Project Administration

Executive Sponsors | Project Management Team | Project Communications

Executive Sponsors

The executive sponsors are collectively responsible for leading the project and owning the end products and recommendations.

  • Aaron Brower, provost, UW-Extension
  • Karl Martin, Cooperative Extension Dean & Director
  • Steve Wildeck, vice chancellor for administration and finance, UW-Extension and UW Colleges

Project Management Team

The executive sponsors identified a project management team to suggest organizational structures and processes for the project, and to manage the project through these processes and structures once they are approved by the executive sponsors.

  • Project lead: David Berard, associate program director for Community, Natural Resource, and Economic Development, Cooperative Extension
  • Project manager: Jay Rowan, Huron Consulting Group
  • Implementation Manager: Tricia Gorby, Cooperative Extension

Project Communication Leads

The project communication leads will support nEXT Generation project communications. The co-leads will send communications to colleagues regularly throughout the project, and make sure communications are consistent and coordinated.

  • Co-leads
    • Heidi Zoerb, Interim Associate Dean and Associate Director, Cooperative Extension
    • Molly Vidal, Chief of Staff, UW-Extension and UW Colleges

The Following Group is no longer Active:

Project Steering Committee

This group, which met through April 2017 was primarily responsible for recommending organizational changes to the executive sponsors and overseeing the products of planning work groups.

  • Chair
    • Matt Hanson, Southwest regional director
  • Members
    • Amber Canto, FoodWIse state coordinator
    • Amanda Gevens, associate professor and vegetable crops plant pathology extension specialist, UW-Madison
    • Jon Hochkammer, outreach manager, Wisconsin Counties Association
    • Jeff Hoffman, Dodge County community development educator/department head and UW-Extension University Committee member
    • Bill Klase, natural resources educator and UW-Extension Committee on Academic Staff Issues member
    • Kevin Masarik, senior outreach specialist/groundwater education extension specialist, Center for Watershed Science and Education, UW-Stevens Point
    • Rick Mills, program development and evaluation information systems resource technician and UW-Extension University Staff Council member
    • Kandi O’Neil, associate state 4-H program director/volunteer specialist
    • Ruth Schriefer, Iowa County family living agent and Department of Family Development chair
  • Ex Officio members
    • Sharon Klawitter, human resource development director
    • Daniel Malacara, assistant dean for budget and finance

Contact: nextgencommunications@ces.uwex.edu