2022–2023
Kate Martin, President
Kate is a retired civil and environmental engineer and UW–Madison alumna. She worked for local engineering consulting firms and the City of Madison Engineering Division on design and construction projects ranging from infrastructure to landfill design, environmental clean-ups, and utility-scale wind and solar power. She has mentored the senior capstone design class of UW civil engineering. She has enjoyed walks in the Arboretum and lived nearby for several decades. For the last seven years she has served as a volunteer receptionist. Her favorite Arboretum walks are seasonal: Gallistel Woods during spring ephemerals, Grady Tract for lupine bloom, Curtis Prairie in late summer, and Wingra Woods in fall. She is an avid quilter and hand stitcher. She and her husband Michael have one grown daughter.
Laurel Sukup, Vice President
Laurel is the Chief of Sustainability for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Her work allows her to engage with businesses and municipalities across the State and support them in reaching their sustainability goals. A veteran of the WDNR, her commitment to the environment does not stop after 5 p.m. Laurel is also a Master Naturalist and is thrilled to serve as a board member to support programming and opportunities for residents and visitors to experience all that the Arboretum has to offer. Originally from Milwaukee, Laurel and her partner, Michael Mucha, have made their home on the near east side of Madison where they can often be seen towing a bike trailer containing their very pampered standard poodle, Juneau.
Anita Boor, Secretary
Anita lives with her husband, John, in the Nakoma neighborhood, blocks away from the Arboretum’s west entrance. With seven mature oaks on their lot, she has learned the joys of shade gardening with native plant species. A biology major from UW–Madison, she spent time in Curtis Prairie as an undergrad counting galls on goldenrod stalks. Now she enjoys taking in the Arb’s plant life in a more leisurely fashion. Anita is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Don Miner, Treasurer
Don is emeritus Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services at UW–Madison. He retired in 2010. In retirement, he volunteers as treasurer of the Friends of the UW–Madison Odyssey Project and the Daily Cardinal Media Corporation. He also volunteers to keep financial records for and financially advise Beth Israel Center and the Martin Luther King Coalition of Madison and Dane County. He also does volunteer database maintenance for the Madison Literacy Network. He has a bachelor’s degree in math and computer science from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in accounting from UW–Madison. He grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. His wife Kathy has been involved with the UW–Madison Arboretum for many years as an environmental educator, leading tours and watching over the Arboretum’s library. Don and Kathy have two married sons and two grandchildren.
Vince Aiello
Having lived in Wisconsin most of his life, Vince gained a strong appreciation for nature. He has been on a lifelong nature-study journey. In his free time he can be found in nature studying plants or taking nature photos. Some of his photos have been published in nature calendars. His current passion is studying mushrooms and fungi – they are so interesting. He has taken classes on herbalism and attended the Master Gardener program and two United Plant Savers events. He did his volunteer work for the Master Gardner program at the Arboretum. He moved to Madison in 2008 and was really impressed with the amount of parks and hiking land in and around the city. After moving here one of the first places he explored was the Arboretum – he has walked all the trails many times. He is honored to be a part of the FOA Board.
Jane Albert
Jane was born in Milwaukee and moved to Madison in 1952. She graduated from West High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in English at UW–Madison. In 1974 she earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at UW–Madison. She taught fourth and fifth grades in Madison Public Schools for 32 years. She was very active in Madison Teachers Inc. and served as secretary for nine years. Upon retirement she mentored first-year teachers and tutored elementary-aged children in her home. She also became involved in the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association where she served as secretary and social chair. She and her husband, Bill, love walking through the Arboretum. Bill was a Saturday-morning volunteer for many years helping to clear brush, gather seeds, etc. The Luncheon-Lectures Series became a favorite activity in retirement. Jane and Bill have one daughter and one granddaughter who live in Middleton – so wonderfully close!
Nansi Jo Colley
Nansi is Professor Emerita at UW–Madison. She received her PhD in marine biology at University of California Santa Barbara for her work on coral reefs. As a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA and UC San Diego, she expanded her studies to the evolution of photoreception and eyes. Nansi is internationally recognized for her biomedical research using Drosophila (fruit flies) as a molecular genetic model for human retinal diseases. Nansi is also a yoga and meditation teacher and has taught both for over 30 years at the UW Sports Medicine Center, Madison School and Community Recreation, UW Integrative Medicine and UW employee well-being programs. Nansi is a volunteer at the Arboretum and is interested in ecological monitoring of pollinators, birds, and plant communities. She is committed to conserving biodiversity and supporting the land stewardship, education and research missions of the Arboretum.
Taylor Drogemuller
Taylor is the Adult and Community Program Coordinator at Neighborhood House Community Center, where she focuses on connecting with local farms and organizations to help people who face food and housing insecurity, particularly in the Greenbush Neighborhood. Her role also involves creating programs for adults with special needs, coordinating volunteers, and more. Since moving to Madison in 2018, she spent three seasons at Agrecol Native Seed and Plant Nursery, where she worked with the native plant seed collection and helped with preparations for the Friends of the Arboretum Native Plant Sale. Outside of work, she’s passionate about restoring a bluff prairie on her parents’ property in the driftless area. Her current goal for is to reach 100 different plant species in her prairie garden. She was the Event Coordinator for the Lake Wingra Watershed Gathering, where she represented the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association. She has also worked as an Outdoor Educator at Upham Woods with UW–Extension. She enjoys exploring Wisconsin with her new black lab puppy named Rosie. She graduated from Winona State University with a degree in Biology with a focus on Ecology. She’s excited to bring her experience to the FOA Board.
Maggie Honig
Maggie is a retired science educator who has spent most of her career teaching students of all ages about wildlife biology, ecology, and environmental science. She has degrees in biology, environmental science, outdoor education, and cytotechnology. She has led natural history trips to many places, both in and out of the United States. After spending a year dealing with her own mobility issues, she developed a passion for leading and facilitating field trips that help people of all abilities get out and experience nature. After living in many places in the U.S., she is delighted to be back in her birth state. Her time here has been spent volunteering with several area organizations doing environmental education, citizen science, ecological restoration, and strategic planning. In addition to her work with the Friends Board, she serves on the Board of the Friends of Capital Springs Recreation Area and is a Wisconsin Master Naturalist. Maggie’s spare time is spent turning her home yard into a pocket prairie and rain garden, growing wildflowers and vegetables in a local community garden, quilting, and taking hikes with her husband Bob to watch birds and learn about all the wonderful natural areas in Wisconsin.
Dave Kelly
Dave is a retired program manager and alum of the UW–Madison and Thunderbird School of Global Management. Prior to retirement, he worked at John Deere Financial in Madison for twenty-three years in several capacities. Dave is a certified Wisconsin Master Naturalist who is fascinated with the natural and cultural history of Wisconsin. In addition to being a part-time barista, he volunteers regularly with the Ice Age Trail Alliance doing outreach and leading adult and youth hikes. You’ll also find him serving as an assistant naturalist at Arboretum Earth Focus Day Camp and volunteer to help with ecological restoration. He also volunteers with Madison Audubon and at Pheasant Branch Reserve focusing on bird collisions and bird monitoring. Dave was a lifelong Madison resident, living in the Nakoma neighborhood for many years. Though currently residing in New Glarus, he often visits the Arboretum to run and hike the amazing trails.
Paul Kent
Paul grew up in Milwaukee and came to UW–Madison in 1973. He loved the city and the lakes and has been here ever since. He is currently a partner with the law firm Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, where his practice focuses on water law issues including wastewater, drinking water, stormwater, wetlands, and shoreland development. Most of his clients are municipalities, but some are private entities. He has taught environmental law at the UW–Madison Law School for over 30 years and has published several books and articles on water law issues. He has two adult sons, one in Los Angeles who is also a lawyer and has two sons under 2, and one in Pewaukee who has six-year-old twins and a three year old. Being a grandfather is one of his many pleasures. He also enjoys folk music, reading, hiking, swimming, church activities, and travel.
Leslie Ladd
Leslie has lived in the beautiful UW–Madison Arboretum neighborhood for the past 19 years. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she earned degrees in speech pathology and deaf education at the University of Michigan and Smith College. She taught the deaf at schools in St. Louis and northern California and also served as an elementary principal. In 2003, Leslie and husband Bill Hantke, newly retired, moved to Madison. Since then, Leslie has found numerous opportunities to serve and volunteer in her community—with the Literacy Network, Madison Sewing Guild, Junior League of Madison, the Madison Civics Club, the Patient and Family Advisory Council at UW Hospital, and currently as secretary of the Arboretum Neighborhood Association. She was FOA Board Secretary for two years and currently serves as editor of NewsLeaf.
Tim Norris
Tim is the retired UW–Madison Budget Director and Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. He served the university as an executive financial manager during a career spanning three decades, including fifteen years as Budget Director. Tim and wife Maddie live near the Arboretum and can be found walking the trails for exercise and leisure most days of the week. They are avid birders and native plant and vegetable gardeners. Maddie volunteered in the Arboretum library for several years after her retirement. Tim also serves on the Madison Audubon Society Board and volunteers for several other public outreach organizations.
Jennifer Sereno
Jennifer Sereno is a professional communicator committed to conservation and community sustainability. She currently serves as communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, focusing on efforts to make Wisconsin a fair and just place for all to live and work. She previously served as strategic communications manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and as business editor of the Wisconsin State Journal. An avid endurance athlete, Jennifer and her husband David have run the trails, skied the tracks and ridden the roads of the Arboretum for 30-plus years. A member of Rotary Club of Madison, she also serves as secretary of the Friends of Capital Springs Recreation Area and vice president of The Daily Cardinal Media Corp.
Kate Vandenbosch
Kate is Dean Emerita of the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and a plant scientist whose research has addressed how plants develop and form symbioses with microbes. An early interest in plant biodiversity is rooted in her childhood exploration of the forests of western Michigan and undergraduate study at Kalamazoo College. After graduate work at the University of Massachusetts and the Harvard Forest, Kate was a post-doctoral researcher in botany at UW–Madison, where she met her husband, Tom Frantz. One of their first dates was to Curtis Prairie to watch the woodcock’s sky dance, and they went on to volunteer on restoration projects at the Arboretum. Kate was a biology professor at Texas and Minnesota before returning to UW–Madison in 2012. Now retired, she enjoys exploring plants from a different perspective and telling their stories. As a new Master Gardener, she volunteers at UW–Madison’s Allen Centennial Garden and the Arboretum’s Native Plant Garden.