Learning about the state we serve
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Al Castro of the United Community Center Al Castro is the Director of Health Research Programs at the United Community Center, a nonprofit Latino community organization in Milwaukee. With an extensive background in social work, Al combines public health issues in his work at UCC, facilitating community-engaged health research in the …
Mitch Breunig, third-generation farmer and UW–Madison alumnus, was elected as chair of the Dairy Innovation Hub advisory council. In this new position, Breunig will work to assemble the council, set agendas, and provide guidance to the Dairy Innovation Hub’s faculty director: UW–Madison dairy scientist and WIS’13 alumna Heather White. In 2018, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited …
Sarah Bartlett, Water Resources Specialist at NEW Water — a water resource utility serving Northeast Wisconsin that cleans 38 million gallons of clean water per day — is collaborating with the Wisconsin Idea Seminar to bring the 2020 Bay Tour to Green Bay. Bartlett received her B.S. from UW–Madison, her M.S. from UW-Milwaukee, and her …
Titus Seilheimer, Fisheries Specialist at the Wisconsin Sea Grant, is collaborating with the Wisconsin Idea Seminar to bring the 2020 Bay Tour to Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where participants will learn about commercial fishing operations. Seilheimer received his B.A. from Lawrence University and his Ph.D. from McMaster University. In this interview, Seilheimer discusses non-native species in …
Dr. James Deline, a central fixture in the La Farge community, has practiced medicine in Vernon County for nearly 40 years. Deline works at the intersection of rural and Amish healthcare, and sees many rare genetic conditions. The Wisconsin Idea Seminar has visited the La Farge Medical Clinic twice, in 2017 and 2019, to see …
Teal VanLanen, Director of Improvement & Community Engagement for the Algoma School District, spoke on October 3rd at a panel presentation presented in collaboration with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. “Communities do hold the solutions and have the power to make sustainable, equitable changes for health and opportunity for all,” says VanLanen. In May of …
Dr. James DeLine, a rural healthcare provider in Wisconsin’s southwestern Vernon County, shares his experiences of practicing family medicine since 1983. DeLine works closely with specialists at UW–Madison to provide unique genetic testing for Plain community members, many with rare conditions. In 2019 and 2017 the Wisconsin Idea Seminar traveled to visit Dr. DeLine at …
The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, which receives funding from the federally-funded national Sea Grant, recently awarded $2.8 million to a variety of Great Lakes research and education projects, including “Under the Surface,” an underwater therapeutic photography program for youth at Northwest Passage, a residential mental health facility in northern Wisconsin. “Under the Surface” …
In certain campus circles Margaret “Peg” Geisler, 82, is best known and celebrated as the founding director of the Wisconsin Idea Seminar, the UW–Madison’s signature study tour for faculty and staff. Others now know Geisler and her life experiences with cancer as the inspiration that launched an international search for “extreme survivors” of metastatic breast …