers, educating them on teen sexual assault and domestic violence. She was a member of the planning committee for the Clergy Sexual Abuse Listening Session in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, a founding member of the Milwaukee Justice System’s Race, Equity, and Procedural Justice Committee, a member of the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and a past volunteer and board member of The Sojourner Truth Shelter for Battered Women. Jane holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Social Welfare. She has served on the Commission since December 2021 and has been the vice-chair of the Commission since September 2023.

Thomas Hruz has served as a judge on District III of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals since September 2014. Previously, he was a shareholder at Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols, S.C., where his practice focused on civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate work. Judge Hruz received his undergraduate degree from UW-Milwaukee, summa cum laude, his master’s degree from UW-Madison, and his law degree from Marquette University, magna cum laude. After graduation, he served as a law clerk for Judge John Coffey of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and for Justice David Prosser of Wisconsin Supreme Court. Judge Hruz is a past chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and has served on numerous organizations, include the Wisconsin Judicial Council, the WisTAF Board of Directions, and the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission. He also continues his longstanding service as a Regional Coordinator for the State Bar of Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament. Judge Hruz has served on the Commission since August 2023.

Janet Jenkins graduated from UW-Madison, Phi Betta Kappa, with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Russian and a juris doctor degree from the UW Law School. In 1975, she began practicing law in La Crosse County. During her 29 years in private practice, Janet served as a Referee for the Office of Lawyer Regulation, an investigator for the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, and as a member of a Supreme Court committee to review the Code of Judicial Conduct. She also served as a La Crosse County Court Commissioner. In 2004, Janet moved to Madison to become the Administrator of the Division of Trade & Consumer Protection at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection. As such, she was the chief consumer protection official in the state. Janet served in that position for nearly seven years before becoming the Chief Legal Counsel for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. She retired from the practice of law in 2016 and resigned her law license soon thereafter. Janet has served on the Commission since June 2022.

Marci V. Kawski is a Madison-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. Her practice is devoted to representing lenders in connection with consumer financial services, and she frequently handles litigation and compliance issues pertaining to consumer financial products. She has been recognized by leading legal directories, including Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List, and she serves in various capacities numerous industry groups, including the American Financial Services Association, Wisconsin Financial Services Association, Wisconsin Credit Union League, American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. Attorney Kawski has served on the Commission since August 2022.

Mary Beth Keppel is a member of the Board of Directors and a past president of Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. She retired from the practice of law in 2012 and resigned her law license in 2013. Keppel was a Dane County Court Commissioner for 25 years, served as a Dane County prosecutor for 10 years, and acted as a staff attorney with Dane County Legal Services. Keppel is a past president of the Wisconsin Family Court Commissioners Association, the Dane County Bar Association, and the Dane County Attorneys Association. While president of the Dane County Bar, she initiated the establishment of a courthouse clinic for unrepresented family law litigants. From 2003 until 2008, Keppel served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Board of Bar Examiners which evaluates the character and fitness of lawyers seeking admission to the bar and grades the bar exam. She served two terms on the Board of Directors for the State Bar’s Family Law Section. In 2012, Keppel received the Margo Melli Award from the Legal Association of Women for her contributions to women in the law. She has served as a third grade tutor since her retirement and prepares food for Luke House, a community meal program. Keppel was appointed to the Commission in January 2022.

Wynne P. Laufenberg has served on the Circuit Court bench for Racine County since 2017. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she had a private practice in Racine. Judge Laufenberg is a 1989 graduate of Marquette University Law School. She has served as President of the Racine County Bar Association, and served on the boards of FOCUS, the Women’s Resource Center and the Racine County Board of Ethics. Judge Laufenberg chaired the Racine County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee between 2018 and 2022. Currently, she is serving on two statewide committees, the Juvenile Jury Instruction Committee and the Criminal Law Judicial Benchbook committee. Judge Laufenberg has served on the Commission since August 2022.

Judy K. Ziewacz is a Wisconsin native and UW-Madison graduate who has over forty years of public policy experience at the state and federal levels, ranging from her service as Chief of Staff for a Wisconsin member of Congress to her service as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. For a decade, Judy was head of the Cooperative Development Foundation, a national organization based in Washington, DC. She retired in 2018 as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cooperative Business Association, an organization that represents 90 million members of the nation’s cooperatives and credit unions. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Cooperative Development Foundation, the Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, and Law Forward. Judy has served on the Commission since December 2021.