TMI Board of Directors

Constance F. Threinen, Chair
Retired, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Connie Threinen has been involved in the League of Women Voters all her adult life, presently working on land use issues. A feminist advocate, she was a founder of the Wisconsin Women's Network and its chair from 1987 to 1990. Until her retirement, she was a member of the University of Wisconsin Extension's Department of Governmental Affairs. She began her education at Mount Holyoke College and completed it at the University of Wisconsin with a degree in economics. In her work with the Madison Institute, she has been particularly interested in the economic aspects of public policy.

Joseph Elder, Vice Chair
Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Joe Elder is Professor of Sociology and Languages and Cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin. He has served on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO; the American Friends (Quakers) Service Committee Board of Directors; and the Board of Trustees of the International Committee for the Peace Council. His special interests are foreign policy and the global economy. He received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Oberlin and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Theodore Kinnaman, Secretary
Professor of Music Emeritus, University of Wisconsin Center-Rock County

Ted Kinnaman has lived in Janesville, Wisconsin since 1966. He graduated from Music School at Northwestern University in 1950 and received his Master's there in 1957. He retired as Professor of Music, University of Wisconsin Center-Rock County in 1994, after having joined the faculty there in 1966, when the campus opened. He was one of the founders and first chair of the Wisconsin New Democratic Coalition when it was founded in 1969. He was also active in the founding of the Rock Prairie Arts Council and served as its president in 1976. He has served on the Madison Institute Board since its founding.

Paul Beckett, Treasurer

Political Scientist

Paul Beckett has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He taught and wrote about African and Nigerian politics in positions at Ahmadu Bello University (in Nigeria), Purdue University, and Washington State University. At UW-Madison, he served as an administrator (in African Studies, International Studies and the College of Letters and Science) and specialist on Title VI foreign language and area studies programs. He helped to create the University's International Institute.  Since 2000 he has focused his reading, writing and activism on the problem of Palestinian rights.

Wanda Williamson

Budget & Policy Analyst, Businesswoman, Retired

Wanda Williamson earned a BS in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin and worked as a statistician and a scientific computer programmer.  She developed an interest in budget and public policy through involvement with the League of Women Voters and other organizations, which led to a UW-System position as a budget and policy analyst and subsequently to an MA in public policy and administration.  Before retiring, she spent several years developing and managing a retail business. 

Roger Buffett
Attorney

Roger Buffett is an ordained clergyperson with the United Church of Christ and a recently retired Madison lawyer. He received a BA from Oberlin College, an M. Div. from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Among his legal clients were a number who were interested in environmental protection on such matters as the copper mine at Ladysmith and environmental impact statements for major transportation projects.

Frederick A. Johnson
Senior Regulatory Specialist, Wisconsin Dept. of Health & Family Services

Fred Johnson was born and raised in Mount Horeb. He attended the University of Northern Colorado (B.A. Zoology, 1977), the University of Minnesota (M.S. Ecology, 1981), and the University of Wisconsin (M.S. Water Resources Management, 1984). Since graduating from the UW, he has worked for the State of Wisconsin, including a short time at the Dept. of Ag., Trade, and Consumer Protection, followed by over 14 years with the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR). While at the DNR, he helped develop environmental enforcement policy at the state, regional, and national levels. Since 2000, he has been involved in compliance and enforcement issues for the Asbestos & Lead Program in the Div. of Public Health.

Midge L. Miller
State Representative, Retired

Midge Miller served as a Representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly for 14 years and as a Wisconsin Democratic National Committeewoman for 9 years. Earlier, she was Assistant Dean in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin for 6 years and a missionary to Japan for 5 years. She helped found the Madison Institute, the National Women's Political Caucus, the New Democratic Coalition, the Interchange Resource Center, and the National, Council for Alternative Work Patterns. Her formal education included studies at Yale Divinity School and Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, respectively.

Frederick B. Wade
Attorney

Fred Wade has practiced law in Madison, Wisconsin since 1987. His practice includes corporate governance matters, proxy solicitations and constitutional issues. He has a B.A. in History from Loyola University of New Orleans, an M.A. in American History from Tulane University, and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. Following his graduation from the Law School, he worked as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1973 through 1981. He also served as Chief Counsel of the Commission's Division of Enforcement, and as a member of the federal Senior Executive Service, from 1981 through 1984.

 

Associate Directors

Stephen Braunginn, President and CEO, J.E.M.S. Enterprises of Madison

Dan Cornwell, Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Eugene S. Farley, Physician and Professor Emeritus, UW-Madison School of Medicine

Donald G. Jones, Information Technology Consultant

Jane Ragsdale, Retired, U.W. Academic Staff

Sheila Spear, Emeritus Director, UW-Madison

Vernon Visick, former pastor, Madison Campus Ministry

Affiliations are for identification purposes only.